Guildford Sunset Homes Value for Money Strategy
What is Value for Money?
For a social housing provider such as Guildford Sunset Homes, value for money can perhaps best be defined as ’The delivery of an organisation’s social objectives and business strategy in the most cost-effective way possible’. In essence, it’s about doing the right things, and doing things right.
Value for Money is not a new concept; it has been around for many years. It is commonly defined as the relationship between Economy, Efficiency and Effectiveness and can be illustrated by the following diagram:
Economy
Economy is about minimising the cost of resources for an activity (i.e. doing things at the right cost). In essence economy is the careful use of resources to save expense, time or effort.
Efficiency
Efficiency is a measure of the way things are done i.e. productivity. Efficiency is primarily associated with the process and delivery i.e. performing tasks with reasonable effort (i.e. doing things the right way, i.e. major works, robust health of the buildings, best use of time, streamlining processes). In essence efficiency is the way of delivering the same level of service for less expense, time or effort.
Effectiveness
Effectiveness is a measure of the impact achieved (quantitative or qualitative). Effectiveness is primarily associated with the outcomes for customers i.e. the extents to which objectives are met (i.e. doing the right things). In essence this is the delivery of a better service or return for the same amount of expense, time or effort.