Open Letter
Nick Sloan, Director, Performance Measurement,
National Audit Office

This year's NAO Performance Measurement Conference, the fifth in this successful series, is being held at a time of a global economic downturn that will put further pressure on government budgets.  At the same time, the UK Government is pressing ahead with a drive for efficiency savings.  Taken together, these two factors are likely to push effective performance measurement and management even higher up the UK Government's policy agenda.

The NAO, as part of its commitment to work with departments to help them bring about beneficial change in the delivery of public services, has been closely involved in the performance measurement debate. This is why we have developed the Annual NAO Performance Measurement Conference and continue to deliver reports and guidance on this subject.

Following the success of the four previous NAO Performance Measurement Conferences, this year's event will focus on strengthening the use of performance frameworks in the public sector. Among the issues that will be addressed are the following:

• The critical role of performance measurement in achieving the Government's performance objectives
• Lessons from the capability review
• Monitoring the performance of the new Delivery Agreements
• The experience of the private sector
• An international perspective
• Successfully integrating financial and performance reporting
• Measurement and motivation: an NAO perspective
• Stream A: Delivery chain analysis
• Balancing central control with local democracy and consumer choice
• Case study I - How central government can effectively facilitate the localism agenda
• Case study II - How local government can work with central government to create a seamless performance framework
• Stream B: Key stages in developing a framework
• Evidence based policy management
• Case study I - Strategy formulation and budgeting
• Case study II - Interpreting and using performance data to influence decision taking
  

I very much hope that you will be able to join us for this conference, and that you will circulate the event information to relevant colleagues in your department who may wish to attend. The conference will provide a unique opportunity to hear from leading authorities on the subject and to network with your peer group in central and local government.

Keynote Address
Yvette Cooper, Chief Secretary, HM Treasury

Conference Chairman
Caroline Mawhood, President of the Chartered Institute of Public Finance and Accountancy and Assistant Auditor General, National Audit Office

Expert Speaker Panel
Dr Annette Boaz, Lecturer in Translational Research, Kings College London
Jonathan Brearley, Director, Office of Climate Change
Andrew Campbell, Director for Local Strategic Partnerships and Performance, Department for Communities and Local Government
Karen Downes, Senior Executive, Finance and Performance Management Practice, Accenture
Brian Etheridge, Director of the Capability Review Team, Cabinet Office
Matthew Gladstone, Assistant CEO, Rotherham Metropolitan Borough Council
David Halpern, Director of Research, Institute for Government
Paul Hayes, Chief Executive, National Treatment Agency for Substance Misuse
Ed Humpherson, Assistant Auditor General, National Audit Office
Kate Kelly, Deputy Director, Prime Minister's Delivery Unit
Robert Shea, Director, Global Public Sector, Grant Thornton LLP and former Associate Director for Management, Office of Management and Budget, USA
Nick Sloan, Director, Performance Measurement, National Audit Office
Jon Thompson, Schools and Family and Head of the Government Finance Profession

This event is being held at:
The Guoman Tower Hotel
St Katherine's Way
London E1W 1LD

Tel:  +44 (0) 870 333 9106
Fax: +44 (0) 870 333 9206
Web: www.guoman.com/tower

Nearest Tube Station:
Tower Hill (District and Circle lines)

Directions and Map

• The 5th Annual NAO Performance Measurement Conference (Documentation)