Challenges in structure of contracts and its implementation in multi stakeholder partnerships: a focus on social services

Abstract

New Public Management (NPM) has piqued significant interest amongst academics, policymakers and practitioners, since its first usage in works of Hood (1991 and 1995). Schelder and Proeller (2002) propose that NPM was derived out of the wave of reforms in New Zealand, way back in the 1980 s. NPM is primarily an agreement about public goods and services, arising out of a dialogue between stakeholders such as the public and their elected representatives. There are various models of NPM at work such as contracting out, benchmarking or quality management. The paper focuses on contracting out and intends to concentrate on the structure and design of agreements between Govt. and civil society organizations, in multi-stakeholder partnerships. The rationale behind a focus on multi-stakeholder partnerships is, their increasing presence and relevance in the development sector. To study the structure of contracts and understand the nature of relationships, the paper explores a case study of Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan(SSA) in urban Bangalore. The policies of SSA encourage partnerships with private bodies and civil society organizations such as NGO s, foundations and corporates (CSR) in eleven areas. Six organizations, participating with SSA in providing elementary education in urban Bangalore were interviewed to understand the nature of contracts and their critical dependencies. It was observed that significant private players, those who have established themselves over the years and have a robust funding model do not get into a formal MoU with SSA. In contrast, middle-sized organizations or newly created NGO s who seek to get funding, are very keen on getting into a contractual relationship with SSA. The constraint being, these contracts are short-lived, and civil society organizations find it somewhat difficult to make their programs scalable and sustainable. The findings of the paper can be extrapolated to other sectors, apart from education, to understand the structure and nature of relationships in multi-stakeholder partnerships. The concluding segment focusses on alternatives and policy recommendations for non-government stakeholders to ensure a rewarding collaboration with the state.