Institute for Public Service Value Launched

Accenture yesterday launched a new institute designed to help public-sector organizations improve the delivery of services. Bringing together leading academics, officials and government service providers, the Accenture Institute for Public Service Value will promote the concepts of public-service value globally and identify strategies for helping governments increase the effectiveness and efficiency of their service delivery.

The mission of the institute is to promote excellence in government, policy and service delivery through research and development on the creation of public value. Initially with centers of operation in London and in Washington, D.C., the institute will:

• Promote discussion and research around the concepts of public service value and how to use these concepts to improve public policy, the delivery of public services and social outcomes.
• Bring together in those discussions academics, public managers, elected officials and providers of services to government to gain their insights on and broaden their understanding and knowledge of public service delivery.
• Develop practical methods of applying the concepts of public value to the day-to-day management of public bodies.

Led by a number of "Institute Fellows," who will represent the leading thinkers and achievers in the creation of public service value, the Institute will convene conferences, host dialogues, and undertake, commission and publish research from its associated institutions and Fellows. Specifically, the Institute will:

• Convene a small number of public conferences each year to discuss the concepts of public value and set the agenda for debate on public value worldwide.
• Establish a series of structured dialogues between academics, managers, elected officials and other interested persons to explore issues of public value.
• Produce case studies and points of view on good practice in public services.
• Undertake research and commission research from associated institutions into particular aspects of public value and more generally into policy excellence and the delivery of high-performing public services.

"The Accenture Institute for Public Service Value represents a commitment to determining how governments and other public service organizations can provide greater benefits for their constituents by focusing management on creation of public value," said Greg Parston, director of the Accenture Institute for Public Service Value. "The launch of this Institute is the culmination of many years of study by Accenture into what drives value in the public sector and incorporates the learning gained from application of our innovative Public Service Value model across public services."

Accenture's Public Service Value (PSV) model adapts the core concepts of shareholder value from the business world to define and measure governments' return for tax money spent. The model tracks public-service organizations' performance against two factors: outcomes (the purpose and goals of the organization in delivery of services to citizens) and cost-effectiveness (minimizing cost without compromising the quality of services). Those organizations -- which include government agencies, non-profit organizations and private-sector companies that provide services traditionally delivered primarily by governments --can then identify intended social outcomes and determine which actions and strategies are the most meaningful for improving public value.

The Public Service Value Institute was formally launched today at Accenture's Unlocking Public Value forum, which featured remarks from Institute participants Professor Mark Moore of Harvard University's John F Kennedy School of Government, who spoke on the next evolution in the public value debate, and Philip Cullum, deputy chief executive at the National Consumer Council, who spoke on the citizen's perspective on public service delivery.