In relation to Public Policy, what should Public actors consider first when taking or making decision that has bearing on the public.
In relation to Public Policy, Effectiveness precedes Efficiency.
Whilst Effectiveness means to do the right thing, Efficiency has to do things the best (perhaps, relatively) way.
A coherent program to improve efficiency and effectiveness in the public sector can only be formed by using a diverse set of methods and approaches that may include different ways and systems of budget, financial, human resources, planning, measurement, evaluation, and decision-making. This list offers the widest selection of tools: from performance evaluations to evaluations of activity results, from computerization to robotization, from collective bargaining methods to specific forms of close cooperation between personnel and managers, from the use of material incentives to the complete rejection of monetary forms of motivation, from capital investment in the development of equipment to the investment of capital in the development of human resources, from professional training to the training of management personnel, from the establishment of feedback links to the creation of information networks, from work based on contracts with external performers to the system of concluding contracts with personnel representatives, from the creation of a budget with main goals - to increase productivity before using new methods of financing relevant investments.
Of course, effectiveness has to be treated first, then - efficiency.
Effectiveness relates to the aims reaching as such, while efficiency is more based on the quantitative calculations concerning results (output) relation to the input.
From a 'holistic' perspective obviously both need to be considered. However in the first instance obviously the question of effectiveness needs to be answered before one can consider efficiency - ie a policy which is not effective and has no impact cannot really be considered as being 'efficient' at achieving nothing!
However public policy often is concerned with choices between multiple interventions with varying degrees of effectiveness - here the relative efficiency of each of these may be the key parameter to consider.
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