Abstract: Accurately and substantively assessing the performance of civil servants is a prerequisite for effectively motivating them to excel in their duties. Existing studies have identified various problems in the performance evaluation of grassroots civil servants, yet the bottlenecks impeding resolution and the underlying mechanisms remain insufficiently analyzed. Drawing on organizational economics and multi-agent interaction theory, this paper constructs a theoretical framework of “multi-principal, multi-task, multi-agent” for civil service evaluation. From the perspective of incentive mechanism design, we analyze the root causes of evaluation difficulties. Through a case study of the digitalized routine performance evaluation practice—the “All-Staff Assessment” pilot in Xing’an County, Guangxi—we examine the effectiveness and theoretical mechanisms of digital empowerment in routine civil service appraisal. Our findings indicate that digitalization, by reducing information collection costs and expanding the scope of information sources, serves as a critical tool for advancing routine performance evaluation. Streamlining the evaluation process and leveraging digital tools to achieve “assessment, management, and promotion in routine practice” are key to overcoming the deficiencies of traditional performance appraisal in terms of accuracy and incentive provision. Furthermore, performance evaluation should not only strengthen individual accountability but also emphasize organizational cohesion, reconciling individual competition with team collaboration to enhance the solidarity and combat effectiveness of grassroots organizations.

Key words: correct attitude towards performance, civil service evaluation, digitization, multi-principal, multi-task, multi-agent, performance evaluation