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Evaluation
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The Non-profit Sector Meets the Performance-management Movement

A Programme-theory Approach

Lena Lindgren

Gothenburg University, Sweden

The increasing role of the non-profit sector in publicly funded programmes over the last two decades is not only a new way for governments to finance social policy and cut expenditure; there are idealistic reasons as well. Above all, non-profit organizations are believed to possess a string of democratic values. The problem though is that the extended role subjects non-profit organizations to accountability requirements such as the use of performance measures. Severe doubts have been expressed about the theory and practice of such measures, especially in contexts where the applied system of measures and the programme to be measured diverge in terms of inherent value systems. Although the critique has been reiterated many times in the evaluation literature, no one has yet come up with empirical evidence that demonstrates the consequences of applying performance measures in particular contexts. By testing some of the most common pitfalls with the help of a programme-theory approach, this article contributes to the filling of that gap.

Key Words: democracy • non-profit sector • performance measures • programme theory

Evaluation, Vol. 7, No. 3, 285-303 (2001)
DOI: 10.1177/13563890122209694
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