The indirect assessment model would quickly
produce a more comprehensive set of measures
than the direct model. Further, as the quote highlights,
involving managers in learning to develop
performance measures is likely to have pedagogical
effects (Oakes et al., 1998). By getting managers
to struggle with attempts to measure performance,
they would learn how and what to measure, and
become committed to the measures. This way,
the auditors could focus on their pre-existing
expertise – for example, demanding better evidence
about attendance records for Provincial cultural
and historical sites, ensuring that departments
use consistent definitions of water and air quality,
and requiring that departments accurately transpose
and calculate measures from one source to
their own records.