Building Best Value Capacity

Aligning Capacity, Strategy and Sustainable Outcomes

The Building Best Value Capacity project (the project) is working directly with two groups of councils in a ‘best value’ service review of two individually identified and agreed on services of medium size and complexity.

The review will follow the ‘A guide to achieving a whole of organisation approach to best value’ (PDF 269kb) publication (Local Government Victoria and Local Government Professional Inc).

The project will assess the contribution of best value in the agreed service areas to overall operational efficiency and service delivery of the councils and their communities.

Why are we doing it?

Best value is a key enabler within the Local Government Act (1989) to support a council’s obligation to develop a planning framework that achieves operational efficiencies, effective long-term planning, high levels of accountability and transparent performance reporting.  There is an emerging body of evidence highlighting that whilst councils have embraced organisational and process reform, it has largely been done on the basis of compliance and has not achieved, in all cases, service improvements or greater levels of accountability.  

The Victorian Auditor General’s Office has found that there was no evidence that three of the four councils that were examined when researching the ’Business Planning for Major Capital Works and Recurrent Services in Local Government’ (September 2010) report had systematically analysed the best value principles in the services examined, and that there was a need for them to do so.

Project outcomes

Outcomes of this project will include:

  • An informed understanding of the contribution of best value to councils
  • Increased awareness of the capacity within councils to manage a best value review
  • Operational efficiencies in the best value process for councils
  • Benefits of collaboration in best value reviews and comparisons across ‘like’ councils assessed and communicated
  • Recommendations on how to implement better practice best value processes in councils
  • A review of the current document ‘A guide to achieving a whole of organisation approach to best value’ (PDF 269kb) publication (Local Government Victoria and Local Government Professionals Inc) to include findings and recommendations of the project.

Who is participating and what us being reviewed?

1.    North East Regional Victoria
Alpine, Campaspe, Indigo, Moira and Towong councils are undertaking a Best Value review of their records management service.

2.    Metropolitan Melbourne Group
Brimbank, Darebin, Maroondah, Manningham and Maribrynong councils are undertaking a Best Value review of their customer service.

Further information

If you would like further information on the project, please contact Local Government Victoria.

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