Benchmarking

Benchmarking is not simply comparing numbers to see which organisation is the best or worst, it is building an understanding of what is really happening behind the numbers.  Benchmarking is a key component in the continuous improvement of the Council and its services. - effective benchmarking aims to explain the differences in performance by looking not only at the way we are organised but also at the processes and policies in place to support the delivery of the services and looking at how we can learn from the good practice and experience of others.

Benchmarking - how does it help the council?

• To understand how current performance levels compare
• Understand where our performance varies with others and why this is happening
• To seek fresh approaches to bring out improvement
• To learn from others by identifying and sharing good practice

Council services actively participate in benchmarking groups.  Some official groups which are used for data comparisons and benchmarking activities are:

• The Association of Public Service Excellence (APSE)
• Scottish Local Authorities Economic Development (SLAED)
• SCOTS (Society of Chief Officers of Transportation in Scotland)
• SOCITM (Society for IT practitioners in the public sector)
• Local Government Benchmarking Framework

Local Government Benchmarking Framework

The Local Government Benchmarking Framework helps Scottish councils to work together to improve their use of performance information, understand the differences in performance and share good practice across a range of services they provide for communities.

• Compare our work with other councils using the Local Government Benchmarking Framework Dashboard - Explore the data | Benchmarking (improvementservice.org.uk)
• Download our Elected Member Briefing [PDF - 2MB]   (providing detailed analysis showing our performance compared to others).

You can view the national report and further information:

• Visit the Local Government Benchmarking Framework website