Some Puzzles and Paradoxes of the Efficiency Agenda?and a Way Forward

Griffiths, David

doi:10.1111/j.1467-9302.2006.00545.x

Cited by 3 publications

(3 citation statements)

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“…The recent central government proposals for new local government structures clearly assume the presence of signifi cant scale economies: "some district councils are too small to have the capacity to secure efficiency" (DCLG, 2006, p. 62). Moreover, a slew of other reforms have sought to address effi ciency and corporate capacity in councils more generally (Griffi ths, 2006;Quirk, 2005). Does the relative level of 'back offi ce' expenditure rise or fall with the scale of the population being served?…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Size, Structure and Administrative Overheads: An Empirical Analysis of English Local Authorities

2009

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The relationship is analysed between size, local government structure and administrative overheads in English local authorities. Size and structure effects are tested while controlling for a range of other variables, including the relative prosperity of the local population and the diversity of their service needs. The empirical results show that population size consistently has a linear negative effect: central administrative costs are lower in larger local authorities. The results also show that, controlling for size, administrative overheads are higher for councils in the lower tier of the existing two-tier system. The analysis provides support for arguments that economies of scale might be achieved by amalgamating smaller councils into larger units and by combining counties and districts into unitary authorities.

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Size, Structure and Administrative Overheads: An Empirical Analysis of English Local Authorities

2009

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“…Devising good performance indicators, particularly to measure quality of service provision, is certainly harder than measuring financial data. Effective performance measurement for efficiency programmes can be particularly elusive (Griffiths, 2006). But good performance measurement is crucial in effective performance management.…”

Section: Performance Informationmentioning

confidence: 99%

Managing for efficiency: lessons from the United Kingdom’s Efficiency Agenda 2004–2010

Robinson¹

2012

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The call for greater efficiency in public spending is not new, but today has additional force: how can we deliver more for (even) less? A combination of high public expectations about service quality and prolonged fiscal constraint requires New Zealand government departments to focus on the highest spending priorities, find more innovative ways to deliver services, and create efficiencies wherever possible (State Services Commission, 2010a, 2010b). The urgent need to refocus on providing smarter, better public services for less was a consistent theme over the past few years in public statements made by the previous secretary to the Treasury, John Whitehead. Whitehead identified developments in the public sector in the United Kingdom as a potential model for New Zealand, particularly the speed with which ‘new thinking [was] converted into action’ in the pursuit of efficiency (Whitehead, 2010), and referenced in particular a programme launched in the UK in 2004 as an innovative public reform initiative from which New Zealand might learn (Whitehead, 2009a).

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“…The promotion of public private partnerships, including the Private Finance Initiative, has been established within the policy framework since 1992 (e.g., Mayston, 1999). The promotion of collaborative working between public sector bodies in the UK is a more recent phenomenon, promoted by central government under various themes such as ‘Modernising Government’ (Cabinet Office, 1999; and Kurunmaki and Miller, 2006), ‘The Efficiency Agenda’ (Gershon, 2004; and Griffiths, 2006), ‘Joined up Government’ (NAO, 2001; Ling, 2002; and Moore and Keen, 2007) and collaboration (Huxham and Vangen, 2000; and Entwistle and Martin, 2005). In a local authority setting, partnership working is promulgated for both strategic purposes (Strategic Partnering Taskforce, 2004) and to promote local government service transformation (DCLG, 2006a).…”

Section: New Public Management Modernisation and Collaborationmentioning

confidence: 99%

Local Authority E‐government Partnerships in England: A Case Study

Hodges

Grubnic

2010

Financ Acc Manag

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This paper uses a case study of an e‐government partnership of ten local authorities to consider how governance structures, financial arrangements and performance management systems may promote or inhibit successful collaborative working. The case is considered within the contexts of continuing new public management reforms including the balance between formal performance measurement indicators imposed by higher authorities and the scope for dialogue in the development of performance management systems. The case supports a view that collaborative working can benefit from a governance structure supporting a consistency of objectives of the partners operating within similar political and regulatory environments. Externally imposed performance indicators are significant to the partner authorities but their influence does not exclude the possibility of more dialogue‐driven performance management systems being developed within the partnership. Sustainability of the partnership is never assured and tensions develop as a result of developing priorities of individual authorities, the possibility of local government reorganisation and changing national policy initiatives.

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Some Puzzles and Paradoxes of the Efficiency Agenda?and a Way Forward

Cited by 3 publications

References 0 publications

Size, Structure and Administrative Overheads: An Empirical Analysis of English Local Authorities

Size, Structure and Administrative Overheads: An Empirical Analysis of English Local Authorities

Managing for efficiency: lessons from the United Kingdom’s Efficiency Agenda 2004–2010

Local Authority E‐government Partnerships in England: A Case Study

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