Developing Performance Indicators for Public Budget Programmes and Evaluating Their Effectiveness

This paper examines the theoretical and practical aspects of developing performance indicators for programme budgeting. It argues that the rate of budget execution alone cannot fully demonstrate the effectiveness of a public programme. Instead, programme performance should be assessed through a combination of service outputs, coverage, quality and social outcomes. The paper proposes criteria for selecting indicators, discusses the reliability of performance data and considers how evaluation findings can inform subsequent budget decisions.