Is the public getting a good deal when the government contracts out the delivery of goods and services? Phillip Cooper attempts to get at the heart of this question by exploring what happens when public sector organizations—at the federal, state and local levels—form working relationships with other agencies, communities, non-profit organizations and private firms through contracts. Rather than focus on the ongoing debate over privatization, the book emphasizes the tools managers need to form, operate, terminate or transform these contracts amidst a complex web of intergovernmental relations.
Cooper frames the issues of public contract management by showing how managers are caught in between governance by authority and government by contract. By looking at cases ranging from the management of Baltimore schools to the contracting of senior citizen programs in Kansas, he offers practical information to students and practitioners and a theoretical context for their work.
At every turn, the author avoids bogging readers down in technical jargon. Instead the book sheds light on a crucial part of any public manager's job with lively case material and no-nonsense guidance for making the most of taxpayer dollars.
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Table of Contents
(all chapters contain a Conclusion and Notes)
Foreword
Preface
1. Getting A Good Deal for the Public: Moving Past Advocacy and Beyond Bidding
A Set of Criteria and Inevitable Trade-Offs
Is "Deal" a Four-Letter Word?
A 300-Pound Gorilla Cannot Be Ignored: The Reach of Contracting Issues
Life on the Bubble: The Problem of the Vertical and Horizontal Models
2. From Power to Contract: Governance by Agreement Versus Policy from Authority
How Did We Get into This Situation? Early Foundations of the Contract State
From Kennedy's Technocrats to Reinventing Government: Contracting in a High-Tech, Market-Driven World
The Movement from Authority to Contract
The Integration-Operation-Separation Model
3. Integration: Forming the Relationship and Setting the Rules
From Purchasing to Partnerships to Alliances
Forming the Relationship: The Decision to Contract
The Processes of Contract Formation
Contract Officers and Project Teams
Trade-Offs and Consequences
4. Operations: The Management of Contract Relationships
Contract Negotiation: The Subtle Movement from Integration to Operation
Contract Drafting: Laying Down the Law while Preserving the Relationship
Managing the Alliance
Contracts as Transformative Agents
Managing Relationships amid Change
Network Management: Governing through Contract Service Networks
5. Separation or Transformation: Ending or Remaking Relationships
The Decision to Challenge the Status Quo
Contract Termination and Problems of Momentum and Hospice Care
Settlements from Pleasant to Confrontational
The Accountability Challenge: Public Agencies, For-Profit Firms, and Nonprofit Organizations
6. Capacity Building for Contract Management: Developing Hybrid Institutions for a Complex State
Reinforcing the Foundations for Public Contract Management: The View from the Vertical Model
Improving the Process and Supporting the People: Reforms on the Horizontal Model
Bibliography
Opinions Cited
Index
Testimonials
"After reading every word of this manuscript I found myself fascinated by Cooper's treatment, drawn into the subject, and intrigued by his approach. I found a new appreciation for the topic of contracting -- something I had little academic interest in prior to picking up this book. The text was informative, accessible, interesting, and eye-opening. All of these characteristics lend themselves to a very useful and important classroom text."
- Robert A. Schuhmann, University of Wyoming
Bio(s)
Phillip J. Cooper, Portland State University
Phillip J. Cooper is professor of public administration in the Hatfield School of Government at Portland State University. He was the first recipient of the Charles Levine Award given by the American Society for Public Administration and the National Association of Schools of Public Affairs and Administration. He is the author of numerous books and articles on public administration, administrative law, constitutional law, law and public policy, environmental policy, and sustainable development administration. He has served as a consultant to the United Nations and the World Bank on sustainable administration. He has also been a consultant to local governments, state and federal agencies, the U.S. Congress, and the White House.
