Annual Self-Assessment 2021-22
Methodology – a thematic approach
To provide a clear structure and focus the self-assessment is designed around a thematic framework built around key corporate and organisational themes, with performance under each of these themes assessed.
The 5 themes are:
- Strategy and performance
- Resource planning and management
- Leadership, governance and culture
- Working with partners and customers
- Delivery of Well-being Objectives
Each theme is supported by a set of sub-themes to supplement our understanding of how we are performing in each area.
SA1: Strategy and Performance
SA1.1: Programme for the Administration and Corporate Strategy
SA1.2: Corporate performance management
SA1.3: Medium term service planning
SA2: Resource Planning and Management
SA2.1: Annual budget setting and monitoring
SA2.2: Medium term financial planning
SA2.3: Property/assets
SA2.4: Workforce planning
SA2.5: Procurement
SA3: Leadership, governance and culture
SA3.1: Overview and Scrutiny
SA3.2: Democracy and participation
SA3.3: Audit and governance
SA3.4: Safeguarding
SA4: Working with partners and customers
SA4.1: Strategic partnerships
SA4.2: Regional working
SA4.3: Consultation and engagement
SA5: Well-being Objectives
SA5.1: Education
SA5.2: Social Care
SA5.3: Housing
SA5.4: Economy
SA5.5: Clean environment / Climate change
SA5.6: Improvement and transformation
Self-assessment is an evidence-based analysis, understanding what a range of quantitative and qualitative information at the council’s disposal reveals about how it is exercising its functions, using its resources and governing itself. We have asked ourselves 3 key questions to assess performance under each sub-theme. These are:
- How well are we doing? - Assessment of current performance using qualitative and quantitative information
- How do we know? - Provision of evidence
- What can we do better and how? - Identification of forward looking improvement actions
The self-assessment draws on a range of internal and external sources, ensuring a broad evidence base to inform the actions the council will take to increase the extent to which it is meeting the performance requirements in future. The below examples are the type of information that has been drawn on as an evidence base:
- Service plan self-assessment sections
- External regulatory reports
- External service reviews
- Corporate Performance Scorecard
- Scrutiny findings and recommendations
- Citizen engagement and consultation exercises
- Annual Governance Statement
- Budget monitoring reports
- Other statutory reports e.g. Director of Social Services Annual Report
To provide a visible and transparent way of measuring where we are on our improvement journey through time each sub-theme is scored using the system set out below, and provides both a current and forward looking perspective.
- Score 1: Current performance - Excellent; Improvement phase - Effective
- Score 2: Current performance - Good; Improvement phase - Embedding
- Score 3: Current performance - Fair; Improvement phase - Evolving
- Score 4: Current performance - Poor; Improvement phase - Emerging