Abstract
When publicly-funded services are outsourced, governments still use multiple governance structures to retain some control over the services provided. Using realist methods the authors systematically compared this aspect of community health activities provided by third sector organizations in six English localities during 2020–2022. Two modes of commissioning coexisted. Commodified commissioning largely embodied Washington consensus models of formal, competitive procurement. A contrasting, collaborative mode of commissioning relied more upon relational, long-term co-operation and networking among organizations. When the two modes conflicted, commissioners often favoured the collaborative mode and sought to adjust their commissioning to make it less commodified.
| Original language | English |
|---|---|
| Pages (from-to) | 298-307 |
| Number of pages | 10 |
| Journal | Public Money & Management |
| Volume | 44 |
| Issue number | 4 |
| Early online date | 15 Aug 2023 |
| DOIs | |
| Publication status | Published - Apr 2024 |
Bibliographical note
Acknowledgments:The research on which this article is based was funded by the NIHR Health Services Delivery Research programme, grant NIHR 128107. The views and opinions expressed above are those of the authors, not necessarily those of the Health Services and Delivery Research Programme, NIHR, NHS or the UK Department of Health.
Keywords
- Commissioning
- commodification
- England
- inter-organization collaboration
- networks
- outsourcing
- third sector
- Washington consensus