What Do We Talk About When We Talk About Performance? Dialogue Theory and Performance Budgeting
Abstract
Published in Journal of
Public Administration Research and Theory. This paper examines the Program Assessment Rating Tool
(PART) in the federal budgeting process. The early evidence on
PART prompts the search for a theory of budgeting that accepts
that performance information will influence decisions, but will
not be used in the same way from decision to decision, as the
espoused theory of performance budgeting suggests. Dialogue
theory emphasizes the ambiguity of performance information and
related resource allocation choices. Results of an exploratory
test illustrate a variety of ways in which different individuals
can examine the same program and come to different conclusions
about performance and future funding requirements.