The depth and breadth of La Follette coursework gave me the confidence to feel that I can tackle any assignment handed to me.
Making Sense of Performance Regimes: Rebalancing External Accountability and Internal Learning
How to account for the ubiquitous presence of public sector performance regimes given evidence that such regimes have failed to achieve their promises? We argue that this paradox perseveres partly because the dominant doctrinal approach – justifying what we label as the external accountability regime – responds to a real need for political account giving, but also partly because alternative frameworks that can satisfy that need have been slow to emerge. We describe a fundamental mismatch between external accountability regimes and the basic characteristics of the public sector. As a result, performance regimes are often experienced as externally imposed standards that encourage passivity, gaming, and evasion, and will therefore never be able to achieve performance gains that depend on purposeful professional engagement. Rather than simply criticizing external accountability regimes, we offer an alternative framework better informed by the empirical study of performance regimes. The proposed alternative internal learning regime makes the case for extensive professional involvement in the development and interpretation of goals. This type of regime offers not just a framework to inform the design of performance regimes, but also a prospective research agenda to address how performance regimes affect motivation, behavior, and public sector outcomes.
Joshua Williams (MIPA ’13)
La Follette courses provided me with an extremely solid foundation in applied research methods, which has allowed me to more quickly pursue my current research than might otherwise have been possible.
Katie (Keck) Sanders (MIPA ’05)
Safe & Sound operates at the intersection of policy and practice, and it’s an exciting opportunity to see how the research plays out in community work on a daily basis.
Margarita Northrop, MIPA/MPH
Undergraduate education Bachelor’s degrees in political science and international studies, certificate in global health, University of Wisconsin–Madison; bachelor’s degree equivalent in economics of trade from the University of National and World Economy, Sofia, Bulgaria Professional/research …
Michele Dickinson (MPA ’14)
Taking the quantitative analysis coursework – both semesters of statistics and cost-benefit analysis – was key in helping me be prepared for state budget work immediately after graduation.
A Place to Call Home: Evidence-Based Strategies for Addressing Homelessness across Wisconsin
During the 2016 federal fiscal year in Wisconsin, 22,050 people experiencing homelessness received services and shelter from providers that use the state’s tracking system. Homelessness is not just a Milwaukee or Madison concern, nor is …
Nick Lardinois (MPA ’16)
Undergraduate education Bachelor’s degrees in economics and environmental studies, UW-Madison, 2015 Employer Legislative Audit Bureau Job title Performance Evaluator What are your primary job responsibilities? I work with a team to gather and analyze qualitative …
Elizabeth Doyle, MPA
“La Follette coursework allows ample opportunity to increase my knowledge base of local issues and work with organizations in the area through project work.”
Sophia Rogers, MPA, JD
As an undergraduate, I learned that public policy is determined as much by politics as technical constraints.