Dr Toby Lowe: why outcome-based performance management doesn’t work

The Systemic Insight podcast

In this episode, Marcus is talking to Dr Toby Lowe, Senior Lecturer in Public Leadership and Management at Newcastle Business School, Northumbria University. Toby describes his purpose as an academic as helping improve the funding, commissioning and performance management of social interventions (across the public, private and voluntary sectors). His research team has used complexity theory to create a critique of New Public Management approaches, particularly highlighting the problems created by attempts to use Outcome-Based Performance Management (e.g. Payment by Results) in complex environments.

The discussion touches upon why outcome measures distort rather than enhance performance, why it leads to gaming becoming a rational strategy, and what the alternatives are for people who work in complex contexts. As Outcome-Based Performance Management is still the prevalent method to manage the performance of (economic) development projects, this discussion is highly relevant to our context.

This episode is packed with ideas and quite challenging thoughts, so enjoy it! We hope it will inspire your own explorations. If you are interested in sharing your experience of exploring the new paradigm or want to start exploring it, do get in touch with us.

Resources mentioned

• LOWE, T. & WILSON, R. 2015. Playing the Game of Outcomes‐based Performance Management. Is Gamesmanship Inevitable? Evidence from Theory and Practice. Social Policy & Administration, Vol. 51(7):981-1001.
• KNIGHT DAVIDSON, A., LOWE, T., BROSSARD, M. & WILSON, J. 2017. A Whole New World: Funding and Commissioning in Complexity. collaborate for social change.
• LOWE, T. & PLIMMER, D. 2019. Exploring the new world: Practical insights for funding, commissioning and managing in complexity. collaborate for social change, Northumbria University Newcastle.
• Next Stage Radicals website
• Human Learning Systems website