5. Principle D
Principle D – Determining the interventions necessary to optimise the achievement of the intended outcomes
We will:
- Ensure decision makers receive objective and rigorous analysis of a variety of options indicating how intended outcomes would be achieved and associated risks. Therefore ensure best value is achieved however services are provided.
- Consider feedback from citizens and service users when making decisions about service improvements or where services are no longer required in order to prioritise competing demands within limited resources available including people, skills, land and assets and bearing in mind future impacts.
- Establish and implement robust planning and control cycles that cover strategic and operational plans, priorities and targets.
- Engage with internal and external stakeholders in determining how services and other courses of action should be planned and delivered.
- Consider and monitor risks facing each partner when working collaboratively, including shared risks.
- Ensure arrangements are flexible and agile so that the mechanisms for delivering goods and services can be adapted to changing circumstances.
- Establish appropriate key performance indicators (KPIs) as part of the planning process in order to identify how the performance of services and projects is to be measured.
- Ensure capacity exists to generate the information required to review service quality regularly.
- Prepare budgets in accordance with objectives, strategies and the medium term financial plan.
- Inform medium and long term resource planning by drawing up realistic estimates of revenue and capital expenditure aimed at developing a sustainable funding strategy.
- Ensure the medium term financial strategy integrates and balances service priorities, affordability and other resource constraints.
- Ensure the budgeting process is all-inclusive, taking into account the full cost of operations over the medium and longer term.
- Ensure the medium term financial strategy sets the context for ongoing decisions on significant delivery issues or responses to changes in the external environment that may arise during the budgetary period in order for outcomes to be achieved while optimising resource usage.
- Ensure the achievement of ‘social value’ through service planning and commissioning.