Krzysztof Herbst

Public Service Delivery

BASIC TERMS - CORE VALUES
 Public Service Defining
• Services provided by government to its citizens,
either directly (through the public sector) or by
financing private provision of services.
• Associated with a social consensus that certain
services should be available to all,
• Usually subject to regulation going beyond that
applying to most economic sectors.
• Considered essential to modern life. Their
universal provision guaranteed.
• Associated with fundamental human rights (right
to water).
[Based on WIKIPEDIA]
 Different Public Services
• Universal, supplied to everybody (street
cleaning)
• On request, (repair, advisory, elementary
medical),
• To entitled (social benefits, social housing)
• Controlled/limited based on scarce resources
(nursery)
• Compulsory (education)
• Preventive (security, youth, health)
• Open access - by conscious choice –
sometimes paid (public transport, culture)
[Source: UNDP, Public Private
Partnership Programme,
March 2006]
 Vocabulary
• Public goods
• Merit goods
• Natural monopoly

• Decentralization
• Subsidiarity
• Empowernment
• Responsiveness
EU policy:
Liberalization of network public services
Increasing the competition [Article 16 of the EC Treaty]
Basic Principles:
• continuity of service;
• quality;
• security of supply;
• equal access;
• affordable prices;
• social, cultural and environmental
acceptability.
Source: EU Public Service Charter
 Governing and Servicing
• Functions (roles) of the Central and
Territorial Governments:
• Legislative
• Security and Law enforcement
• Asset management
• Assuring and delivering service supply

• Government’s responsiblity for service

delivery, links the forms of governing and
the forms of service organization
HISTORICAL TENDENCIES IN
PUBLIC ADMINISTRATION
 US Public Administrations

• Federalism

• IGR – Intergovernmental Relations

• IGM – Intergovernmental Management

Comparison
System Features FED IGR IGM

1. Units Involved National-State, National-State-Local IGR units plus:

Interstate State-Local Politics-in-Administration
National-Local Continuum,
Interlocal Public-Private Sector Mix

2. Authority National Supremacy Perceived Hierarchy Nonhierarchy Networks (Matrix

Relations (Contingent (Assymetric Management)
Hierarchy) Orientations)
3. Means of Conflict Laws, Courts, Market, Games, Bargain/Negotiation, Dispute
Resolution Elections Coalitions Settlement, Coping

4. Values Purposes (Mission) Perspectives Products, Program Results

(Policy in (Management)
Administration)
5. Political High Politics Policy Making Implementation
Quotient(s) „partisanship” (Coordination) (Problem Solving)

6. Lead(ing) Actors Elected Politicians Administrative Policy Profesjonals

Generalists

[Source: Deil S. Wright: Federalizm, Intergovernmental Relations, and Intergovernmental Management: Historical Reflections and Conceptual Comparisons]
European Public
Administrations
 CHANGES IN LOCAL
PUBLIC SECTOR
MANAGEMENT - EUR

Source: Hambleton R.(2001),

The New City Menagement,
w: Hambleton, Savith, Steward
Globalism and local democracy
London: Palgrave
 NEW PUBLIC MANAGEMENT VS. OLD PUBLIC MANAGEMENT
Characterised Element Traditional (Old) Public New Public Management
Mangement
1 Organizational Structure Decentralized, split between
Centralized units centered over particular
services
2 Relations between and inside
of the administrative units Undefined – no time limits Contract based

3 Mode of operation Ethics of governing

Adopted from the private
accentuated, no organizational
sector
changes
4 Mode of financing Steady or growing budget Reduction in resource usage
5 Management Style Based on political skills and
Transparent management
legal justification
6 Outcome orientation Non-transparency as to the Need of clearly explained
standards goals
7 Controlling
Only procedures and finances Monitoring of outcomes and
controlled effects

