Thermometer or sauna?: performance measurement and democratic assistance in the United States Agency for International Aid (USAID)

Presents a case study of performance measurement in the United States Agency for International Development's democracy and governance programme. The purpose is to illustrate the juxtaposition between the high standards of causal logic and accuracy required of performance measurement, and the untidiness involved in the politics of democratisation. Problems of measurement are clearly complicated by the fact that the Agency does not deliver services directly, has limited control over its expenditures, and, in the case of democracy assistance, by the need to operate in a complex and sensitive area, across international borders and diverse political systems and cultures. (Original abstract - amended)