An Indelicate Balance
Source: Ellen Perlman, Governing, Vol. 20 no. 5, February 2007
Instead of the time-tested purchasing process, commonwealth officials are experimenting with a different business model — one the legislature introduced a decade ago but limited to transportation and school construction projects: letting the private sector become a partner. With that limit lifted in 2002, IT officials have been freed to tap private companies for their technical expertise and their deep pockets. Company representatives can be invited in the front door — before a project takes shape — to make suggestions about how the state could best improve a system. In return, the company whose suggestion wins is not only awarded the contract, it also gains the opportunity to reap revenue rewards in exchange for risking its own money on the success of the project.