Result-Based Public Governance: Challenges in Developing and Using Daily Performance Measures

Within the public sector, many institutions are either steered by governance by targets or result-based governance. The former sets up quantitative internal production targets, while the latter advocates that production is planned according to outcomes which are defined as institution-produced effects on individuals or businesses in society; effects which are often produced by ‘nudging’ the citizenry in a certain direction. With point of departure in these two governance-systems, the paper explores a case of controversial inspection of businesses’ negative VAT accounts and it describes the performance measure that guides the inspectors’ inspection (or nudging) of the businesses. The analysis shows that although a result-based governance system is advocated on a strategic level, performance measures which are not ‘result-based’ are developed and used in the daily coordination of work. The paper explores how and why this state of affairs appears and problematizes the widespread use of result-based governance and nudging-techniques by public sector institutions.