Signed. Sealed. Delivered?

Are outsourcing contracts delivering benefits for the public sector? PricewaterhouseCoopers addresses the questions surrounding the delivery of UK public sector outsourcing programmes.

May 2007

As the public sector continues in its drive for improved efficiencies and effectiveness in order to achieve better value for money in public services, the use of the private sector is becoming an increasingly accepted part of delivery against these objectives. The ability to access the private sector’s experience and specialist skills in order to better allow the public sector to concentrate on its core tasks has led to a growing recognition amongst government entities that outsourcing or strategic partnering can act as a catalyst for change.

The processes and models for effective outsourcing and strategic partnering are still under development and many questions still surround the delivery of these programmes in practice:

• How well is outsourcing actually working for the public sector?
  
• Are public sector bodies realising the benefits they anticipated?
  
• Is outsourcing fulfilling its promise?
  

To address these questions, PricewaterhouseCoopers commissioned a survey to assess the experience to date among contract managers of services outsourced by the public sector and those who supply such services. We wanted to understand the current thinking on how these contracts are working in practice and to highlight areas that need greater focus in order to more fully realise the benefits that outsourcing offers.

The research findings include some results which are surprising and others which confirm what might have been expected. They capture the experience of those who actually implement and manage public sector contracts, giving a clear indication where they believe outsourcing works as a model to deliver benefits and where improvements are required.

For your copy of the survey results, please fill in this short form