Effectiveness and efficacy of service delivery can only be measured against the purpose of the service and the needs and expectations of its customers.
Purpose of Service Reviews
There are many reasons why a council would undertake a service review. Efficiency is not the main reason. First and foremost, the starting point for a service review is effectiveness, whether the service is achieving the intended outcomes — that is, whether it is making a meaningful, positive difference in the lives of its recipients and meeting its strategic and operational objectives. In this context, effectiveness refers to the extent to which the service delivers its core purpose, rather than how efficiently it operates or how many resources it consumes.
Service Reviews may be designed to achieve some or all these objectives:
Community Alignment
To align the service delivery against community needs and expectations and preparedness to pay.
Resource Allocation
To confirm the level of resources allocated (cost of service) across the council’s portfolio of services.
Service Improvement
To understand the services delivered, their social impact and cost drivers and identify the levers that will enable improved management of services.
Service Standards
To understand the needs and expectations of customers to better target the service level/standard, which will avoid gold plating services that exceed community expectations and waste finite resources.
Benchmarking
To benchmark services against other councils, against KPIs or against “future self” as part of a continuous improvement program.
Inform
To develop a service catalogue to inform elected members and executives, new and old alike, of what the council does and how it goes about doing it.
Shared Services/Partnerships
To capture relevant data to specify the service for the purpose of exploring the provision of shared services/partnerships with neighbouring councils, regional organisations of councils, government agencies as part of a joined-up approach, not-for-profit organisations or other like-minded parties.
Meals-on-Wheels Case Study
The Meals-on-Wheels services provided by Australian councils play a vital role in supporting the health, wellbeing and independence of vulnerable residents, particularly older people, people with disabilities and individuals recovering from illness or surgery. While the primary and most visible aspect of the service is the delivery of nutritious meals, its broader purposes extend well beyond food provision.
Delivering Meals-on-Wheels service once a week to vulnerable residents may be considered efficient, in terms of resources used, however it does not meet the purpose of the service or the needs of its customers. Therefore, in this instance, the efficiency measure alone is not relevant.
Meals-on-Wheels is far more than a food delivery service. It is an integrated community support program that aligns with broader health, aged care, and social inclusion strategies. Councils invest in this service not only to address food insecurity, but also to promote dignity, wellbeing, and connection among some of their most vulnerable residents. Measuring the service delivery against outcomes achieved for recipients will determine the extent of the service success.
Conclusion
Measuring the effectiveness and efficiency of the Meals-on-Wheels service requires an outcomes-based approach that goes beyond output metrics such as the number of meals delivered and the resources used. It must focus on the real-world impact the service has on vulnerable recipients—particularly in relation to food security, dignity, wellbeing and social connection.
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