Governance by numbers: what have we learned over the past 30 years?

The performance of public sector organizations, even when they are doing well, is the subject of critical commentary. No matter what they do, some group will argue that they could do better and do things differently. Criticism of public service organizations is a very public affair. That is the nature of the public sector. The management of private sector organizations are seldom placed in the public gaze unless they are involved in some major environmental catastrophe or a governance scandal.