As information technology has advanced and the general public has become better informed and more critical of the ways in which public money is spent, government expenditure has become more closely scrutinised. Taxpayers have become more demanding in their right to know where and how their money is spent. Governments therefore need to be able to demonstrate the cost-effectiveness of programmes and ensure full transparency. Measurement and reporting of costs and achievements have become discussion topics in the light of public sector accountability.
On behalf of THET (Tropical Health and Education Trust) Scenarium revisited the concept of value for money and analysed how tools ought to be refined in order to optimise their application to the evaluation of health partnerships, and the Health Partnership Scheme (HPS) which is funded by the United Kingdom Department for International Development (DFID) and managed by THET.
Health partnerships are development and capacity building programmes which involve health workers from highly developed healthcare systems spending volunteer time at a partner institution in a low income country in order to give trainings and exchange knowledge and experience.
