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In deciding whether an infrastructure project should be delivered using traditional procurement or a public-private partnership (PPP), the public sector estimates the project's value for money (VFM), which serves as the principal justification for adopting PPP. It is well known that VFM arises primarily from risk transfer, that is, the risk of (for example) potential cost overruns is transferred from the public sector to the private sector under PPP, thereby creating cost savings to the public sector. Using a unique source of PPP data, Infrastructure Ontario, Canada, this paper investigates an issue not examined systematically and quantitatively in the literature: how the contribution to VFM arising from risk transfer varies from project type to project type, and why. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The purpose of this paper is to identify the factors that influence the patronage of street food vendor in Nigeria. The data for this study was collected from 385 street food customers in northwest Nigeria, and was analyzed using multiple regression. Also, composite reliability and Average Variance Extracted were used to test the reliability and validity of the instrument. The finding shows that patronage of street food vendor is taken as a function of quality food, value for money and familiarity of the food contents. Since the industry is one of the sources of employment generation, understanding what makes people patronize them can be a contribution to the development of the literature and an important step in designing a more effective policy mechanism for economic growth. Informal sectors are under researched and most researchers delved more on formal economy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Despite widespread criticisms, governments around the world have adopted Value for Money (VfM) analysis as a key metric in gauging the prospective value of infrastructure projects. This paper examines the institutional processes through which VfM is rendered defensible as a form of valuation. Drawing on a case study of Infrastructure Ontario in Canada, the paper demonstrates that this involves strategies for partitioning space and time, including boundary work, objectification, phasing and outsourcing. We argue that the institution of delays and distances ultimately fosters the displacement of subjectivity in the valuation process while entrenching distinctively financialized understandings of value. Moreover, we demonstrate that this is driven not so much by the organization's desire to control the future but by a defensive orientation that sets out to ward off potential critiques that may arise from project failures. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Gastronomy is considered a vital resource and is a key component of a memorable tourism experience. Some studies have explored memorable gastronomic experience (MGE) but have been unable to provide a comprehensive overview of the topic. The purpose of this research is to advance knowledge in relation to MGE. The Q-methodology of research synthesis (QMRS) was applied to identify MGE dimensions and support qualitative and quantitative approaches within the research process. The findings of the study contribute to a greater understanding of MGE by providing a conceptual model. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The method by which government and public institutions make acquisitions lays the groundwork for development of rural district councils by enabling critical investments in terms of physical infrastructure and institutional capacity building. The purpose of this study was to establish the relationship between procurement objectives, procurement process, procurement management, and value for money on Zimbabwe's Rural District Councils (RDCs). The study was guided by the Practice Based View and the Supply Chain Practice Perspective. A structured, closed-ended, self-administered Google form questionnaire was used to collect responses from 30 out of 60 randomly chosen RDCs in Zimbabwe. 207 useful responses were obtained from 264 supervisory staff and procurement officials. The procurement process, procurement objectives, and procurement management were found to positively influence value for money. The results also indicate that procurement objectives positively influenced the procurement process, while the procurement process was found to have a positive effect on procurement management. This study provides fresh insights and validates existing knowledge on the procurement process, procurement objectives, procurement management, and value for money in the RDCs. As this study demonstrates how procurement practices have a direct impact on value for money, it advances our understanding of public procurement and value for money in developing countries like Zimbabwe. Moreover, the study findings support both the Practice Based View and the Supply Chain Practice Perspective in that the results show that procurement practices when effectively managed and aligned with the objectives of the organization, they contribute to achieving value for money in procurement. outcomes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study explores the relative importance of epistemic value, value for money and perceived safety in visitors' evaluation of a foreign destination. Based on a sample of 248 international tourists who visited Zanzibar between July 2021 and January 2022, the study shows that the three factors are significantly associated with overall satisfaction, subsequently affecting the visitor's willingness to recommend the destination. However, perceived safety and epistemic value also directly affect the willingness to recommend. Regarding importance, epistemic value is the most important antecedent of the willingness to recommend, while the value for money is the least important. The results imply that as destinations strive to attract international visitors following the pandemic, their marketing communications should emphasize epistemic value, overall satisfaction, and safety. