Municipalities and Performance/Outcome Based Contracting

Policy Series, Core Public Sector Reform, Randy Patrick

The Frontier Centre for Public Policy has just released a new research paper, Municipalities and Performance/Outcome Based Contracting. This paper is authored by Randy Patrick, a research associate with the Frontier Centre. The paper conducts an in depth analysis of the benefits of using performance based contracting methods in municipalities in Canada.

There have been calls for improving timely government processes, but internal change within governments doesn’t come quickly. Slower processes usually mean less risk for governments, but the current contracting processes in use can be drastically improved. Performance based contracting is an efficient way to enhance contracting processes. Instead of the standard contracting methods often used by governments, performance based processes are more collaborative, flexible, and create opportunities for local businesses. This innovative tool can be used by municipal governments to transfer the risk to the chosen contractor, while working with the contractor to achieve the desired results of the project. Overall, performance based processes can improve costs and services, but it requires some internal changes within governments before it can work.

To read this intriguing analysis of performance based contracting, click here: 

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