Few regulatory reforms are as celebrated or emulated as the performance measurement system of Sunnyvale, California, which inspired the Government Performance and Results Act of 1993 and countless other national and local efforts. This study presents the first longitudinal, cross-programmatic analysis of a performance measurement system, introducing a digital archival approach to analyze 152 performance indicators across 35,000 pages of documents from 1984 to 2023, supplemented with interviews of key stakeholders. Even if Sunnyvale’s system initially functioned as an exemplar of performance-based decision-making, it deteriorated with weakened commitment and, more importantly, sustained significant implementation costs while its benefits reduced over time. The findings illustrate three core trade-offs for performance measurement systems: measuring what matters (the “quantity-quality” tradeoff); ensuring continuity while allowing for adaptation (the “continuity-flexibility” tradeoff); and ensuring accountability without having implementation detract from productivity (the “accountability-productivity” tradeoff).
Regulation, Evaluation, and Governance Lab