Ensuring value for money in government policy

Our webinar, Ensuring Value for Money in government policy- why routine monitoring and robust evaluation are crucial to achieving VFM, marked the launch of Verian's Centre for Value for Money (VFM) and our recently published Verian Guide to VFM Evaluation.

The session, in partnerships with the UK Evaluation Society, dived into why routine, robust monitoring and evaluation are critical to ensure value for money in government policy. Our speakers explored a framework designed to bring clarity and rigour to VFM evaluation.

Our speakers included:

• Alex Hurrell, UK Head of Evaluation, outlined why robust programme evaluation is critical to ensuring VFM in public spending, and set out a systematic approach to ensuring a VfM focus across the policy lifecycle.
• Julian King, VFM evaluation specialist, introduced the Value for Investment (VFI) evaluation approach - a framework that combines principles from evaluation and economics to provide clear answers to value for money (VFM) questions. Also known as the OPM/King approach, the VFI model is recommended by the Evaluation Taskforce as part of its Training Academy programme. Julian explained how VFI both builds on and differs from traditional economic methods like cost-benefit analysis, highlighting its advantages in supporting learning, accountability and evidence-based policymaking. 
• Lucie Moore, Head of Cabinet Office Evaluation Taskforce, provided reflections on why VFM evaluation is so important for the UK government. 
• Kirstine Szifris, President of the UK Evaluation Society, provided reflections, in particular on how this relates to the broader agenda of the UK Evaluation Society.

Webinar details: 

Date: 5 December 2024
Time: 1.00-2.00PM (GMT)
Location: Zoom

Don't miss the opportunity to gain valuable insights to support informed, accountable, evidence-based policymaking. 

The session was recorded. You can watch on-demand here.

Speaker bios:

Alex Hurrell, UK Head of Evaluation at Verian, leads the continuing growth of Verian's end-to-end evaluation offer with UK government and public realm clients. Alex has deep expertise in leading large scale, complex projects specialising in Monitoring & Evaluation (M&E), Impact evaluation, Value for Money (VFM) assessment, and the design and implementation of effective Monitoring, Evaluation and Learning (MEL) systems to support programme accountability and impact across a wide range of public policy areas.

Julian King is a New Zealand-based public policy consultant, specialises in evaluation and VFM and developed the VFI approach through his doctoral research. Together, Julian and Alex recently co-authored a guide on VFM evaluation in UK public services, featuring an overview of the VFI approach. 

Dr Kirstine Szifris is President of the UK Evaluation Society. She took on the role in December 2023 and has been overseeing the organisation's transition to charitable status. She is currently working as a Principle Research Officer in the Civil Service, having previously worked in evaluation in the third sector and in academia. Kirstine is a criminologist by training with a PhD from the Institute of Criminology, Cambridge, and most of her evaluation experience has been in and around the criminal justice system. Kirstine is delighted to be President of UKES and is looking forward to seeing the organisation grow and develop over the coming years. 

Lucie Moore is the Head of the Evaluation Task Force, a joint HM Treasury and the Cabinet Office unit. She joined the Task Force at its inception in 2021, initially serving as an Evaluation Lead and Deputy Chief Social Researcher for the Cabinet Office. Prior to this role, Lucie was an Evaluation Advisor at the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office. Before entering government, she conducted evaluations, including randomised controlled trials, of social policy programs, primarily focused on public health, in countries such as Nigeria, Zimbabwe, Jordan, and Bangladesh.