Government by Contract

Government by Contract
Author: Jody Freeman
Publisher: Harvard University Press
Total Pages: 550
Release: 2009-02-28
Genre: Business & Economics
ISBN: 9780674032088

The dramatic growth of government over the course of the twentieth century since the New Deal prompts concern among libertarians and conservatives and also among those who worry about government’s costs, efficiency, and quality of service. These concerns, combined with rising confidence in private markets, motivate the widespread shift of federal and state government work to private organizations. This shift typically alters only who performs the work, not who pays or is ultimately responsible for it. “Government by contract” now includes military intelligence, environmental monitoring, prison management, and interrogation of terrorism suspects. Outsourcing government work raises questions of accountability. What role should costs, quality, and democratic oversight play in contracting out government work? What tools do citizens and consumers need to evaluate the effectiveness of government contracts? How can the work be structured for optimal performance as well as compliance with public values? Government by Contract explains the phenomenon and scope of government outsourcing and sets an agenda for future research attentive to workforce capacities as well as legal, economic, and political concerns.

Outsourcing Management Functions for the Acquisition of Federal Facilities

Outsourcing Management Functions for the Acquisition of Federal Facilities
Author: National Research Council
Publisher: National Academies Press
Total Pages: 149
Release: 2001-01-20
Genre: Technology & Engineering
ISBN: 0309072670

In this study outsourcing is defined as the organizational practice of contracting for services from an external entity while retaining control over assets and oversight of the services being outsourced. In the 1980s, a number of factors led to a renewed interest in outsourcing. For private sector organizations, outsourcing was identified as a strategic component of business process reengineering-an effort to streamline an organization and increase its profitability. In the public sector, growing concern about the federal budget deficit, the continuing long-term fiscal crisis of some large cities, and other factors accelerated the use of privatization measures (including outsourcing for services) as a means of increasing the efficiency of government.

The Efficiency of Public Sector Outsourcing Contracts

The Efficiency of Public Sector Outsourcing Contracts
Author: Paul H. Jensen
Publisher:
Total Pages: 32
Release: 2004
Genre: Civil service
ISBN: 9780734031716

"Considers the arguments for (and against) outsourcing and then examines the empirical evidence pertaining to whether any observed savings occur and whether they persist over time." - abstract.

The Efficiency of Public Sector Outsourcing Contracts

The Efficiency of Public Sector Outsourcing Contracts
Author: Paul H. Jensen
Publisher:
Total Pages: 0
Release: 2011
Genre:
ISBN:

Outsourcing the provision of traditionally publicly-provided services has become commonplace in most industrialized nations. Despite its prevalence, there still is no consensus in the academic literature on the magnitude (and determinants) of expected cost savings to the government, nor the sources of those savings. This article considers the arguments for (and against) outsourcing and then examines the empirical evidence pertaining to whether any observed savings occur and whether they persist over time. In addition, we examine the existing evidence for the "redistribution hypothesis" and the "quality-shading hypothesis", which critics have used to argue that outsourcing may result in lower government expenditure, but it does so by lowering wages and conditions for employees and lower quality services. Finally, we consider the impact of contract design on outsourcing outcomes.

Public Procurement of Energy Efficiency Services

Public Procurement of Energy Efficiency Services
Author: Jas Singh
Publisher: World Bank Publications
Total Pages: 260
Release: 2009-12-17
Genre: Business & Economics
ISBN: 0821381024

The current universal concerns about global energy security, competitiveness, and environmental protection make energy efficiency more important than ever. However, realizing large-scale savings has proven a significant challenge due to many barriers. 'Public Procurement of Energy Efficiency Services' looks at a largely untapped energy efficiency market the public sector. While the efficiency potential in this sector is substantial, the implementation of energy savings programs has been complicated by a number of factors, such as insufficient incentives to lower energy costs, rigid budgeting and procurement procedures, and limited access to financing. The book looks at energy savings performance contracts (ESPCs) as a means of overcoming some of these barriers. Because public facilities can outsource the full project cycle to a commercial service provider, ESPCs can enable public agencies to solicit technical solutions, mobilize commercial financing, and assign performance risk to third parties, allowing the agency to pay from a project s actual energy savings. The recommendations in this book stem from case studies that identified approaches, models, and specific solutions to ESPC procurement, including budgeting, energy audits, and bid evaluation. Such an approach also offers enormous potential to bundle, finance, and implement energy efficiency projects on a larger scale in the public sector, which can yield further economies of scale. ESPCs can also serve as an attractive element for fiscal stimulus packages and efforts by governments to 'green' their infrastructure, which can create local jobs, reduce future operating costs, and mitigate their carbon footprint. Lower energy bills, in turn, help to create fiscal space in future years to meet other critical investment priorities. Bundled public sector energy efficiency projects can help stimulate local markets for energy efficiency goods and services and 'lead by example', demonstrating good practices and providing models to the private sector.

