Value for money (VfM) assessment is a critical process organisations undertake to determine whether the benefits of a project justify its costs. While the objective is clear, in practice there are a myriad of approaches due to differences in context, data, resources, and other factors.
On 22 September 2025, the Government Outcomes Lab (“GO Lab”), University of Oxford, and the Chartered Institute of Public Finance and Accountancy (CIPFA) held a peer learning group session which featured three presentations on innovative approaches and recent case studies:
Jeff Matsu, Chief Economist at CIPFA and Fellow of Practice at the GO Lab, University of Oxford, presented two case studies on smarter public spending from the London Borough of Redbridge, and the Thames Valley Violence Reduction Unit. Recapping on the VfM guidance in the UK Green Book and Magenta Book, Jeff illustrated how VfM can be integrated within existing systems and adapted to suit different local contexts. For the Redbridge case, Jeff discussed the adoption of the VfM toolkit, a practical resource developed by CIPFA and the GO Lab, to assess the VfM of individual projects. For the Thames Valley case, Jeff discussed the lifecycle approach that was adopted, which seeks to link impact evaluation and financial assessment across multiple projects.
Dr Elaine De Gruyter, Postdoctoral Research Associate at the GO Lab, University of Oxford, presented on recent work examining the VfM of a traditional fee-for-service contract in comparison to a social outcomes partnership in commissioning social services in the UK. Focusing on the case study of the Kirklees Better Outcomes Partnership (KBOP), Elaine discussed how even when a VfM assessment can appear straightforward, there are many factors that can require careful consideration. For the case of KBOP, this included different sample sizes, limited data, and the need to inform future practice. Elaine presented on the approach adopted and key findings where the social outcomes partnership was found to be less costly and more effective than the fee-for-service contract.
Matt Donoghue, Director of Early Intervention and Reform at the Department of Treasury and Finance (Victoria, Australia), presented on the EIIF which has been embedded into the Victorian Government’s annual state budget process and is applied to the government funding allocation process. The EIIF aims to maximise VfM by improving outcomes and reducing growth in government expenditure. Matt outlined the rigorous quantification requirements on outcome measures and estimates of avoided costs for all initiatives submitted and funded under the EIIF. Matt also shared four key lessons for implementing similar approaches in other jurisdictions: (1) building partnerships outside of Treasury; (2) making EIIF easy and building trust across government departments; (3) upholding integrity in estimation; and (4) delivering savings, managing risk and driving positive behaviour.