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper provides a critical interrogation of government-led reform of higher education (HE) in England. Its focus is marketisation, and in particular, the concepts of 'value for money' (VFM), teaching excellence, and students as educational consumers. Hitherto, research on VFM in HE has been largely quantitative in nature and primarily focussed on student perceptions. This qualitative research study contributes to existing knowledge, by comparing the perceptions of students and university lecturers in the social sciences. Undertaken at a Northern university between 2017 and 2019, it highlights key concerns around changing student expectations, managerialism and the potential instrumentalisation of learning and teaching. The issues explored here lend themselves to a broader based study across different types of Higher Education Institutions (HEIs) and different cognate areas. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study aims to examine the relationships customer centric measures in wine tasting rooms. Furthermore, moderating role of customer satisfaction in value for money and repurchase intent relationship was examined.The data were collected in wineries in British Columbia, Canada. Analysis was conducted using the partial least squares structural equation modelling (PLS-SEM). In order to test the moderating role of satisfaction, the respondents were divided into two groups of unsatisfied and satisfied customers. The multi-group analysis of PLS-SEM was used to detect possible heterogeneity.The findings show that there is a significant relationship between value for money and repurchase intent. A significant relationship between value for money and repurchase intent was also detected, when satisfaction as a dichotomous variable was present in the model. A moderating role of satisfaction was discovered, where the strength of the relationship between value for money and repurchase intent appeared to decrease with higher levels of satisfaction.This study provides an overview in the triangle relationships between value for money, customer satisfaction and repurchase intent, and how the dichotomous satisfaction construct moderates the value for money and repurchase intent relationship. Surprisingly, the moderating impact was found to be negative and at the same time significant. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Browne Review 2010 was a paradigm shift for higher education funding in England, this paper reflects upon the aftermath faced by university leaders through intensified marketisation. A secondary data analysis was undertaken on previous interview transcripts conducted in 2011 of 30 senior managers from a range of English universities. The purpose was to reflect upon the impact of the Browne Review through a current lens in 2021 to establish if the original dilemmas still exist. Senior managers were initially confronted by an identity dilemma of either being a business or an educational institution, it found that this has increasingly become more complex. The reflective analysis concludes a decisive shift in mindset that English universities now behave similarly to Corporate Businesses in an increasingly uncertain and competitive, but restricted market. Consequently, increased consumerist tendencies of students have increased the gap between universities and students’ differing perceptions of value for money. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Maintenance flexibility has been promoted as a value driver for long-term public–private partnerships (PPPs). However, the value and risk associated with this value driver have not been properly quantified in the Value for Money (VfM) assessment literature. To bridge the gap, a novel stochastic modelling methodology is proposed to characterize the complex interactions among the lifecycle cost (LCC), performance deterioration and maintenance strategies. Four different maintenance strategies are designed to emulate the practice in the traditional and PPP delivery methods. The LCC includes the direct maintenance cost, user cost, residual value, and payment deduction, the last three often being neglected in VfM assessments. Simulation-based optimization and dynamic programming analysis are used to determine the probability distributions of the LCC and the VfM. A hypothetical highway PPP project under an availability payment model is selected as a case study. The results show that maintenance flexibility is indeed able to reduce the LCC for the private party. However, this private efficiency, if not properly regulated, could cause a reduced asset residual value and an increased user cost, making the public party worse off. In addition, for all potential maintenance strategies, the public sector is found to retain significant lifecycle cost risk, largely in the form of user cost. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The focus of the research was students' perceptions of whether joint honours degrees represented a sound student learning experience and led to good academic and employability outcomes. In this minority mode of study for the United Kingdom, students study two academic subjects, rather than the more usual single subject. The qualitative methodology followed was a thematic analysis of self-administered questionnaire data, collected from joint honours students at four English universities in the United Kingdom. The principal results were that the students experienced difficulties in fitting into the two communities of learning for their respective subjects; in being adequately supported; in disparities in teaching, learning and assessment between their two subjects, and in a high workload. The major conclusion was that although the students perceived their learning experiences to have value by virtue of having studied two subjects, a number of issues stymied their achieving the best learning experience possible. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Global strategists suggest to deploy a value for money strategy both in emerging and developed markets. This study uses reviews from 24,926 airline passengers across 29 countries, and investigates in a multi-country context how value for money and service quality perceptions influence customer satisfaction. This study also advances strategic-fit research of value-for-money marketing strategies on an international level by theorizing and empirically investigating the moderating influence of a country's economic condition and hedonic value orientation on customer satisfaction. The results clearly oppose an emerging versus developed world thinking. