Value for Investment

The award-winning Value for Investment (VfI) approach is a rigorous way of determining how well resources are used in public policy and social investment, whether that use creates enough value, and how more value can be created. It helps people reach clear, defensible answers to value-for-money questions and make better decisions about what to start, continue, adapt, scale or stop.

We offer training, capability-building services and free resources to help people and organisations adopt VfI and answer those questions with greater clarity.

Combining strengths of evaluation and economics

People making, advising, or living with decisions need to understand whether policies, programs, services, and organisations are worth the resources invested in them. Those decisions involve real trade-offs, because money, time, capability, relationships, natural resources and opportunities used in one place cannot be used elsewhere. The VfI approach combines economic and evaluative thinking to provide answers that are clear enough to use and robust enough to defend.

The VfI approach was developed through doctoral research. It builds on theory from evaluation and economics, and has been tested and refined through real-world application. The result is a practical approach that brings evaluative rigour to value-for-money assessment.

How VfI works

Value for money is the question. VfI is the approach for answering it. VfI is not another method – it is a system that guides the use of existing methods and tools, helping people define what matters, what evidence is needed, and how to reach a sound judgement in context.

VfI frames policies and programs as investments in value propositions, with potential to create significant social, cultural, environmental and/or economic value. In plain language, a value proposition sets out the value an investment is meant to create. It makes explicit what good resource use should look like in that context.

VfI then develops a transparent framework for making sense of evidence. This usually includes a rubric: clear criteria and standards that set out what good looks like and provide a disciplined basis for judgement. VfI brings together qualitative, quantitative, and economic evidence to build a fuller picture of an investment’s resources, actions, consequences and value.

A VfI evaluation is guided by eight clear steps. It involves people who fund, deliver, use, and are affected by an investment in defining what matters and making sense of evidence. VfI makes expectations, evidence and reasoning explicit, so that judgements can show clearly when an investment is creating enough value, where it can improve, or when it is not good enough.

Around the world

The VfI approach is used internationally to evaluate complex policies, programs, and organisations, from one-off assessments to enduring evaluation systems and performance frameworks. Government agencies, consulting firms, NGOs, universities, bilateral and multilateral organisations use the approach to support accountability, learning and better resource-allocation decisions. For examples, see the VfI resources page.

VfI training

VfI is taught around the world through evaluation associations and in the online Master of Evaluation program at the University of Melbourne. It’s included in whole-of-government evaluation training in the UK. Private workshops and mentoring help teams apply VfI in practice – clarifying what matters in their context, developing practical rubrics, and making better use of the evidence they already have. To discuss training or mentoring, contact Julian. 

New book coming soon

In press with Routledge, Value for Investment: An Evaluative System for Government, Public Services, and Social Investment is written for people who commission, conduct, or make decisions based on value-for-money assessments. It sets out the principles, eight-step process and practical tools behind VfI.

“Julian King has a rare ability to make hard questions about value for money answerable. Value for Investment builds a bridge between economics and evaluation, making judgements transparent and open to scrutiny. Tested and sharpened in real work with colleagues at OPM, it makes VfM assessments rigorous and usable.”
– Mark Henstridge, Chief Executive Officer, Oxford Policy Management

VfI resources

Open-access VfI resources are available here. Julian also writes on Substack, sharing practical guidance, analysis of relevant issues and examples from practice.