Economic and societal pressures are demanding new levels of accountability from public sector organizations. In fact, the demand for accountability is such that finding ways to measure and demonstrate results can be the difference between success and failure as perceived by executives, policy makers, funding sources and taxpayers. Accountability requires credible performance measurements that are truly representative of the organization’s vision, mission and reality. Different performance measures should not be seen as divergent and contradictory, but as supplementing each other with useful diagnostic data. Multi-dimensional measures of specific services can provide an objective basis for defending or expanding a program, rather than allowing it to suffer from relatively arbitrary or habitual decisions. Ongoing monitoring, which emphasizes indicators and analysis linked to improvement, can help track and improve results over time. Performance measurement can identify promising areas, as well as functions continually faced with large backlogs, missed deadlines or high turnover. Particularly important in evaluating evidence of progress are timely data which reflect cost savings, service levels, client satisfaction and reductions in waiting or processing times. A commitment to performance measurement must apply to the entire organization and must be considered an inherent and indispensable part of the management process. A wide array of tools is available to achieve credible measurements, and once the results are in, the organization must act.