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Measures that economise education are typically accompanied by discourses that prime society for change by framing the policy in individualistic and consumeristic terms. This article explores the emergence of 'value for money' (VfM) discourses in the English higher education sector. Using Bourdieu's thinking tools, we explore how VfM is conceptualised by final year undergraduates paying different levels of 'headline' tuition fees at a Russell Group and a Post-92 university. Unsurprisingly, we find qualitative evidence of an increase in VfM negativity as fees rise. However, this does not distribute evenly across different groups of students. At both institutions, undergraduates approach VfM in complex and unexpected ways, drawing on different capitals and often pushing back against dominant discourses. A key finding is that many students report high levels of satisfaction with their institution, course and teaching, while simultaneously expressing VfM negativity because they feel tuition fees are too high. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Many governments have recognised the socio-economic importance of broadband. The market often provides a broadband connection but when this does not occur governments have stepped in. Through focusing on one government intervention, Broadband Delivery UK (BDUK) in the UK, this paper highlights the cost of providing broadband connections to areas unserved by the market. The difficulty of assessing demand in such areas is illustrated, as is how the lack of transparency complicates any assessment of the value for money. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The research explored the approaches used by government agencies (as client organizations) to drive occupational health and safety (OHS) performance improvements in publicly funded infrastructure construction projects in Australia. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with 32 representatives of clients and contractors with direct and recent experience of delivering large public infrastructure projects. Interviews explored the procurement approaches taken, and the use of incentives and performance measurement. Data was subjected to inductive analysis to identify emergent concepts and themes relating to the way that New Public Management (NPM) influences the commercial management of infrastructure construction projects, with particular reference to OHS impacts. The concept of institutional logics was utilised as a theoretical frame to understand clients' behaviour in the commercial management of infrastructure projects. Client behaviour was consistent with elements of NPM and reflected a managerialist logic in the pursuit of efficiency, the use of targets, incentives and performance measurement. However, a strong professional service logic was also found to drive active client behaviour in relation to the management of OHS. Understanding the institutional logics driving client OHS practices is an important theoretical development that can stimulate reflexive practice which may create an impetus for change. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper examines the possibilities and limitations in pursuing value for money (VfM) in public procurement. There is ambiguity about the VfM concept and the methods that public procurers should be using. It is difficult for decision-makers to thoroughly understand the economic facts and valuations underlying VfM. The authors explain the conceptual VfM challenges and present a path to overcoming these with a lifecycle costing (LCC) approach in an indepth case study in the Finnish waste management context. Policy-makers and managers need to be aware that different stakeholders could have different views of what value for money (VfM) is. The authors present a new way of overcoming VfM challenges. They show that lifecycle costing (LCC) provides clear benefits for public procurers to assess the potential for VfM in the pre-tendering phase. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study examines major café experience attributes and their impacts on customers' attitudinal and behavioural outcomes in the New Zealand café industry. Based on an extended model of the consumption system approach, a set of hypotheses were developed and tested using hierarchical multiple regression. Using a sample of 205 respondents, the study found that service quality is the strongest predictor of all outcome variables (i.e., value for money, customer satisfaction, and customer loyalty intentions) which were predicted by either tangible or intangible café experience attributes. Both practical and theoretical implications of the findings are provided. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

New carriers and business models have dramatically transformed the aviation industry. Using feedback ratings from 109 carriers and 36,710 passengers, this study first shows that emerging market airlines typically offer better value-for-money propositions than their established competitors. The study then relates perceived value for money with recommendation intention. The relationship is very strong without significant outliers; true loyalty shown by such customer advocates drives a service firm's profitability. Even the best entrenched airlines should not ignore this change in competitive climate, but respond by focusing on value for money as the standard for their business model's value proposition. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Interest in quality is well established within higher education. This paper will critically review the most commonly used definitions of quality: fitness for purpose and value for money. It will point out that these two definitions are important but they ignore the emancipatory power of higher education and the development needs of academics and students. This paper will propose a new understanding of quality as a virtue of professional practice, which can be used as a useful force for individual academics and students to increase their commitment to learning and teaching. A new model of quality evaluation will be outlined as a supportive mechanism to enhance academics’ professionalism and to increase students’ capability to learn. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

