Performance-based funding is a popular notion in policy development circles. Unless carefully designed and targeted, it probably won’t have the desired effect.
In a short article for the LH Martin Institute, Peter Ewell proposes three reasons why performance funding often doesn’t work:
- by directing resources to areas of strength, it leaves weaker areas unable to improve or grow
- it works against the factors that motivate individuals most strongly (particularly in the higher education field)
- the funding mechanisms tend to be complicated and poorly focused
Dr Peter Ewell is Vice-President at the National Center for Higher Education Management Systems, USA.
Tags: productivity, benchmarking, Dr Peter Ewell, public policy, performance indicators