A Review on the Use of Performance Indicators in the Public Sector

When set in strategic context and developed according to valuable criteria, performance indicators can be a powerful tool for different purposes in the public sector. Since their use in public services is evidently increasing, this review paper presents needed synthesis of important facts and findings about performance indicators: their advantages and shortcomings, characteristics, types and purposes, important criteria for their selection, data sources for indicators and data collection and processing procedures. Also, an overview of open questions in data collection and processing is introduced.