Commissioning NSW hopes to straighten out the tangled web of government insourcing Economy & Industry Public servants engaging the machinery of government to handle service delivery should follow clear processes just as they do when outsourcing services, according to the…
Getting the work of government done Monday April 1, 2019 By Maria Katsonis Research Series The APS seeks outcomes for Australians through complex systems of organisations, rules and relationships. How the APS designs and stewards these systems matters. Research prepared…
Improving commissioning through design thinking Friday February 15, 2019 By Maria Katsonis Research Series Public policies and programs are intended to improve the lives of citizens. But policy design is often removed from the gritty environments experienced daily by…
Promoted What does it take to make an outcomes-based approach deliver the goods? Wednesday December 20, 2017 By The Mandarin Career Advice There's a big difference between measuring what’s been done and what’s been achieved. Knowing how and when to use an outcomes-based approach cuts to the…
Competitive tendering hasn't delivered for public transport, so why reward poor performance? Tuesday October 10, 2017 By The Mandarin Features Researcher Janet Stanley questions the competitive tendering processes used to contract public transport operators like Transdev in Melbourne, and whether the cost and performance outcomes…
Contract management lessons drawn from 'costly and opaque' Telstra deal Wednesday October 4, 2017 By Stephen Easton Case studies Federal auditors say there are lessons for all government agencies in how the Commonwealth's contract with Telstra to provide landline and payphone services has been…
NSW commissioning and contestability policy set for February launch Wednesday February 8, 2017 By The Mandarin Economy & Industry Join NSW Treasury and IPAA as they officially launch the commissioning and contestability policy with a panel discussion and Q&A later this month.
Reform and the (not so) new role of stewardship Wednesday September 28, 2016 By Helen Dickinson Features Reform discussions have focused on seemingly new ideas concerned with stewardship and commissioning. This is being touted as a fundamental change in what government does, but…
The UK experience: when contracting goes wrong, and how to prevent it Monday October 19, 2015 By David Donaldson Career Advice Institute for Government's Tom Gash and Bob Kerslake's lessons for what not to do when contracting. It's fine to tender out the service, but retaining…
Making public service markets work Monday September 14, 2015 By The Mandarin Thought Leadership When government engages external providers to deliver services, what role should it play in ensuring the markets in which these providers operate are performing at…
Helen Dickinson: four things you need to know about commissioning Friday March 13, 2015 By Helen Dickinson Features What is commissioning? Does it work? And how do you get the most out of it? A new paper examines the evidence from the UK…
Contestability and consolidation: Finance head outlines agenda Friday February 27, 2015 By Stephen Easton News Senators looked into the core of the Commonwealth on Tuesday. They heard there is more to contestability than outsourcing, hidden value in cutting back tiny…
A year of economic uncertainty and structural realignment Wednesday February 4, 2015 By The Mandarin Features What are the major challenges for public sector leaders in 2015? In a still-tightening economic environment, budget management and strategic commissioning, while still investing in…
Commissioning public services: the definition and aims matter Thursday January 22, 2015 By Helen Dickinson Editors' Picks What does commissioning mean in the public service space? The definition is broader than many think — and the aim shouldn't always be to outsource…