In order to assist SP Authorities to use performance and outcome data to assess the performance of their services we have produced a piece of software called the “Service Comparison Tool”. This allows you to:
- Quickly and easily identify services whose performance falls outside typical benchmark ranges in relation to costs, inputs, outputs and outcomes
- Modify service categories and benchmark ranges according to specific requirements
- Investigate reasons for high costs or poor performance in particular services
The tool is an Excel-based user interface, which allows the performance of each service to be compared to that of a large number of similar services. It does this by taking data from SPLS extract files from a range of LAs, and categorising services of similar kinds into groups. Values for key indicators, such as cost and staffing levels, are calculated for each service. Benchmarks for each indicator are then calculated for each service group, based on information from a number of LAs.
Services whose scores for one or more indicators are particularly high or low can thus be easily identified, and investigated further if necessary. The user can modify the way a service is categorised, and also the stringency of the benchmarks for each indicator. In addition to this in-built flexibility, we can reprogram the tool to allow for further changes as required.
It also includes the facility to carry out further investigations for two particular indicators: cost per unit, and cost per successful outcome. These take the form of a structured tree of questions to be answered by the user. This provides a framework for discovering why that particular service might be costing more than other similar services. The results of this analysis are sent to a Word document, providing the basis for a comprehensive report.
Click here for a demo of the Service Comparison Tool.
Click here for an overview demonstrating how the benchmarks and the Service Comparison Tool are created.
