Assessing Value for Money: The Oxford Policy Management Approach
This document offers practical guidance for assessing value for money in international development programs, building on the Value for Investment approach.
King, J., Wate, D., Namukasa, E., Hurrell, A., Hansford, F., Ward, P., Faramarzifar, S. (2023). Assessing Value for Money: the Oxford Policy Management Approach. Second Edition. Oxford Policy Management Ltd.
Value for Investment: Application and Insights
This document describes key principles of the Value for Investment evaluation approach and provides guidance on how to use it to design and implement evaluations, using the evaluation of the Youth Primary Mental Health and Addictions (Youth PMHA) initiative as an illustrative example.
King, J., Crocket, A., Field, A. (2023). Value for Investment: Application and Insights. Youth Primary Mental Health and Addictions Evaluation. Exemplar report for Te Whatu Ora – Health New Zealand. Dovetail Consulting Ltd.
Evaluating Value for Money when cost-benefit analysis isn’t enough
This guide, commissioned by Verian Group, situates the Value for Investment approach in the UK domestic policy context, highlighting: How cost-benefit analysis (CBA) contributes to value for money (VfM) assessment; when and why CBA may not suffice; how to design and conduct a VfI evaluation that matches methods to context, incorporating CBA where appropriate; and how to use VfI as an alternative when CBA isn’t possible. Though written from a UK perspective, the principles apply everywhere.
King, J., Hurrell, A. (2024). A Guide to Evaluation of Value for Money in UK Public Services: Why cost-benefit analysis alone may be insufficient to evaluate VfM, and how to navigate a solution. Verian Group.
Evaluation Building Blocks
The Kinnect group developed this evaluation guide over ten years working together. There are many different ways to do evaluation and a range of guides. Our guide emphasises the place of evaluative reasoning in evaluation. It draws on the work of many evaluation theorists, as well as our practice-based body of knowledge.
McKegg, K., Oakden, J., Wehipeihana, N., King, J. (2018). Evaluation Building Blocks: A Guide. The Kinnect Group.
Value for Investment one-page PDF overview
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Bradford Hill Criteria for causal inference
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Visit our resources page for more Value for Investment resources including examples of VfI in action, academic articles, and Julian’s PhD dissertation.
