The accountability-performance link: An attempt at distilling some mechanisms in a management reform initiative

An accelerated competitive sourcing program (A-76) was one of the most contentious federal management-reform initiatives attempted in the past decade. A-76 mandated that government workers compete against other potential providers to cut costs. Observable agency reactions ranged from nonimplementation to proposing policy alternatives, which raised the issue of bureaucratic accountability. These actions are examined from the accountability-performance framework developed by Melvin Dubnick. Distilling the mechanisms that led to varying levels of performance in A-76 may enhance our perspective of reform, particularly of initiatives that demand higher performance in a resource-scarce environment.