The Center for Public and Nonprofit Management (CPNM) invites you to the spring semester Eminent Scholar Lecture: Towards a broader theory of performance management - fits, starts, and paths forward, by Gary R. VanLandingham, Ph.D.
Public Administration long sought an integrated theory of public management, and has seen a wide range of reform initiatives come and largely go over the years. Most of these reforms have been based on the premise that generating better information about agency activities will generate transformational improvements in government efficiency and outcomes. However, the impact of these reforms has been markedly limited, and most have been abandoned by governments after a few years. This presentation will argue that a fundamental weakness shared by these initiatives is that each has narrowly focused on individual elements of the broader public management system, and better outcomes can only be achieved through a more integrated approach to performance management that holistically uses evidence throughout the program selection, implementation, and oversight processes. Some states, most notably Washington, Colorado and New Mexico, are taking steps in this direction.
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Dr. VanLandingham currently serves as Professor, MPA Program Director, and the Reuben Askew Senior Practitioner in Residence with the Askew School of Public Administration and Policy at the Florida State University. Previously, he was the founding Director of the Pew-MacArthur Results First Initiative, which works in over 30 states and local governments to build their capacity to use rigorous evidence and economic analysis to direct resources to evidence-based programs. Before joining Pew, he served as Director of the Florida Legislature’s Office of Program Policy Analysis and Government Accountability. He has over 35 years of experience in policy analysis and program evaluation at the state and local government levels.
Dr. VanLandingham has served as Staff Chair of the National Conference of State Legislatures, President of the Southeast Evaluation Association, Chair of the National Legislative Program Evaluation Society, President of the North Florida Chapter of the American Society for Public Administration, and as an advisory board member with the Government Accounting Standards Advisory Council and the Trust for Representative Democracy. His professional service has been recognized with the Legislative Staff Achievement Award from the National Conference of State Legislatures and the Harry Hatry Distinguished Performance Measurement Practice Award from the American Society for Public Administration’s Center for Accountability and Performance.
Dr. VanLandingham holds a Ph.D. in public administration and policy from the Florida State University. In addition to contributing to well over 1,000 professional policy analysis reports, he has published journal articles and book chapters on evidence-based policymaking, benefit-cost analysis, program evaluation and policy analysis, and government transparency.
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