value for money: in defence of efficiency
Most people working in publicly funded organisations feel constant pressure to improve efficiency. Too often, they experience that pressure as a push to cut corners, work longer and harder, and do more with less. But they know their work is important and valuable to the community they serve and, generally, think there should be more of it, not less. So, the pressure to “improve efficiency” feels like the opposite of creating public value. In this video, we explore efficiency’s “trinity”: quality, volume, and price. It offers a practical way to think about efficiency that can help leaders make better decisions, without defaulting to simple cost-cutting. From this week, we are expanding our ‘business cases’ category to become ‘value for money’. Under this broader definition, we will bring you information resources that explore a wider range of topics related to maximising the value of public funds.