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The transformation of local state institutions by way of the paradigm of the common – the creation of commons–state institutions – has become one of the strategies of new municipalist practices. It is an attempt to overcome two crises: the crises of both the privatised and the bureaucratic state forms. It aims to take back the production and distribution of the 'public' by the state and to democratise this process. The article analyses the discursive use and material implementation of the paradigm of the common in the transformation of local state institutions, and how contested meanings attributed to it by different actors may influence the definition of commons–state institutions. It analyses two new municipalist contexts, Naples and Barcelona, and examines the common-inspired transformation of their local public services: water services and sociocultural facilities, respectively. It argues that commons–state institutions are negotiated institutional configurations that emerge from the synthesis of the situated and experimental interpretation of the paradigm of the common shared by (different segments of) state and civil society actors, and whose governance needs to be adequately and openly codified to make them robust and enduring. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Evaluation is essential to understand whether and how policies and other interventions work, why they sometimes fail, and whether they represent a good use of resources. Evaluability assessment (EA) is a means of collaboratively planning and designing evaluations, seeking to ensure they generate relevant and robust evidence that supports decision-making and contributes to the wider evidence base. This article reports on the context, the process undertaken and evidence from participants in an EA facilitated with public service workers involved in implementing a complex, area-based community improvement initiative. This is a novel context in which to conduct an EA. We show how the process allows practitioners at all levels to identify activities for evaluation and co-produce the theory of change developed through the EA. This enables evaluation recommendations to be developed that are relevant to the implementation of the programme, and which take account of available data and resources for evaluation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We find that per capita municipal spending on public services is strongly and non-linearly correlated to urban population density. Optimal expenditure levels for municipal services are achieved with densities close to 9000 residents per square kilometre. In our study of about 8600 municipalities of Brazil, Chile, Ecuador and Mexico, 85% of all municipalities are below this ideal density level. This result provides strong policy support for densification, particularly in medium-sized cities of developing countries, which are currently absorbing most of the world’s urban population growth. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The user perspective is an important contextual factor for Supreme Audit Institutions (SAIs). This article provides examples from performance audits in Norway and explores why the user perspective has become important in performance audit practices. It shows that user satisfaction can be employed as a key performance indicator of effectiveness of public services. It addresses the following questions: (a) How does performance auditing relate to the evaluation field? (b) Why is the user perspective important? (c) How can the user perspective add value in performance audits? And finally, (d) How can the user perspective in performance auditing be applied to improve public services? At the end, the article identifies some challenges and opportunities that evolve from applying a user perspective. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Systems for assessing the comparative performance of organizations providing public services are increasingly apparent across service sectors and jurisdictions. This article sets out an agenda of research themes about these systems. The themes include the performance concepts and measures adopted, purposes of systems (with variation from information-gathering to incorporation in systems of judgement and decision-making by a range of stakeholders), the reasons for the increasing prevalence of the systems, and the impacts of systems on public services - both intended and unintended. The article argues that the comparative analysis of comparative performance systems is a valuable approach, with comparison looking across both jurisdictions and public service domains. While such analysis is currently at an early stage of development, drawing together the findings of the articles contained in this special issue illustrates some of the insights that can be gained into these themes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]