pursuing neoliberal performativity? performance-based funding and accountability in higher education in ontario, canada

We offer a critical analysis of performance-based funding in ontario’s higher education. drawing on theories of critical policy analysis and neoliberal accountability, this article focuses on the strategic mandate agreement (sma) and the performance-based funding (pbf) model for universities and colleges in ontario. the research explores the rise of the market- driven neoliberal accountability that focuses on business model of organizational efficiency and concludes that these recent policies are fundamentally transforming ontario’s higher education at the expense of a more egalitarian system promoting social equity and critical citizenship.