A method to deal with dissimilar circumstances of public organizations in performance comparisons: evidence from Dutch prisons

What are the methodological requirements of performance measures? To what extent can managers influence performance scores and do they have similar organizational circumstances? What is needed for sound and fair comparisons between organizations? In this article, a step-by-step plan for performance comparisons between organizations is proposed in which both administrative and methodological challenges are addressed. The plan is illustrated with two performance measures derived from the Dutch prison system. Performance analysts may use the plan to analyze performance of public organizations.