The influence of electronic word of mouth (eWOM) has been heavily investigated in relation to online ratings. However, only a few studies examined the content of eWOM. From the perspective of the consideration sets model, consumers formulate an awareness set, a consideration set and a choice set before making a purchase. We argue that the formulation of these sets is influenced by eWOM based on its volume, valance and content relating to product attributes such as value for money, product sophistication and experiential feeling. In this study, the content of posts relating to Shure professional earphones in the online forum Mingo (www.mingo-hmw.com/forum) was captured and annotated. During the data collection period, Mingo was the sole online forum relating to professional earphones. Without much interference from other online forums, the circumstances of this study closely approximate a laboratory setting. In addition, we collected the actual sales, marketing costs, fault rates and number of retail stores selling the Shure professional earphones for 126 weeks. Our findings show that the weekly volume of posts, their relative number of positive (negative) comments, especially regarding value for money and sound quality, and those posts from the earlier week impinged strongly on weekly sales of Shure products. From the regression models, the explained variance in sales jumps from 0.236 to 0.732 due to the influence of eWOM. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Governments throughout the world are turning to public‒private partnerships (PPPs) as a means of providing new infrastructure. The decision to adopt a PPP over conventional government procurement is usually based on a value for money (VfM) appraisal, but this analysis is conducted differently in different countries. This article describes the correct way to conduct VfM analysis if the goal is to minimize the present value of the costs to the Treasury and if the goal is to maximize social welfare. It then compares the documented methodologies of nine specialist PPP units. It identifies four ways in which these methodologies depart from either of the correct approaches, and shows how each departure favors the PPP option. Finally, it shows how the UK approach might be augmented to determine the best value to society. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

VFM has been a key aspect of public service management for several decades and its importance has been raised in recent years as a consequence of austerity. Organizational culture is recognized in research literature as a key driver of organizational performance. However, little attention has been paid to the topic of organizational culture in relation to VFM in public services. This article presents the findings of new research in this area. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Based on 34 semi-structured interviews covering 25 university–industry collaborations (UICs) at science parks attached to Danish and Norwegian universities, this paper focuses on aspects of value creation and how to measure the performance of UICs. The research findings have resulted in a set of relevant performance measures for the UICs that have the potential to become levers of management for the modern-day university seeking to enhance the pay-off from its third core (mission) activities. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

In public management a key driver of effectiveness is value for money (VfM). This paper argues that the VfM concept suffers from conceptual ambiguity, and thus ethical implications arise when VfM is used to legitimize public buying decisions. A conceptual framework, which clarifies properties and boundaries of VfM, is proposed. Empirical data collected from public employees involved in public procurement in Ireland and a perceptual map of subjective meaning and impact of VfM are discussed. While the conceptual framework is broadly supported, it highlights different interpretations of VfM and distinguishes those employees who dent the VfM piñata from those who break it. The implications of the research in this paper include a need for more debate concerning the usefulness of the VfM concept. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

The Westminster Public Accounts Committee (PAC) is considered to be one of the most effective and important parliamentary committees. Devolution in the late 1990s resulted in the establishment of separate public accounts committees in Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland. This paper examines the effectiveness of the Northern Ireland PAC. Given the consociational nature of devolved government in Northern Ireland, and the potential for sectarian politics, the PAC has adopted an independent and non-partisan approach. Weaknesses identified in the study include a tendency to dwell on detail, and over-reliance on the Northern Ireland Audit Office. However, despite these weaknesses the committee has proven to be highly effective. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Framework agreements are emerging as a construction management tool used by public authorities to achieve value for money (VFM) services. This research aims to assess whether use of framework agreements for highways maintenance projects can result in significant improvement for performance outcomes and production and transaction costs during the construction phase. A single-case study was conducted to investigate outcomes set within the context of a major county council. Independent-samplest-tests of 164 framework and traditional discrete projects proved that there were significant improvements in performance outcomes in time (finish on time), cost (payment accuracy) and quality (defects and health and safety) resulted from the framework agreements. The independent-samplest-tests also identified significant improvements in total cost for engagement and performance monitoring but without significant changes in tender prices. Conclusions from this study support the use of framework procurement for local authority public-sector clients in highways maintenance, leading to significant improvements of performance outcomes and cost savings and hence VFM services to achieve optimal use of resources. Based on the case-study findings, an informed policy decision has been made between the county council and adjacent local authorities to implement an expanded framework agreement to cover a South East region. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

