Managing performance and performance management: information strategy and service user involvement.

Area of Science:

• Public Health Policy
• Healthcare Management
• Service User Involvement

Background:

• National Service Frameworks (NSFs) emphasize service user involvement, particularly in mental health services in Wales.
• Current UK government performance management strategies are retrospective and offer limited support for proactive service improvement.
• Decentralized governance in the UK necessitates inter-organizational collaboration for effective performance management.

Purpose of the Study:

• To explore how organizations with diverse responsibilities can collaborate to manage and improve service performance.
• To demonstrate the necessity of dispersed leadership and horizontal accountability for driving change.
• To highlight the potential for service users to actively participate in and direct service improvements.

Main Methods:

• Longitudinal research conducted over four years in Swansea, involving multiple organizations.
• Analysis of inter-organizational collaboration in performance improvement initiatives.
• Exploration of service user involvement in planning and feedback mechanisms.

Main Results:

• Successful service improvement hinges on leadership distributed across organizational boundaries.
• Accountability structures need to be horizontal and downward, fostering collaboration rather than solely upward reporting.
• Service user involvement in planning yields valuable insights into critical service issues and empowers users in change processes.

Conclusions:

• Managing performance, distinct from performance management, enables service users to initiate and guide improvements.
• Locally relevant information systems providing timely performance data are crucial for effective, ongoing change.
• Collaborative, user-centered approaches are essential for adapting to devolved governance and enhancing public services.