Delivering Outcomes in the Public Sector

Delivering Outcomes in the Public Sector is practical guidance for anyone with a role or interest in improving public services and ensuring that public money is directed towards meeting the needs of citizens. It uses an outcomes approach to address challenges in public spending.

Outcomes are a way of defining effectiveness, or benefits, but in order to assess value for money, practitioners need to consider costs as well as benefits. Political judgement is also required to determine spending priorities depending on the relative importance of different outcomes.

The rationale for an outcomes approach – a way of thinking and working that focuses on things that customers value – seems self-evident, but public sector organisations face significant challenges in:

• translating outcomes into measurable indicators of performance
• assessing the impact that a particular service or programme has on outcomes.

This guidance provides advice about how to navigate these challenges and avoid the various pitfalls that can trap the unwary. Key points are illustrated with examples that give a real insight into the detailed work required to plan and implement an outcomes approach.

The book acknowledges that public sector organisations operate in a world of uncertainty and that sometimes they must experiment in order to improve outcomes, especially when they are dealing with complex social issues.

This publication is available in online format only.

Details of licensing arrangements for other categories of purchaser, which includes those organisations operating shared service arrangements, are available from CIPFA's Publications Department.