Municipal performance management during the covid pandemic

Abstract

The COVID-19 pandemic brought a major shift in governmental operations, including decision-making processes. In the midst of an unprecedented crisis, public managers had to make rapid decisions within an uncertain landscape and ambiguous timeline. This exploratory study aims to understand how the pandemic impacted public managers’ behavior as they attempted to better cope with the crisis. In particular, we focus on the impact of the pandemic on performance management practices in municipal governments, examining a range of components, including data analysis and use. Our cross-sectional analysis of 103 line managers from North Carolina municipal departments finds that local government managers increased their use of performance management practices during the pandemic compared to the previous (non-pandemic) year. The increased use was amplified when existing performance information practices were established before the pandemic. These exploratory findings contribute to a better understanding of the role of performance information in decision-making during a crisis and to performance management scholarship more broadly.