Performance measurement in communities: a dilemma for research

Researchers are collecting all sorts of data and applying numerous research designs toestablish some rationale for allocation, support and provision of public resources formembers of communities.Most data are collected and analysed on the basis that individualscan be treated as objects to which certain properties or variables can be ascribed. Inthe UK the ‘Indices of Deprivation’ is one those instruments used to collect, analyse, classifyand rank geographical wards according to indicators of multiple deprivation. Theseresults are considered to indicate how communities are performing, a high score indicatingwhich wards are the most deprived. The next step is to create services and resources tostart reducing deprivation. The main characteristic of this type of approach is that serviceusers are seen as consumers or people in need of something that the service can satisfy.A fair bit of criticism has grown over time as to the cost of this system and concerningthe fact service users are excluded as stakeholders and designers of their own ‘services’. Itappears that the problem is in the approach of research chosen to measure deprivation.Other approaches are possible that respond to the criticism. They aim to reduce the costand to contribute to the design of ‘services’ or support systems that are inclusive. They arenot based on variables and indicators, but aim to allow service users to include experiencesas contributions towards the support offered to them.The paper offers examples of how interventions can be designed such that clients areincluded in the design in what is to serve them. They are based on creating a collectivetask. They show how the impacts of the activities of various interacting communitygroups in a ward can be researched to deal with the criticism. Different types of performancemeasures based on the inclusion of experiences (e.g. values) are explored. They canbe interpreted as a research contribution towards the design of self-organising collectives.