Maximizing Public Value
How Governments Can Make Smarter Decisions
Happy Tuesday, Transformation Friends. Another week, another opportunity to go Beyond the Status Quo.
This week, we’re exploring a critical topic for public sector leaders: how governments define, measure, and maximize public value. If you work in government, policy, or public service delivery, understanding value creation is essential to making better decisions and ensuring that taxpayer dollars are spent wisely.
This post is based on a longer white paper I’ve put together on the subject. I encourage anyone interested in this topic to have a look at it. In particular, there are some excellent references, tools, and further reading.
Grab your morning coffee, and let’s get started.
Governments Are in the Business of Value Creation
For governments, value is about more than dollars and cents. Unlike the private sector value chains, which measure success through profit and shareholder value, public sector organizations create value by delivering societal benefits.
The challenge? Measuring and proving that impact in a way that leads to better decision-making.
Public sector value includes tangible and intangible benefits (like cost savings and economic growth) (like increased citizen trust and improved service quality). The complexity of defining and quantifying public value means governments need structured frameworks to guide investment decisions and track success. That’s where business cases, performance tracking, and value quantification come into play.
While researching this subject, I discovered great work done by the Treasury Board Secretariat of Canada (TBS) in 2009. This work highlights two key frameworks that are worth pointing out:
The Business Case: Setting Up for Success
A strong business case needs to be the starting point.
Unlike in the private sector, which focuses on financial returns, public sector business cases must align with policy goals, strategic objectives, and measurable societal benefits. They need to ask: How will this initiative improve lives? Is it the best way to spend public funds?
Best practices include:
Cost-Benefit Analysis (CBA): We must evaluate whether a project’s long-term benefits justify its costs. CBAs should be mandated for major investments to ensure resource efficiency. Canada’s TBS Business Case Guide prescribes using financial metrics like net present value (NPV) and benefit-cost ratios. At the same time, the UK’s Green Book and the U.S. OMB Circular A-94 outline similar rigorous methodologies.
Social Return on Investment (SROI): Public sector programs often yield non-financial benefits. SROI quantifies social outcomes—such as reduced unemployment and improved public health—in monetary terms, helping governments assess broader impacts. Used alongside CBA, SROI provides a more comprehensive evaluation of initiatives like job training, early childhood education, and healthcare improvements.
Value Cases: Canada’s Value Case approach, outlined in TBS’s Outcomes Management Framework, explicitly links proposals to public value outcomes. This method prioritizes real-world benefits over procedural compliance, integrating financial and non-financial factors into decision-making. It ensures that government investments align with strategic goals and maximize societal impact.
Balancing Tangible and Intangible Benefits: While not all value can be measured in dollars, governments must avoid categorizing all benefits as intangible. Increased citizen trust and satisfaction, better regulatory compliance, and environmental sustainability must be accounted for but should complement—rather than replace—quantifiable financial metrics. A balanced approach ensures both measurable and qualitative benefits are integrated into decision-making, providing a clear understanding of actual value creation.
Tracking Performance: Making Sure Promises Are Kept
The work doesn’t end when a project is approved. Governments need structured mechanisms to track performance, measure success, and ensure public funds deliver the intended societal benefits. This includes rigorous performance measurement frameworks, benefits realization strategies, and independent audits to assess efficiency, effectiveness, and long-term impact. Proactive oversight allows for continuous improvement and course correction, ensuring public value is maximized over time. This requires:
Key Performance Indicators (KPIs): Tracking progress on goals such as improved service delivery, reduced wait times, or higher public satisfaction.
Benefits Realization Frameworks: Ensuring that a project delivers its intended outcomes over time, not just that it was completed on time and within budget.
Value-for-Money (VfM) Audits: Independent assessments by bodies like the UK’s National Audit Office or Canada’s Auditor General ensure projects achieve results efficiently and effectively.
Stakeholder Engagement: Regular reporting and public feedback mechanisms help validate whether government initiatives meet public needs.
Defining and Measuring Public Value
Public sector value is complex and multi-dimensional. To measure it effectively, governments use a range of frameworks:
The ‘3 E’s’ Framework (with Emerging Equity Consideration): Traditionally, value-for-money has been assessed based on:
Economy (Were costs minimized?)
Efficiency (Did resources achieve maximum output?)
Effectiveness (Did the project achieve its intended goals?)
A modern approach increasingly considers a fourth factor—Equity (Were benefits distributed fairly across different social groups?). While not historically part of the core framework, equity is gaining importance as governments strive to ensure public investments promote inclusivity and accessibility. This addition helps assess whether initiatives address the needs of vulnerable or underserved communities, ensuring fairer outcomes and broader societal impact.
