Strategy and Service Improvement in Local Government, 2002-2003

<P>Abstract copyright UK Data Service and data collection copyright owner.</P><br>A large literature suggests that strategic management makes a difference to the performance of firms in the private sector. Little attention has been devoted, by contrast, to the impact of organisational strategies in the public sector, despite the recent concern by policy makers and academics to identify potential sources of public service improvement. This research project aimed to develop and apply strategic management models to public organisations, and to test empirically whether strategy content and processes have significant effects on performance.<br>
<br>
The objectives stated in the original application were to:<ul><li>apply strategic management theory to the processes and performance of local authorities</li><li>explain different strategic approaches to 'Best Value' performance assessment in Welsh local government</li><li>create datasets on the strategy processes and performance of local authorities</li><li>provide the first empirical evidence on the impact of strategic management on performance in the public sector</li><li> develop new strategy models that are relevant to public organisations</li></ul>All but one of these objectives were achieved; the second objective became impossible to pursue when 'Best Value' was abolished in Wales in 2002. This in fact illustrates one of the main themes of the research; the significance of the external environment for strategy and performance in the public sector. In addition to the four remaining objectives, four extra aims have also been achieved:<ul><li>an exploration of the effects of strategy content as well as strategy processes</li><li>an analysis of the impact of the socio-economic and regulatory context on local service performance</li><li>an evaluation of the relationship between strategy and performance in not only Welsh but also English local authorities</li><li>an examination of the effects of not only strategy formulation but also strategy implementation on service performance</li></ul>Further information about the project may be found on the Economic and Social Research Council (ESRC) <a href="http://www.esrcsocietytoday.ac.uk/esrcinfocentre/viewawardpage.aspx?awardnumber=R000239249" title="ESRC Society Today - View Grant Award: Strategy and Performance in Local Government"> Strategy and Performance in Local Government</a> grant award web page.<br><B>Main Topics</B>:<BR><br>The data comprise responses to two questionnaires on strategy formulation and strategy implementation, which were distributed to local government service providers in Wales. The questionnaires covered: strategy-making; content of existing strategies; autonomy of services; peformance of and factors affecting the service; implementing strategies; socio-economic, internal and external political and financial contexts affecting the service. Alongside the questionnaire responses are a number of variables covering education provision and standards, local government services, crime, road safety, electoral data, population distribution and other socio-economic indicators, compiled from secondary data sources (see Data Sources section below).<br>