Roland,
I am following this discussion with interest since I teach performance measurement for the Open University Business School and many of my students work in the public sector.
You might also be interested to know that one of the strands of the forthcoming Fifth Framework Programme of the European Commission concerns "quality". The wording in the draft document is
Improvement of quality: Generic measurement and testing methods, instruments and measuring systems, including software. Quality assessment systems for private and public enterprises. Measurable attributes in quality products and services. Research priorities are given as:
* calibration and transfer standards, banks of reference substances to assure reliability and traceability of measurements [would that include type specimens?];
* instruments for high-performance measurements; robust and portable instruments for in situ and reference measurements [would that include on-site measurements for ancient monuments?]
* models and software tools for the validation of measurement methods;
* tools for improving quality within enterprises, including SMEs, and for measuring
* customer satisfaction [this is probably the one for you]
* methodologies to support certification and accreditation in metrologically less developed
* fields [which surely includes education and other public service in museums]
I author a website about EC funding for cultural heritage (recently relocated to http://inf2.pira.co.uk/pub/ecwebsite97.html). We have recently updated the information about the Fifth Framework Programme, and I will be tracking the progress of the detailed implementation plans. There are many, many areas that are relevant to museums. Whenever calls for proposals go out that could be relevant to museums I'll be putting up details.
Wendy Sudbury, Director
Cambridge Management Group
Ford House
25 St. Barnabas Road,
Cambridge, CB1 2BU, UK
ph. + 44 1223 315015
fax + 44 1223 322994
email: [log in to unmask]
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