Evolving forms of quality management in local government: lessons from the Best Value pilot programme

English This article explores the relationship between Quality Management (QM) and Best Value. It investigates how well Best Value incorporates established QM practice and moreover whether the framework has also encouraged any innovative QM developments. Conceptual and practice-centred models of local government service quality provide the structure to explore empirical evidence gathered from the Best Value pilot programme, with more specific reference to the Cumbria County Council case and a number of other shorter exemplars. The article concludes with reflection on the limitations of the study and a discussion of its managerial, governance and future research implications.