[NON – ORIGINAL VOCABULARY Based on: J.G.Van Helden, Is Financial Stress an Incentiove for the Adoption of Businesslike Planning and Control in Local
 New Public Management
• “Steering not rowing” government,
• Reduces direct delivering of services.
They can be delegated or contracted
to the market, agencies, social
economy sector or non-governmental
partners.
• The government’s role remains
defining strategic priorities and
policies
Governing goes Governance
„A traditional top-down approach
emphasises control and uniformity,
horizontal governance recognises
that governments alone may not have
the capacity, knowledge or legitimacy
to solve complex public policy
problems in a diverse society”
Source:Mapping the Links
Empowernment
 Central and Eastern Europe reforms
- breaking five monopolies
• Electoral monopoly of the communist party
• “Homogenous state authority” monopoly; vertical,
dependency of lower on upper tiers of government.
• Monopoly of state property – the municipal property
could not exist as separate from state property
• Monopoly of state budget – local budgets were part of
central government finance. No discretion in local
revenue raising.
• Monopoly of the state administration – local
bureaucrats were part of the central administration
and subordinated to branch ministries rather than to
local council or executives.
[Source: Regulski J. (1997) “Samorząd w budowie” [w:] P. Swianiewicz (ed.) Wartości
podstawowe samorządu terytorialnego i demokracji lokalnej, Municipium,
Warszawa.]
Reforming Public Services
UK Initiatives
• CCT Compulsory Competitive
Tendering
• The Citizen’s Charter
• Modernizing Government White Paper
• Better Public Services

Some implementations:
• CCT
• Best Value
• Compact
 Compulsory Competitive
Tendering (CCT)
• Separating politics and administration
• Elected bodies replaced with specialized
agencies
• Contact and cooperation between the
organizations based on market relations and
procedures
• Local authorities act as „Enabling Authority”
and concentrate on local policies and not on
the details of implementation
• Reduction of local governments’ corporate
identity
 BEST VALUE
• Ensuring that public services are
responsive to the needs of citizens, not
the convenience of service providers

• Ensuring that public services are efficient

and of a high quality

• Ensuring that policy making is more

joined-up and strategic, forward looking
and not reactive to short-term pressures
 The Compact - published in 1998
The agreement between the Government and the voluntary
and community sector to improve their relationship for the
benefit of the communities they serve. The Compact sets
out:
• a shared vision and principles;
• undertakings for both sides;
• Government’s commitment to respect the independence of
the sector; and systems to help make sure that the
agreement works.
Community groups can play a range of different roles:
• providing a voice for residents and users to public
authorities and service providers;
• building relationships and networks in neighbourhoods and
communities, and providing self-help and mutual support
• delivering services, often locally and informally, based on
their assessment of community needs.
Organizational Solutions in
Public Service Delivery
 Diferent Forms
• Partnerships
• Privatization
• PPP
• Public Benefit
 Partnerships
Partnerships overcome typical obstacles,
local authority encounters in service
delivery (and other areas) :

• Dispersed resources
• Administrative-territorial fragmentation
• Limited economies of scale
• Threshold gap
Organisational arrangements
for cooperation
:
• Joint inter-municipal agency
• Partnerships with the private sector
• Partnership with the Civil Society
organizations
 Main principles
• Avoiding the risks of corruption,

• Limiting abuse of power and improper

conduct.

• creation of an enabling environment

• Assuring proper legal framework

 Privatization
Basic terms:
• Consumer: recipient / user of the given service
• Producer: entity delivering / producing a service
• Initiator: entity contacting consumer and
producer or choosing the producer
Financing:
• Consumer pays for the service
• Public authority or charity organization pays for
the service
• Cost is subsidized by the public body or private
 Goods and Source:
Services Savas

Private Sector
Central
Initiates
Governmet
Initiates

State Private Sector Private Sector State

produce Produces Produces produce
s s

State Local co Conce Subs Coup Mark Non - Self - Stata

Auth. ntr ssion ons et Profit sells
idy Help
act
Public Private Partnership (PPP)

• No single definition

• Variety of economic activities in constant

evolution

• Common principles and values

 What PPP is
Arrangments between government and private
sector entities for the purpose of providing
public infrastructure, community facilities and
related services.
Characterised by the sharing of investment, risk,
responsibility and reward between the partners.
The reasons for establishing such partnerships
generally involve the financing, design,
construction, operation and maintenance of
public infrastructure and services.
[Source: Canadian Public Private Partnership: A Guide for Local
Government]
 PPP Rationale
Public-Private Partnership (PPP) as a method of financing
Private sector involved in the areas where moving away
from public ownership or market provision is not good
or feasible.
Quality of the implementation and management of projects.

The principal benefits of PPP schemes:

• Public sector gains access to a range of private sector
skills that makes for more efficient and cost-effective
service
• Private sector takes on a range of risks that under
traditional public procurement would be borne by the
public sector
[Source: Cohesion Policy in Support of Growth and Jobs:
Community Strategic Guidelines, 2007-2013]
 Project Procurement Options
Source: European Commission Directorate-General Regional policy Guidelines for
successful Public – private Partnerships, March 2003
Community Involvement in Public
Service Implementation