Learning from international approaches to BestValue

This article maps the genesis of BestValue from its antecedents in value-for-money approaches in the US, Europe,Australia, New Zealand and in previous UK administrations, and probes what this foretells about its likely success. It locates BestValue in the intersection between the New Public Management (NPM) and community and local governance (CLG). The contract culture within NPM has been softened within BestValue, striking a balance between aggressive use of the market and new forms of contracting. At the same time, Best Value overlays requirements for demonstrable performance improvement onto recent CLG moves towards the 'enabling authority' and promoting community co-commissioning and user involvement. The article suggests that evidence from other countries may offer important insights into whether the UK BestValue regime will have more productive results than NPM or CLG.