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Public Value: A Brief Introduction
Understanding the usefulness of Public Value Thinking requires us to define and explore what it means to create Public Value.
WHAT IS PUBLIC VALUE?
Public Value is a concept of the common good that emphasizes concrete, observable benefits to society as a whole. Public Value can include a wide range of benefits based in different concepts of what is good and just (such as equity, dignity, freedom, and material well-being), from building affordable housing, to matching senior citizens with helpful neighbors, to planting trees.
Agreeing on and creating different forms of Public Value can be complex and messy, but this framework can be used to decide whether certain actions will improve the current situation and are worth their costs.
WHAT IS PUBLIC VALUE THINKING?
Public Value Thinking helps you strategize to create public value. By making sure your answers to three essential questions are aligned, Public Value Thinking helps you continuously improve your idea based on an ever-changing environment and the team’s learning about that environment.
The key to Public Value Thinking is keeping your initiative aligned across the areas of:
SUPPORT: Is my idea valid and supported by those who need to approve it?
CAPACITY: What operational resources do I need to bring my idea to life?
PURPOSE: What is the effect on the future if my idea works?
These three areas - Support, Capacity, and Purpose - form a lens that you can apply to every step of your initiative to guage both its feasibility and value.
A collaboration between George Veth and Mark Moore, the originator of Public Value Theory.