A Third Generation of Performance Contracting in Danish Central Government?

Abstract

This paper compares the content of performance contracts in Danish central government over time in order to identify whether – and if so, how – it develops. The analysis is conducted as a two-step, mixed methods study. First, a quantitative study was carried out based on a study of all performance contracts in Danish central government in 2002, 2006, 2009, 2012 and 2014. For each year, all performance contracts have been coded according to the number and type of targets included in them. A range of qualitative interviews was then carried out, and Ministry of Finance recommendations were consulted to improve the un- derstanding of the results of the quantitative analysis and development patterns. The paper finds a general decrease in the number of performance targets per contract and a change in the relative share of different types of targets over time. During the period under study, the share of outcomes has increased, activity-oriented targets have decreased, and targets for internal management decreased in the mid-2000s before again increasing more recently. On this basis, performance contracting in Danish central government is argued to have entered a third generation.