Controlling Autonomous Public Agencies as an Indicator of New Public Management

This article starts with a short description of the New Public Management (NPM) phenomenon, followed by the development of a more narrow and research-oriented conceptualization of the broader NPM concept. This paper will argue that the extent to which ex ante control of agencies is replaced by results based control is an indicator for the level of NPM orientedness. Firstly, this paper describes the extent to which the public agencies in Flanders are controlled and in which way (ex ante versus results). In particular with regard to result control, the extent or intensity of result control is investigated by looking at the completeness and scope of result control. Secondly this paper looks at the extent to which the control practices are part of the control relationship between oversight authority and agency and not only for internal organizational purposes. Thirdly, a differentiated landscape of practices for control agencies in Flanders is observed, and some explanations for this differentiated picture are presented.