When we consider changing the delivery method of County services, several key issues should be addressed.

First, how will service delivery efficiency be affected by the changes being considered? Efficiency is generally defined as the amount of inputs, usually expressed in dollars, necessary to produce the desired outcomes. A standard concern about governments is that they do not act as efficiently as the private sector, because they lack competition and incentives to benchmark services that the private sector. This criterion calls for a thorough accounting of the unit costs of providing a service, and some estimation of the changes that might take place under alternative methods of delivery.

Second, will the change we're considering alter the effectiveness of the service? Effectiveness is a generally defined as an organization’s success in performing its mission. In essence, this is a quality issue. So we have examined if the services under consideration are being delivered in a manner that is quality driven.

*******Typically, governments wish to guarantee that future effectiveness will be superior or equal to current effectiveness when considering service delivery changes. We have used performance measures as indicators of effectiveness. For example, if jail management services are contracted out, will escapes per thousand inmates increase, decrease, or stay the same? ******

Third, how will changing the method of service delivery change the equity of the service. An analysis of equity requires us to identify who would win and who would lose if a service is changed. For example, if the Jail is contracted out the private provider can fire of the employees and hire new ones. In this scenario, the public sector employees lose, while the new private employees gain.

Last, is changing the method of service delivery feasible? The primary obstacles to changing service delivery methods are legal barriers. For example, during the earliest stages of our project we took a quick look at the Allegheny County Prothonotary. We dismissed examing this service any further because of the state mandate to provide this service.

The answers to all of these questions can help us formulate an informed decision about how County services are delivered, and to identify where positive changes can be made. However, as we will report later, it is not always easy to evaluate the effects of changing service delivery. Allegheny County provides a rich example of some problems that decision makers face when trying to assess the feasibility, effectiveness, efficiency and equity of service delivery.