Public open markets are private closed shops

Is a Social Serco possible? Challenging the public sector monopoly on some public services has the potential to deliver better social impact. However, the difficulty in opening a public sector market to competition from other sectors is that market making is an inherent feature of the private sector. Public and third sectors, apparently, are not … Continue reading

Stewards’ enquiry

We are delighted to present a guest blog from Sam Sims of the Institute for Government, co-author of their latest report on public service markets and commissioning. The report cites a number of apparent market failures and makes urgent recommendations for if, when and how public services should be taken to market and managed once … Continue reading

The Commissioning Academy: establishing a curriculum for success

The UK Government’s Open Public Services 2012 paper declares: “…we want to establish a Commissioning Academy to drive…necessary commercial skills and confidence. In a world where more and more public services are commissioned from providers outside the public sector, we need to ensure that employees – and politicians – across central government and the wider … Continue reading