Performance Management of Collaborative Projects: The Stronger the Collaboration, the Less Is Measured

ABSTRACT

This study examined performance management in interagency collaborations. Drawing on six case studies of management projects in the field of natural resources that represented nondependent, dependent, and interdependent types of collaboration, the study showed that as collaborative relations change, performance management systems also change. It found that nondependent and dependent collaborations have hard-and-simple quantifiable measures that are used as a basis for budget allocations and to ensure the accountability of the collaborative partners, but that in interdependent collaborations, performance management is looser, more implicit, and relies less on quantifiable performance measures. These findings suggest that as interdependent collaborations evolve to become based more on trust, respect, and professionalism, performance management systems will need to evolve into learning platforms along with the stronger collaborative relationship.

KEYWORDS:

• collaboration
• Hong Kong
• natural resources management
• partnerships
• performance management
• Singapore

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Ora-orn Poocharoen

Ora-orn Poocharoen is an Adjunct Associate Professor at the Lee Kuan Yew School of Public Policy, National University of Singapore. She is also Dean of the Faculty of Political Science and Public Administration at Chiang Mai University, Thailand.

Norma Hoi-Lam Wong

Norma Hoi-Lam Wong obtained her Ph.D. from the Department of Politics and Public Administration at the University of Hong Kong. She is now Director of Social Innovation Investors in Norway.