In this paper, we explore some of the keywords around which the practice of school inspection is ordered in England. As part of a project that explores the role of inspection in governing schooling in England, Scotland and Sweden, we have examined some of the key sources through which Ofsted (The Office for Standards in Education, Children's Services and Skills) publicly announces its role and purpose. In considering these texts, we have turned to Raymond Williams' conception of "keywords" (1988) to frame our analysis. We suggest that these sources are marked by the presence of a series of such keywords that underpin and legitimise the practice of school inspection by Ofsted. We conclude by considering some of the changing terminology that followed from the Coalition Government that took office in the UK in 2010 and which made education reform a centrepiece of its first period in power. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The evolution of store formats and the resultant consumers’ cross-shopping behavior has been the prevalent trends in Indian food and grocery retailing. More recently, however, the growing incidence of cross-format shopping—defined as consumers shopping regularly at each of two or more types of grocery retail outlets—has become a subject of research, as it is regarded as a necessary evil associated with concentric retail growth. The aim of the article is to identify factors influencing consumers’ cross-format shopping in relation to four retail formats—kirana stores, convenience stores, supermarkets, and hypermarkets. Furthermore, it investigates the impact of identified factors on repatronage behavior relative to four types of retail outlets. The mall intercept survey method was used to collect data from 1,040 adult food and grocery consumers. Results from exploratory factor analysis and zero-order correlation matrix indicate that value for money, value for time, shopping situations, shopping motives, and store attributes are significant and positively correlated with cross-format shopping. The multiple discriminant analysis provides empirical support, suggesting that value for money, task definitions, value for time, shopping trip pattern, basket size, price-conscious and local shopping motives, price promotions, customer service, store environment, distance to store, and monthly household income are not only the significant predictors but also able to discriminate repatronage intentions toward four types of retail outlets in an emerging retail market. The present study provides useful information on consumers' intertype cross-shopping (e.g., crossing from kirana store type to supermarket type and vice versa) between four types of grocery retail outlets. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article analyzes the shortcomings affecting social services in Spain and highlights how the control function contributes to transparency and efficiency, with the consequent improvement of citizens’ confidence. The results from a survey are presented, reflecting the opinions of the statutory auditors in Spain as to these matters. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Empowerment, accountability and redress are prime objectives of school funding in the new South Africa. This is facilitated through the National Norms and Standards for School Funding. The application of the norms has led to the development of a ‘no-fee school’ policy aimed at exempting poor parents from payment of school fees. The implementation of the policy, however, presents school governing bodies (SGBs) with challenges in managing state-allocated funds. This study was undertaken to establish the extent to which SGBs are empowered to spend and supplement their school allocations, how they account for their decisions on such spending and to determine, on the basis of the findings, implications for future policy adjustment. Given the nature of the research questions and the study context, a qualitative research design was applied. Data were collected by means of a combination of in-depth interviews and a study of documents for triangulation. The study found that though the ‘no-fee school’ policy has relieved poor parents of the pressure to pay school fees and thus enhanced children's access to schooling, it has reduced the decision-making powers of the governing bodies over the use of the decentralised funding. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

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Problem, research strategy, and findings: Delivering improved public services at lower cost, also known formally as value for money (VfM), is often the main rationale for procuring large infrastructure projects through public–private partnerships (PPPs). However, it is unclear whether the ex ante assessments of PPPs account for key planning concerns, including limitations on community consultation, contractual lock-ins that curtail public flexibility to make future plans, and a political preference for PPPs that may influence the way that projects are structured and evaluated. This set of questions is examined for 28 infrastructure PPPs delivered in Ontario, Canada, and interviews with18 senior political, government, and private-sector participants in the province's PPP industry. We find that transferring of construction risks from government to the private-sector partners drives VfM results, and may overvalue the extent to which planning related risks can be transferred. Takeaway for practice: PPP contract structures should permit more transparency during the project planning process and preserve the flexibility of governments to control key planning tasks such as user fees, service coordination and facility expansion. Strategies might include: the unbundling of construction and operation phases of the PPP in all but the most unique situations, the use of competitive dialogue tendering to deepen public–private collaboration earlier in the planning process, and the inclusion of contract rebalancing terms to better share rather than transfer project risks. Research support: This research was funded through a Standard Research Grant from the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada (Application Number: 110998). [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

