'Practising alchemy': conceptualising best value reform as a failing process

The purpose of this paper is to illustrate how organisational development personnel, responsible for oversight of public sector reform programmes, mediate and effect projects of rnle. The analysis is located within the Best Value reform programme in local government in Victoria, Australia. Grounded theory is employed to examine responses in four local govemment units characterised b y divergent socio-economic and population demographics, as well as environmental and rnral-urban differences. In-depth interviews provide data to scope key issues and concerns of pa1ticipants responsible for change management and organisational development. The paper responds to a call for studies directly addressing experiences of those implementing Best Value as opposed to sh1dies of macro-level politics of Best Value. There is an urgent call for empirical detail on 'take up' of Best Value by local authorities to consider if there are grounds for critique that studies of programme implementation are overly focused on 'success', rather than considering why programmes fail to achieve their desired effects in 'shaping' projects of rule.