The image and worth of an organization are mirrored in its performance, it is said. This judgement is more relevant, when it comes to organizations, whose mandate is to provide public services. Hence, in order to achieve higher levels of efficiency and greater effectiveness in operations, many organizations have systems in place to measure their own performance that help in strategic decision-making and long-range planning.

Performance measurement is almost an inevitable option for urban local bodies today, considering that they have to provide a wide array of public services and deal with large amount of resources, besides the ever-increasing pressure on them to improve quality and approach. This publication provides a well thought-out framework for performance measurement that encompasses the nuances of public provision services. It explains the concept, discusses viable indicators and benchmarks to operationalize performance measurement, and guides how to employ a management information system to monitor performance measurement.

The manual has considered three major aspects of civic services - water supply, sewerage services, and solid waste management