Does performance evaluation help public managers? A Balanced Scorecard approach in urban waste services

Area of Science:

• Environmental Management
• Public Administration
• Business Performance Measurement

Background:

• The urban waste market has seen significant evolution with new utilities and business models, yet user-facing aspects like collection and charges remain largely unchanged.
• Low user charges for urban waste collection, often below provision costs, necessitate public funding and contribute to inefficiencies in waste utilities.
• Current urban waste management systems often lack performance metrics, leading to operational inefficiencies and a need for better management tools.

Purpose of the Study:

• To analyze the applicability of the Balanced Scorecard (BSc) methodology within urban waste utilities.
• To propose a flexible framework with performance indicators for diverse waste utility management models.
• To address inefficiencies in public waste management through improved performance measurement.

Main Methods:

• Comprehensive revision of the urban waste sector in Portugal.
• Description and discussion of the Balanced Scorecard (BSc) methodology and its application in local public services.
• Development and exemplification of a set of performance indicators through four case studies representing different utility management models.

Main Results:

• A set of performance indicators tailored for waste utilities operating under various management structures (municipalities, semi-autonomous, municipal companies, mixed companies) has been proposed.
• The study demonstrates the practical implementation of the Balanced Scorecard in different waste utility contexts through case studies.
• A flexible framework for performance measurement in waste utilities is presented.

Conclusions:

• The Balanced Scorecard (BSc) methodology offers a viable framework for enhancing the performance and efficiency of urban waste utilities.
• The proposed performance indicators and flexible framework can be adapted to various management models in waste utilities, both domestically and internationally.
• Implementing the BSc can drive improvements in service delivery and financial sustainability within the urban waste sector.