SHORT ON OVERSIGHT / States and localities are outsourcing more of their services, but management of the contracts is in dire need of an upgrade.
Source: By Katherine Barrett & Richard Greene, Governing Magazine, May 2006
The exact numbers are a mystery. Even Khi Thai, director of the Public Procurement Research Center, says that "no one even really knows the extent of outsourcing in the states." The best guess is that somewhere between 15 and 20 percent of all state spending is contracted out to third parties. That adds up to a total that may be in excess of $200 billion. The real trouble isn't in the numbers. It's in the absence of solid management for privatized service contracts. Problems are common all along the route--from the decision to outsource a government service, to overseeing the effort, to ensuring that the contractor delivers what's promised.