Best Value:

EmStyles is a leader in the understanding of the Best Value legislative requirements of the Victorian Government.

When local councils seriously review the services they decide to undertake, using a Best Value approach to such reviews leads to robust and healthy challenges and debate. Best Value demands involvement and ultimate ownership of services delivered by the local community.  A Best Value approach to services reviews incorporates six principles. These are legislated in section 208 B of the Victorian Local Government Act 1989 (as amended).

Summarised, the six principles are that all services provided by a Council must meet particular quality and cost standards as overviewed by the legislation; must be responsive to the needs of its community; must be accessible to community members for which the services are intended; services must be continuously improved; a council must develop a program of regular consultation with its community about services provided, and a council must report regularly to its community about how well it achieves adherence to these principles. EmStyles can assist in the undertaking of these reviews. EmStyles can ensure that the services that really matter are reviewed to the benefit of the local community.  EmStyles can show local government service deliverers how to apply these principles to any services being delivered by any municipality in Australia or elsewhere.

Malcolm Styles is a trailblazer in Best Value research. Malcolm undertook a case study Best Value research approach based on Wangaratta Council when completing a Master of Business (Research) thesis through Latrobe University. The thesis was entitled ‘Local Government Reform in Victoria – The Culture of Best Value at the Rural City of Wangaratta’. From his research and within the limitations of the use of a case study approach, Malcolm found that there is a wide variation in approach by municipalities that has occurred in Victoria to apply the legislated principles of Best Value. Comparisons of progress have not been recently undertaken in Victoria.

Malcolm surmised that the factors of improvement frameworks and their tools (for example, Business Excellence, Organisational Culture Inventories, Leadership Style inventories and the like), the attitudes of CEOs and Councillors, the commitment of successive State governments and relevant ministers and advisory staff, and indeed the reaction of local communities are essentially the drivers   (and their antitheses) and shapers of Best Value service delivery improvements.

The profound lack of performance indicators, so crucial to the success of measuring improvement or otherwise to Council services delivery, was found to be evident. This is particularly so in the critical areas of asset and infrastructure needs in this environment of massive climate changes. Uncertainties in the provision of consistent and reliable funding sources for infrastructure under the care and control of local government continue to be of concern.

Malcolm found that a great deal more experimentation, analysis and documentation of best practices in engaging local communities in governance and public service delivery outcomes is urgently needed. How to raise the interest of local communities in these public services, how they can influence what services need to be added, or removed, or radically changed are major challenges that local government is best placed to, and can, address.