Outsourcing Sovereignty

Outsourcing Sovereignty
Author: Paul R. Verkuil
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Total Pages: 248
Release: 2007-12-19
Genre: Political Science
ISBN: 0511346360

Reliance on the private military industry and the privatization of public functions has left our government less able to govern effectively. When decisions that should have been taken by government officials are delegated (wholly or in part) to private contractors without appropriate oversight, the public interest is jeopardized. Books on private military have described the problem well, but they have not offered prescriptions or solutions this book does.

Contracting for Public Services

Contracting for Public Services
Author: Carsten Greve
Publisher: Routledge
Total Pages: 238
Release: 2007-09-12
Genre: Business & Economics
ISBN: 1134250495

Insightful and comprehensive and covering new subjects like globalization and IT, this text, international in its approach, provides a thorough introduction to the key phases of the contracting process and the skills required by managers in its implementation. These include: 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 provision Illustrated throughout with practitioner case-studies from a range of OECD countries, this 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.

A Theory of Incentives in Procurement and Regulation

A Theory of Incentives in Procurement and Regulation
Author: Jean-Jacques Laffont
Publisher: MIT Press
Total Pages: 746
Release: 1993
Genre: Business & Economics
ISBN: 9780262121743

Based on their work in the application of principal-agent theory to questions of regulation, Laffont and Tirole develop a synthetic approach to this field, focusing on the regulation of natural monopolies such as military contractors, utility companies and transportation authorities.

Brexit and Beyond

Brexit and Beyond
Author: Benjamin Martill
Publisher: UCL Press
Total Pages: 314
Release: 2018-01-29
Genre: Political Science
ISBN: 1787352773

Brexit will have significant consequences for the country, for Europe, and for global order. And yet much discussion of Brexit in the UK has focused on the causes of the vote and on its consequences for the future of British politics. This volume examines the consequences of Brexit for the future of Europe and the European Union, adopting an explicitly regional and future-oriented perspective missing from many existing analyses. Drawing on the expertise of 28 leading scholars from a range of disciplines, Brexit and Beyond offers various different perspectives on the future of Europe, charting the likely effects of Brexit across a range of areas, including institutional relations, political economy, law and justice, foreign affairs, democratic governance, and the idea of Europe itself. Whilst the contributors offer divergent predictions for the future of Europe after Brexit, they share the same conviction that careful scholarly analysis is in need – now more than ever – if we are to understand what lies ahead for the EU. Praise for Brexit and Beyond 'a wide-ranging and thought-provoking tour through the vagaries of British exit, with the question of Europe’s fate never far from sight...Brexit is a wake-up call for the EU. How it responds is an open question—but respond it must. To better understand its options going forward you should turn to this book, which has also been made free online.' Prospect Magazine 'This book explores wonderfully well the bombshell of Brexit: is it a uniquely British phenomenon or part of a wider, existential crisis for the EU? As the tensions and complexities of the Brexit negotiations come to the fore, the collection of essays by leading scholars will prove a very valuable reference for their depth of analysis, their lucidity, and their outlining of future options.' - Kevin Featherstone, Head of the LSE European Institute, London School of Economics 'Brexit and Beyond is a must read. It moves the ongoing debate about what Brexit actually means to a whole new level. While many scholars to date have examined the reasons for the British decision to leave, the crucial question of what Brexit will mean for the future of the European project is often overlooked. No longer. Brexit and Beyond bundles the perspectives of leading scholars of European integration. By doing so, it provides a much needed scholarly guidepost for our understanding of the significance of Brexit, not only for the United Kingdom, but also for the future of the European continent.' - Catherine E. De Vries, Professor in the department of Government, University of Essex and Professor in the department of Political Science and Public Administration Free University Amsterdam 'Brexit and Beyond provides a fascinating (and comprehensive) analysis on the how and why the UK has found itself on the path to exiting the European Union. The talented cast of academic contributors is drawn from a wide variety of disciplines and areas of expertise and this provides a breadth and depth to the analysis of Brexit that is unrivalled. The volume also provides large amounts of expert-informed speculation on the future of both the EU and UK and which is both stimulating and anxiety-inducing.' -Professor Richard Whitman, Head of School, Professor of Politics and International Relations, Director of the Global Europe Centre, University of Kent

The Outsourcing Process

The Outsourcing Process
Author: Ronan McIvor
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Total Pages: 354
Release: 2005-06-23
Genre: Technology & Engineering
ISBN: 9781139444583

Outsourcing has become an increasingly important issue for many organisations. This book provides a framework for an up-to-date understanding of the outsourcing process and the key issues associated with it. It integrates a number of contemporary topics including benchmarking, buyer-supplier relationships, organisational behaviour, competitor analysis, and technology influences. The analysis draws upon both empirical research and real case studies. The author starts by providing guidelines as to when outsourcing is appropriate and what its implications will be, before moving on to explain how outsourcing is implemented. The benefits of both successful outsourcing and the risks and consequences of outsourcing failure are outlined. The book is ideal for use by postgraduate students studying the area of outsourcing. It would also benefit industry managers who are considering outsourcing or who already have outsourcing programmes in place.