Contracts and contractual relationships have become the predominant mode of organization 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 phrases of the contracting process and the skills required by managers in its implementation, including:

 

 

Illustrated 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.

http://www.routledge.com/books/Contracting-for-Public-Services-isbn9780415356558