The Toolkit provides practical guidance on assessing an organisation's current approach to achieving efficiency. It helps identify opportunities for improvements and develop actionable recommendations. It is designed around a broad interpretation of what 'efficiency' means and is also relevant to some aspects of effectiveness - e.g. spending money on the right things.
The toolkit is organised around an assessment framework comprising the various factors that influence an organisation's efficiency (19 modules grouped under five areas). You can either select a module of interest (via the 'Business Area' link at the bottom of the page) or follow a standard process for an assessment. The four main activities in a standard efficiency assessment are listed in the picture below. Many of the materials to support an overview assessment of an organisation across these 19 modules are available on the website, though we would still encourage you to contact us for additional materials and support. If you are interested in having the NAO work with you to conduct an Efficiency assessment, please contact the Efficiency Centre team. For an overview of the thinking behind the toolkit, see the Toolkit Introduction.
Initiate Project
The first stage focuses on understanding the organisation's context and situation and agreeing the project scope, objectives and outcomes. This time should also be used to confirm resource availability, plan data gathering, and review existing information.
Overview Assessment
The second stage is comprised of the 'overview assessment' and the 'first report and review'. The 'overview assessment' develops a high-level understanding of efficiency strengths and identifies opportunities to improve efficiency. The main tool is the 'Framework Questions'. The answers received can be recorded in the 'Framework Data Collection' template. The 'first report and review' discusses the overview findings and seeks agreement about the modules for detailed assessment. It should focus on strengths as well as areas for improvements. The 'Framework Heat Map' is a template provided to represent simply the overview assessment findings. These findings should form the basis of a discussion that seeks to prioritise the modules that will yield the greatest results from detailed assessment. As well as the published materials, the NAO can also provide support in rating current performance under each module, based on maturity profiles.
Detailed Assessment
The focus of the detailed assessment stage is to agree a small number of high value recommendations. The NAO has developed materials to support more detailed assessments of the modules. Please contact the NAO Efficiency Centre team to discuss how these more detailed materials could be applied to your organisation.
Close
The final stage of the Efficiency Toolkit Walk-through should evaluate success and capture knowledge.
If you require further assistance please contact the Efficiency Centre team. We are very keen to get your comments, please use the "Feedback" button on the left to do so.
Please click here to see the Efficiency Toolkit in Business Area mode.
