Mark Moore from the Kennedy School of Government brought the concept of public value to the fore. It is starting to exercise the minds of government and think tanks on both sides of the Atlantic. Democracy according to Abe Lincoln is a government of the people, by the people, for the people. Is it then possible to have decision making by the people? How do the public value the various initiatives at the moment.
Public Value seeks to engage people in the decisions that impact their lives. It looks at how decisions are made to benefit people. Any spending or policy should maximise what people see as value to them. Most governments tend to take the view that they know what is right for people. This suggests that governments know better than us. Public value looks at how the public can become involved in the decision making process so that they understand the dilemmas facing public sector decision makers.
So why is public value gaining favour. There is a bigger push for localised and decentralised decision making. One size does not fit all. If the public gets involved in local decision making there is the option of democracy working better. Politicians and governments realise that the public does not engage with the governing process other than at elections. Get us involved and we might feel better about how our contributions to taxes etc.
Sceptics will say this is another talking shop. If Public value is to work it is more than inputs, outputs and processes. There must be discernible outcomes. A simple example might be safety and security. The input might be more police and output reduction in crime statistics. However, if people do not feel any safer then is having more police good public value? On the other hand more visible policing with the same number might make us feel safer. The public will place a higher value on this. This is going to be rolled out across much of the US and UK.
This is the next big thing in government. We wait to see how this unfolds.
Why can't we go back to having politicians of the left, right or centre that say what they mean and mean what they say? I think people just want their elected representatives to get on with the job they were elected to do. Leaders are too concerned with public opinion polls and focus groups, rather than simply being pragmatic and dealing with current issues. We all knew what Mrs Thatcher stood for. Whether we agreed with her or not, she was always consistent in her views. We knew exactly where she was coming from. The only guy who tells it as it is these days in the UK is George Galloway. Respect George!
ReplyDeletePublic Value is not about a talking shop but actuall attempting to take the power away from the policy wonks. I suspect if we had public value test PFI and foundation hospitals and city academies would not exist.
ReplyDeleteMy only worry is the right wing bigots get to determine what public value means.
Put the public first.
A few rambling thoughts -
ReplyDelete1) I think the trend is centralisation and Global Government. World Health, World Bank etc. The "powers that be" see the breakdown of countries due to economic mismanagement as the opportunity to further reduce local control.
2) What if "the public" say we want capital and corporal punishment back in our locality? Do we give the public what they want?
3) The whole trend has been to remove the really important decisions away from sovereign parliaments ie. from the UK to the European Union.
4) You now have Nick Griffin representing the UK in Europe, voted in by a very small turnout in the north west of England. I suppose he represents the "public value" of the folk up there.
5) From my limited reading of work by Mark Moore of Harvard, my understanding is that this idea of public value has been implemented largely in public sector organisations and NGO's. Notable examples in the UK are the BBC and Accenture. I am not sure how this would work in the private sector where the shareholder is King.
Public Value thinking in the UK is being driven by the Work Foundation and HM Treasury.
ReplyDeleteMy initial view of the Work Foundation is that they are looking for public inclusion in decision making and/or decisions for the public benefit. The civil servant does not always know best!!!
The Treasury on the other hand is looking at value for money. The question is who does the value for money relate to? There is this element of democratisation that is being attempted.
If we do get a change is government then there is likely to be a shift to local government according to the Tory plans. This is when public governance tests will have to come in.
clear as mud.