Value for Money in International Education: A New World of Results, Impacts and Outcomes
NORRAG News #47

Value for Money in International Education: A New World of Results, Impacts and Outcomes

April 2012

This special issue concerns the emergence of the discourse surrounding Value for Money (VfM) in all its complexity and its relation to aid policy. In ordinary parlance, VfM means believing that you have got a good deal - ‘Proof of good VfM is in believing or concluding that the goods/services received were worth the price paid’. In other words, it is the receiver of the goods or services that decides if it is good value. However, when it comes to VfM in aid or development cooperation, it seems to be often the other way round - it is the giver not the receiver who seems to be deciding (King). This is one of the paradoxes which is explored in this special issue.

Contents include:

  • Conceptualising the Discourse of Value for Money
  • Evaluating the Rise of Results and Emergence of Impact
  • Angles on Value for Money in Development Cooperation
  • NGOs and the Impact and Results Agenda
  • Research Results, Targets and Policy - The Old Chestnut
  • Any Direct Implications for NORRAG of VfM, Results or Impact