Rethinking relationships: clarity, contingency, and capabilities

Abstract

Governments around the world have developed complex portfolios of relationships with other parties in order to carry out the various activities needed to govern. Reliance on the efforts of other parties has long been a feature of government activity, but in recent times governments worldwide have adopted contracting models to deliver outcomes to citizens and communities. This has especially been the case in their relationships with for-profit and nonprofit providers of public services. Despite the widespread use of contracting by government, how governments think about contracting is very narrow. Indeed, most government contracting models rely very heavily on a specific tool – outsourcing. T..