While public-private partnerships (PPPs) have lately come to be seen as an attractive vehicle to deliver public services, in academic circles, opinions remain divided about their impacts and performance. While the proponents strongly justify PPPs by citing a range of benefits, including enhanced efficiency, cost savings, risk transfer, and value for money, the critics tend to dismiss such assertions and label PPPs as risky and wasteful ventures that eventually lead to much higher costs. Thus, PPPs have been the source of an intense debate and controversy. This article is a contribution to this debate. Based on a review of two leading PPP projects in Australia, it argues that although PPPs may help achieve some short-term objectives, their overall performance falls short of expectations and declared objectives. The article shows that the benefits of PPPs are often exaggerated, that the projected risk transfer is incomplete or unrealistic given the long term nature of projects, and that the contract documents governing the relationships between parties are unable to capture all risks and uncertainties. Finally, it argues that there is a need to augment capacity and skills on both sides, and to undertake a far more careful and considered assessment of the costs, benefits and risks of PPPs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Achieving good value for money (VFM) is the principal objective of any private finance initiative (PFI) project while sustaining it throughout the contract life is the greatest challenge. Empirical evidence is required to understand uncertainties surrounding VFM of PFI before finding effective ways to improve it. Variations in costs, time and client requirements are explored, between successive review stages of PFI projects from the strategic business case stage through to the operational phase. The magnitudes of these variations are established and critical parameters that influence them are identified. The research methods include a documentary analysis of the full business cases of five PFI projects and a questionnaire survey of 44 PFI projects from the healthcare and transport sectors in the UK. The findings reveal that the current VFM assessment of PFI projects is often carried out under conditions of considerable uncertainty with frequent changes in costs, timescales and client requirements. The list of critical parameters can help practitioners to identify priority areas and achieve a long-lasting VFM. The study broadens the understanding of whole life aspects of VFM of PFI projects and the interactivity of project parameters at different stages. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In 2005, the Government of India (GoI) launched an apparently excellent initiative - the Outcome Budget (OB) - with the objective of changing the culture of measuring performance in terms of the amount of money spent against the budgeted allocations, to one of measuring performance in terms of the delivery of the outcomes that people are concerned with. This paper argues that the OB has failed. This has happened because the assumptions of the theory of change underlying the OB have not been satisfied. The failure of the OB has extremely important lessons for the Independent Evaluation Office (IEO), which the GoI has decided to set up. The paper articulates the theory of change underlying the IEO. This theory assumes that policy-makers in India currently demand rigorous impact evaluations of public interventions and will continue to demand such evaluations in future, not because they have to comply with any requirement but because they really want to know the answers to the impact evaluation questions of 'what works, under what conditions does it work, for whom, what part of a given intervention works, and for how much?', so that they may draw appropriate lessons from these answers and use these lessons while designing and implementing public interventions in future. However, given Indian public officials' current culture, the IEO may not make any visible difference in development effectiveness in India. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Pharmaceutical Management Agency in New Zealand, PHARMAC, was established in 1993 at a time when growth in pharmaceutical expenditure was very high and arguably unsustainable. PHARMAC was charged with finding new and effective ways to manage expenditure growth, while also obtaining the best health outcomes for the New Zealand population. In order to help achieve this goal, PHARMAC has used Programme Budgeting Marginal Analysis. The use of Programme Budgeting Marginal Analysis, together with a capped budget and tools to generate savings, has significantly contributed to PHARMAC achieving its objective. However, there are implications of using Programme Budgeting Marginal Analysis with a capped budget. In particular, a different approach is required when undertaking and using cost--utility analysis (focused strongly on relative cost--effectiveness), and the opportunity cost of poor decisions is magnified significantly. As the demand on pharmaceutical expenditure continues to rise, the opportunity cost of not having a capped budget and tools for controlling pharmaceutical subsidies will only increase. