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Measuring Public Value

Since 1995 public value has increasingly become a hot topic in public management research and practice.
  • Public value is “the value created by government through services, laws regulation and other actions’ (Kelly et al. 2002)
  • “It is produced by public managers successfully navigating a strategic triangle encompassing (1) producing valued outcomes, and doing so within the constraints of (2) available resources and capability, and (3) the authorizing environment of formal and informal jurisdiction, legal frameworks, and mandate”(Faulkner and Kaufman, 2018: 70)
Despite abundant literature, how to measure the extent to which public organizations are generating value is still a big problem for researchers unable to quantitatively study the causes, consequences and correlates of public value. It is also a problem for practitioners.
Faulkner and Kaufman (2018) systematically reviewed the growing literature on public value measurement to identify, evaluate, and qualitatively synthesize in a framework four key components for measuring public value.
  1. outcome achievement
  2. trust and legitimacy
  3. service delivery quality
  4. efficiency
These four themes are the key dimensions essential for measuring public value.
Mobirise
  • Outcome achievement refers to the extent to which a public body is improving publicly valued outcomes across a wide variety of areas.
  • Trust and legitimacy refer to the extent to which an organization and its activities are trusted and perceived to be legitimate by the public and by key stakeholders. This measurement dimension includes the extent to which the public trust (1) the particular institution, trust (2) the programs or services delivered by institution and (3) perceive an institution to be delivering services transparently and fairly.
  • Service Delivery Quality refers to the extent to which services are experienced as being delivered in high-quality manner that is considerate of users’ needs.
  • Efficiency refers to the extent to which an organization is achieving maximal benefits with minimal resources.
Faulkner, N., & Kaufman, S. (2018). Avoiding theoretical stagnation: A systematic review and framework for measuring public value. Australian Journal of Public Administration, 77(1), 69-86.
Kelly, G., G. Mulgan and S. Muers. (2002). Creating Public Value: An Analytical Framework for Public Service Reform. London: UK Cabinet Office.