Challenges in Contracting and Expertise in Leadership

PUBLIC MANAGEMENT
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Q. 1 What are the challenges posed by contracting for the provision of public services? In your answer, identify and critically assess the conditions for success and the potential drivers of failure in contracting.
1. Introduction
Contracting for the provision of public services is a complex process that can be challenging for both the government and private sector organizations involved. The public services are outsourced to be used in several policy disciplines and analyzed by economists who deal with them with core attention (Provost & Esteve, 2016). Several challenges can be posed by contracting for the provision of public services, which need to be sorted for smooth service delivery.
2. Challenges in Contracting
Figure SEQ Figure \* ARABIC 1: Challenges in Contract Management
2.1 Ensuring Value for Money
One of the main challenges of contracting for public services is ensuring that the contract provides value for money to the public. This can be difficult to assess, as it is not always easy to compare the cost and quality of different service providers.
2.2 Managing risk
Another challenge is managing risk, as the public sector is often responsible for ensuring that the services provided are of high quality and meet the community's needs (Rendon et al., 2019). This can be difficult when the services are provided by an external contractor, as the public sector may have limited control over the service quality. Risk management and allocation also need to be cleared. The details like risks associated with the private contractor, the retention by the government, and surety of handling need to be cleared; otherwise, it may disrupt the contract's success.
2.3 Ensuring transparency and accountability
It is also important to ensure that the contracting process is transparent and accountable, as the public sector is accountable to the taxpayers for public funds.
2.4 Maintaining flexibility
It can also be challenging when contracting for public services. Since the community's needs may change over time, the public sector may need to adapt the services provided to meet these changing needs. To reduce the communication gap and enhance the company's overall productivity, it is pertinent to incorporate the element of flexibility in maintaining contracts.
2.5 Implementation of Contracts
This includes ensuring that contracts are properly executed and that the services are delivered as required. This can be difficult as it involves coordination between different government departments and private sector organizations and requires effective communication and monitoring mechanisms to be in place (Castillo, 2016). Furthermore, ensuring that the contractor is held accountable and measuring its performance during the contract period can be difficult in practice. It can be challenging to measure the outcomes and results of public services. Also, ensuring that the contractor adheres to the terms of the contract can be difficult to enforce.
3. Conditions for Success in Contracting
Contracting through public services cannot always succeed without combining several factors. Perfection in work comes wit...