If you really want to understand the public sector performance agenda for the future, you have to get to grips with the workings and implications of Comprehensive Area Assessment.

For the first time, through CAA, the police, councils, fire and rescue services, primary care trusts and other partners will be held collectively to account for their delivery of better community safety outcomes.
CAA will provide people with an overview assessment of community safety outcomes in their area, drawing together the views of the full range of inspectorates. It has far reaching implications for comparability of service provision and performance.

The Audit Commission has published a helpful consultative document which provides a good overview of how it all hangs together (downloadable from the Audit Commission category in the sidebar or click on the report image).

They have also published a Powerpoint presentation which shows how the information might be presented on the interweb (click on the images to enlarge).

The interface is a little bit clunky, but hopefully that will be sorted out by the web designers.

Essentially, you navigate pretty simply to your area. this then shows an overview page… 

and a 'summary' page…

A little bit further on and you get the 'assessments of local public services' page, which lets you select the  organisational assessment, VFM and use of resources categories…

and then things get interesting. Clicking on the 'police' page will allow you to look at performance data and make comparisons with last year, the average for similar areas, neighbouring areas and the national average…

The next page will allow you to check out where else this issue is a priority and what their performance is like against yours…

Are you starting to see what a powerful tool this is likely to be ? It will certainly have some interesting public perception implications. Thinking of moving to the area ? Starting a business? I'd want to be checking this site to see what things were like and how the public services were performing. Living there already? Am I getting value from the services I already pay for?

And from the organisational perspective. How will this data link to the marketing and communications strategy for the BCU ? To the partnership marcomms strategy? To the Police Authority strategy ? How will this be linked to (and context provided within) force/partnership/authority websites ?

It's going to be a useful tool and thought needs to be given now, as to how you are going to maximise it's benefit. The full Powerpoint can be downloaded from the Audit Commission here.

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