Logic Models & Value Chains: Mapping out how resources (inputs) translate into services (outputs) and ultimately societal benefits (outcomes).
Social and Environmental Metrics: Assigning monetary values to social improvements (e.g., improved quality of life) and environmental benefits (e.g., carbon emissions reductions).
Survey & Public Feedback: Public trust and satisfaction are essential indicators of government success and should be regularly measured.
Best Practices for Public Value Management
So, how can governments maximize public value? Here are some key takeaways:
Start with the End in Mind: Clearly define the outcomes a project is meant to achieve before investing resources.
Integrate Financial and Social Metrics: Blend cost-benefit analysis with qualitative assessments to capture the complete picture of impact.
Use Transparent Performance Tracking: Regularly report on progress, measure results, and adjust strategies based on data.
Engage Stakeholders: Citizens, businesses, and public servants should have a voice in defining and assessing value.
Embrace a Culture of Continuous Improvement: Governments should learn from past investments, refine their frameworks, and evolve their value measurement approaches.
Wrap-Up
Public sector value is not abstract; it’s the foundation of good governance and responsible stewardship of taxpayer dollars. Governments that adopt rigorous value-based decision-making frameworks will be better positioned to make impactful, sustainable investments that improve lives.
Let’s reflect on these questions together:
How does your organization define value, and do you have a structured way of measuring it?
Are your investments evaluated based on long-term impact, or are they more focused on short-term outputs?
What mechanisms do you use to track and communicate the success of public sector initiatives?
Let’s continue the conversation—because going Beyond the Status Quo means rethinking how we define, track, and maximize public value.
Until next time, stay curious, and I’ll see you Beyond the Status Quo.
Full Reference List
Canada, 2009. Business Case Guide. [Online]
Available at: https://www.canada.ca/en/treasury-board-secretariat/services/information-technology-project-management/project-management/business-case-guide.html
Canada, 2009. Outcome Management Guide and Tools. [Online]
Available at: https://www.canada.ca/en/treasury-board-secretariat/services/information-technology-project-management/project-management/outcome-management-guide-tools.html
Canada, 2016. Requirements for developing, managing and reviewing regulations. [Online]
Available at: https://www.canada.ca/en/government/system/laws/developing-improving-federal-regulations/requirements-developing-managing-reviewing-regulations/guidelines-tools.html
Harvard, 2020. Creating Public Value: Concept Note. [Online]
Available at: https://www.cityleadership.harvard.edu/wp-content/uploads/migrate/BHCLI_PublicValue_0028CN.pdf
Horn, C., 2014. CBA of transport infrastructure projects. [Online]
Available at: https://www.itf-oecd.org/sites/default/files/docs/horn-germanycba.pdf
Jenner, S., 2012. Managing Benefits. s.l.:APMG-International.
New South Wales, 2025. Benefits Management Guide. [Online]
Available at: https://www.treasury.nsw.gov.au/information-public-entities/centre-for-economic-evidence/benefits-management-guide
New Zealand, 2010. Public sector expenditure: A simple framework for evaluating value for money and identifying waste. [Online]
Available at: https://www.treasury.govt.nz/sites/default/files/2010-03/tgls-hansen-pse.pdf
Queensland, 2023. Performance Management. [Online]
Available at: https://www.forgov.qld.gov.au/recruitment-performance-and-career/employee-management-conduct-and-performance/conduct-and-performance/performance-management
United Kingdom, 2017. Delivering better outcomes for citizens: practical steps for unlocking public value. [Online]
Available at: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/delivering-better-outcomes-for-citizens-practical-steps-for-unlocking-public-value
United Kingdom, 2019. Public Value Framework and supplementary guidance. [Online]
Available at: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/public-value-framework-and-supplementary-guidance
United Kingdom, 2020. Public Services (Social Value) Act 2012. [Online]
Available at: https://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/2012/3
United Kingdom, 2024. The Green Book. [Online]
Available at: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/the-green-book-appraisal-and-evaluation-in-central-government/the-green-book-2020
United Kingdom, n.d. Assessing value for money. [Online]
Available at: https://www.nao.org.uk/successful-commissioning/general-principles/value-for-money/assessing-value-for-money/
United States, 1993. Government Performance and Results Act (GPRA). [Online]
Available at: https://www.dol.gov/agencies/eta/performance/goals/gpra
United States, 2010. Performance Framework. [Online]
Available at: https://www.performance.gov/about/performance-framework
United States, 2023. OMB Circular A-94. [Online]
Available at: https://www.whitehouse.gov/wp-content/uploads/2023/11/CircularA-94.pdf
Wikipedia, 2025. Social return on investment. [Online]
Available at: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Social_return_on_investment