For the private sector, value is created when we transform inputs into outputs of higher worth. Think of aircraft manufacturers who turn titanium into aeroplanes, or how the automobile industry makes million-dollar luxury cars out of steel. But when it comes to the public sector — a branch of a country that exists not for profits, but for societal wellbeing — how can it create value? In the age where private solutions are considered answers to even public problems, does the public sector still have any value left?
These questions lead Mark Moore, Professor of Nonprofit Organizations, to create a strategic framework that helps public sector managers define purposes of their public services, and turn them into what the truly people need. Meet the “Public Value Framework.”
What is the Public Value Framework?
As the name suggests, the Public Value Framework is a strategic management concept that asks you to think beyond the needs and expectations of your higher-ups. The central questions to this framework are what kind of public services are valued by the members of the society, and what kind of the public sphere you want to create?
Example – define public value.
You might be tasked to deal with ageing society and the changing composition of the demography from the healthcare perspective. Originally you might intend to contribute to the society by boosting fertility rate, so that the volume of the future labour force could be further expanded. However, you found out that people did not want to have kids. Instead, they wanted a variety of interventions to take place before starting a family, such as reduction of cost of living, child welfare, and dismantlement of oppressive gender norms that put women under extreme pressure to perform the role of a “good wife/mother/caretaker” and deprived them of all forms of independence.
To respond to a multidimensional issue such as this, you might want to approach population-related healthcare services from a more holistic angle. It could be active ageing programs for elderly people who wish to remain socially engaged, learn, and work. Or parental support that does not reinforce heteronormative gender norms and include all forms of kinship (ones that are not blood relation or do not follow the current legal definition of a family). The options are limitless, but should be aligned with the priorities and benefits of the public.
Another example is urban planning. Let’s say that you are in charge of revitalising a local community in an old town area. Your original plan was to bring more visitors and investors to the neighbourhood. But by doing so, the rent would skyrocket, pushing local business owners out of their own community. Due to urban rebranding policy, marginalised members of the community — such as unhoused people or sex workers — might also face aggressive takedown from the police as well. What you think is a good value might not be beneficial to the community you are trying to help. At the end a value of a public body will have to be decided, but what is also crucial is the decision-making process — who has the power to craft the meanings of value, and on what grounds?
After the value of your services are defined with clarity, the following question is how can you make your services function according to that value and with legitimacy? To answer this question, Moore developed a tool called “the strategic triangle.”
The Strategic Triangle
The strategic triangle consists of 3 key elements in value creation: public value, authorization, and operational capacity. Each cannot be separated from others, as all 3 of them are crucial to the success of your mission. The challenge here is to maintain the balance between the 3 interdependent elements.
- Public value – what are the outcomes of pursuing public value?
- Authorisation – who provides support and legitimate grounds for your mission? Can you create an environment where support will be sustained for a long term?
- Operational capacity – do you have enough operational resources (e.g. budget, staff, administrative support) for performing your mission? Can you locate where your operational resources come from, internally and externally speaking?
Let’s take a look at how the Government of South Australia utilises the strategic triangle for “Better Together,” a program that provides South Australian public sector employees with engagement strategies.
Source: Working Together: A Joined-Up Policy Guide
Firstly, the Government defines the public value outcomes of Better Together in relation to 8 public sector values (service; professionalism; trust; respect; collaboration and engagement; honesty and integrity; courage and tenacity; and sustainability). The results are 1) positive social and environmental impact, 2) increased public engagement, and 3) increased efficiency or effectiveness.
After solidifying the basis of their mission, they look for key components for the authorisation of their program. This includes 1) the legislative, regulatory, and policy environment, 2) community expectation, and 3) the political environment.
As for operational resources, 1) staff, 2) finance, and 3) ICT and other resources have been identified as necessities to the delivery of the program. It uses joined-up approaches, or collaborative policy design process that foregrounds flexible and creative ideation and change of work/organisational culture.
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Brown, Prudence R., et al. “Understanding Public Value – Why Does It Matter?” Taylor and Francis Online | https://bit.ly/4a45RMY
Farooque, Mahmud, et al. “Public Value Evidence for Public Value Outcomes: Integrating Public Values into Federal Policymaking.” Federation of American Scientists, 19 Oct. 2022 | https://bit.ly/46H7c9y
Moore, Mark H. “An Analytic Note for a Webinar on 28, 2017 Mark H. Moore August 21, 2017.” Harvard Kennedy School, 21 Aug. 2017 | https://bit.ly/3GsyG89
“The Strategic Triangle: How to Approximate a Compelling Measure of Public Value in Government.” ANZSOG, 27 Jan. 2016 | https://bit.ly/46HfBK3
“The Strategic Triangle: How to Approximate a Compelling Measure of Public Value in Government.” ANZSOG, 27 Jan. 2016 | https://bit.ly/3ReW3HA
“Working Together: A Joined-Up Policy Guide .” SA Health | https://bit.ly/3Gyvw2F