Contracting for Public Services Delivery

Contracts and contractual relationships have become the predominant mode of organisation for public service delivery in recent years and the successful management of contracts has become a core task for public service managers. In the wake of New Public Management reforms, and as public-private partnerships have proliferated, it has become more important than ever before for public service managers to understand the contracting process and its institutional context. This insightful and comprehensive text offers a thorough introduction to the key phases of the contracting process and the skills required by managers in its implementation, including:· policy for contracting· strategic purchasing· understanding markets· communicating the contracting decision· designing and drafting the contract· the role of the consumer· the regulation of service provisionIllustrated throughout with practitioner case-studies from a range of OECD countries, the book presents an important new theoretical 'contract management model' and a 'mature contract model', and explores the mechanisms, formal rules and informal norms that influence the way governments contract for public services. This book is essential reading for all students of public management and all public service managers. SERIESROUTLEDGE MASTERS IN PUBLIC MANAGEMENTEdited by Stephen P. Osborne, Owen Hughes, Walter KickertThis series of integrated texts is intended to form the backbone of the holistic study of the theory and practice of public management for university courses, work-based training or self-guided study.Greve, Carsten is the author of 'Contracting for Public Services Delivery ', published 2007 under ISBN 9780415356541 and ISBN 0415356547.