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Public-private partnerships (PPPs) have been applied widely in the global construction market. During the life cycle of PPP projects, their performance could be affected by a number of factors and their interactions, which might cause the inefficiency and ineffectiveness of the projects. Previous researches on PPPs mainly concentrated on the procurement, success measurement and risk management of PPPs, but paid little attention to the process factors that can strongly influence the performance of PPPs. In order to improve process and performance management in PPPs, the performance objectives and key performance indicators (KPIs) are identified to improve the partnership outcomes. Based on the goal-setting theory, 15 performance objectives are selected. The relative significance and difference of performance objectives for different stakeholders are presented based on a structured questionnaire survey. The survey results show that all identified objectives are important. In spite of stakeholders' common opinions on the objectives of quality, costs, time and the services provided by PPPs, there are evident differences in the objectives of budget constraints of the public sector, risks, revenue and guarantees. According to the survey results, a conceptual KPIs framework is established. Furthermore, the KPIs are identified to assess PPP projects' performance. The performance objectives and the KPIs, which can be used to identify the strengths and weaknesses of PPP projects, are useful tools for effective project performance management in PPPs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A fundamental platform of healthcare reform in the UK is the commissioning of services on behalf of primary care trusts, supported by the use of a tariff, payment by results and pay for performance. The basic currency of commissioning is care pathways and the aim of this paper is to identify how commissioning of laboratory medicine (pathology) services fits into this commissioning framework. The paper describes how the laboratory services contribute in several ways to optimise the care pathway, to secure the best outcomes for patients and the best value for money for the taxpayer. In so doing it highlights the fact that the laboratory service is a key enabler of change, and that commissioning of laboratory services should be based on what it contributes to the care pathway, rather than the number of results that it can deliver for a given price, ie commissioning vs procurement. Some examples are given where tests facilitate redesign of care pathways, as well as how the laboratory plays a role in performance management of services. The reader will also become aware of the challenges of commissioning laboratory services from this perspective - as well as the benefits of this approach. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper reports the outcome of an investigation into the construction costs in 11 motorway projects. The projects formed one length of road and were of identical specification; five of the projects were undertaken by a traditional design, tender, construct method, and five were undertaken by a procurement system by which the contractor bid a lump sum for the work and so absorbed potential risks and benefits from changes in prices of resources or fluctuations in quantities of work necessary for the completion of the work. One project was undertaken by a design and build method. The results of the analysis indicate that in roadworks the construction cost per kilometre of road is some 11% less expensive when lump sum contracts are used. This benefit appears to be more pronounced in the case of bridge structures incorporated into the motorway. Of greater significance is the cost certainty that is afforded using the lump sum methods. The research showed that lump sum projects were much more likely to be completed within the budget. Finally the lump sum methods required less management by the client organization and delivered more harmonious working relationships between the client and contractor. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The wherewithal of achieving best value in private finance initiative (PFI) projects and the associated problems therein are documented. In the UK, PFI has offered a solution to the problem of securing necessary investment at a time of severe public expenditure restraint. In PFI schemes, the public sector clients must secure value for money, while the private sector service providers must genuinely assume responsibility for project risks. A broad-based investigation into PFI risk management informs the discussion in this paper. It is based on 68 interviews with PFI participants and a case study of eight PFI projects. The research participants comprised of contractors, financial institutions, public sector clients, consultants and facilities management organizations. The qualitative software Atlas.ti was used to analyse the textual data generated. The analysis showed that the achievement of best value requirements through PFI should hinge on: detailed risk analysis and appropriate risk allocation, drive for faster project completion, curtailment in project cost escalation, encouragement of innovation in project development, and maintenance cost being adequately accounted for. Factors that continue to challenge the achievement of best value are: high cost of the PFI procurement process, lengthy and complex negotiations, difficulty in specifying the quality of service, pricing of facility management services, potential conflicts of interests among those involved in the procurement, and the public sector clients' inability to manage consultants. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Risk transfer is an essential element of the private finance initiative. It also makes an important contribution to value for money estimates. Indeed many PFI projects only achieve value for money because of the risk transfer contribution. A participant observation study was carried out to assess how risk was evaluated in a PFI project. Issues related to the lack of an evidence-based approach to risk assessment, the potential dominance of a very small number of risks and difficulties of imposing penalties on the contractor are discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article examines the state of PFI in the UK following an amendment published by the ASB to FRS 5. It was predicted that this amendment would mean that most properties constructed by the private sector, on behalf of the public sector, would have suddenly to appear on the balance sheets of the latter. This would have led to an unacceptable level of public sector borrowing and could have undermined the entire rationale for the scheme. Having outlined the objectives of PFI and explained the attitude adopted by the ASB, the article examines the reaction of HM Treasury. The article then demonstrates the likely consequences of the main parties in PFI contracts passing on as much risk as possible to the private sector so as to ensure that the assets remain off balance sheet. It concludes by assessing the expected impact that these actions will have on value for money. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]