Strategic Uses of Evaluation and Performance Measurement

摘要

This paper examines aspects of strategic planning and management and explores ways in which evaluation can be integrated with the wider context. The terms policy and strategy are closely related, and in some cases are used interchangeably. I follow Allen & Wilson (1997) and distinguish between them. Policies provide the principles for courses of action. Strategies define the means of implementing courses of action. A more formal definition of strategy can be found in the literature of management. Strategy is the direction and scope of an organisation over the long term: which achieves advantage for the organisation through its configuration of resources within a changing environment, to meet the needs of markets and to fulfil stakeholder expectations. (Johnson & Scholes, 1999, p.10). This definition sounds as if it were designed for commercial organisations, but the same basic concepts apply in the kind of public sector and not-for-profit organisations for which many librarians work. We all have stakeholders, and like it or not, libraries and information services of all kinds are competing with other units and organisations to meet the needs of markets, which can be defined as potential users. We can readily see that this definition of strategy adapts to 'organisations' such as local and national governments. Note the words highlighted in italics. It is something of a paradox that strategy is generally defined as "long term" when the political reality is all about the short term.