Assessing the outcomes of state science and technology organizations

Since the 1990s, we have witnessed tremendous growth in performance-measurement activities in government. Legislative mandates have pushed most states to require state-funded entities to identify performance measures and report performance data in the budget process. Furthermore, measuring performance has become an important trend in public management practice. How have state science and technology (S and T) programs responded to these requirements and trends? This article extends prior work on performance measurement in state S and T programs. It presents data from a recent national survey of the directors of key S and T agencies in each of the 50 states. Findings reveal the struggles that these agencies face in the development of appropriate performance measures and their integration in the budget process. Details on appropriate measures, best measures, the measurement development process, and reporting techniques are provided. Strengths and weaknesses of existing measurement systems are presented.