Performance measurement and Best Value: an international perspective

The Best Value (BV) regime in UK local government became mandatory on 1 April 2000. This paper explores the international sources of the ideas behind BV. It maps out the evolution of BV from an approach primarily directed at achieving high quality local services into an approach which is beginning the ambitious attempt to assess local government¡¦s performance in addressing community and local governance issues. Performance measurement under the BV regime is reaching a new level of maturity but there is still a danger of unrealistic expectations about its potential, particularly on the part of central government. Further developments of BV in the UK should learn from important lessons in the international sphere.