ABSTRACT
The various New Public Management (NPM) models which have been adopted (to different degrees) by local authorities within England and Wales since the early 1980s, have all involved the attempted achievement of improved value for money in terms of the three E's: economy, efficiency and effectiveness. Latterly the emphasis has moved more towards the 'effectiveness' end of this spectrum with renewed interest, via, most recently, New Labour's Best Value (BV) policies. Two broad perspectives can be identified in the BV research. The survey results suggest that the BV programme in the case study organisation was only partially realising the potential benefits available from BV approaches to service planning and delivery - of being able to tailor services more specifically (and hence more efficiently and effectively) to the more clearly identified needs and wants of service users and the local community.
