| All levels of American government are enthusiastically developing performance measurement systems to make them more responsive and to increase the quality of services they provide. Concerns have emerged, however, that government-initiated performance measurement has not convinced citizens of its effectiveness due to several dysfunctional effects. Some scholars argue, therefore, that citizens should be involved in government performance measurement activities.;In this context, this study primarily employed a multiple case study strategy to answer a central research question: Does public deliberation strengthen the impact of performance measurement on democracy and management? Five cases were selected from 26 Sloan and GASB cases at the city level: Dayton, OH; Des Moines, IA; Hartford, CT; Winston-Salem, NC; and Worcester, MA. Data were collected from documentation, e-mail, and telephone and personal interviews. Notes and memos were sought to track what the researcher observed and to develop tentative ideas about categories and relationships. At this point, "a coding strategy" and "pattern matching" were utilized to examine, categorize, and conceptualize the evidence so as to address the initial propositions derived from the research framework.;Evidence collected from cases studied confirms that public deliberation appears to have contributed to the building of fairer, more transparent and more reflective performance measurement systems, and to the enhancement of the impacts of performance measurement on democracy and management. Impacts on democracy include effective communication among citizens, city staffs, and city council members, increased civic education, improvement of accountability, enhancement of political legitimacy, and effective collaboration with neighborhood organizations. Impacts on management consist of the improvement of interdepartmental coordination, the improvement of the quality of decision-making, and enhanced city functions for the identification and solving of problems, cost savings, and provision of better services. It is important to note, however, that all of these beneficial impacts have resulted from the fulfillment of conditions of public deliberation---political equality, inclusiveness, deliberation, authority, and non-tyranny---as theorists have suggested. |
