Can’t You Count? Public Service Delivery and Standardized Measurement Challenges – The Case of Community Composting

Abstract

Performance measurement is increasingly important for UK third sector organizations (TSOs) driven in part by policymakers’ interest in harnessing them as deliverers of public services. This article examines a developing and little researched constituency of TSOs – community composters – which has become attractive to policymakers facing obligations to reduce, recycle, and reuse waste. The research, which included the first extensive survey of this constituency combined with a purposive case study investigation, found a highly diverse set of organizations. The analysis proposes five types of community composters and explores the challenges to developing a standardized measurement regime.

Key words:

• Performance measurement
• third sector
• community composting
• social value

Acknowledgements

The views expressed in this article are those of the authors and not necessarily those of Defra. The authors thank Defra for funding the original research and the many community composters that took part.