Beyond government? The appeal of public‐private partnerships

Abstract: For the most part, the considerable literature devoted to new public management and its subset, alternative service delivery, is enthusiastic about this dramatic shift in the role of government. The metaphor of governments steering and the private sector rowing is an appealing one that has captured the imagination of many public officials and private‐sector actors. Literature addressing this phenomenon tends to focus on defining the characteristics of various forms of government/private‐sector partnerships rather than on assessing the implications and results of actual examples. This paper attempts to complement the existing literature by examining six cases of public‐private partnerships, of both high and low profile ‐ the Confederation Bridge; the Charleswood Bridge; canarie ; rcmp /Disney; Highway 407; and Chrysler/University of Windsor. The higher profile (and more costly) ventures have placed heavy emphasis on confidentiality, which raises concerns about traditional public‐sector values such as accountability, democracy and neutrality. The conclusions of the article are mixed, but at the very least, they suggest the need for caution, vigilance and scepticism. Sommaire: Pour la plupart, c'est avec beaucoup d'enthousiasme que les nombreaux auteurs d'ouvrages sur la Nouvelle gestion publique et sur son sous‐élément, la Prestation de services de rechange, envisagent cette modification fondamentale du rôle des gouvernements. Le gouvernement au gouvernail et le secteur privé aux avirons, voilà une métaphore qui a fait de nombreux adeptes parmi les hauts fonctionnaires comme chez les intervenants du secteur privé. Plutôt que d'évaluer les répercussions et les résultats d'exemples réels, les ouvrages sur ce sujet ont tendance à focaliser sur la définition des caractéristiques de divers types de partenariats entre le gouvernement et le secteur privé. Dans cet article, nous visons à complémenter ces ouvrages en analysant six partenariats public‐privé entrepris par divers paliers de gouvernement au cours des années 1990. La gamme des cas choisis est assez hétéroclite, certains étant très connus, d'autres moins: les ponts Confédération et Charleswood, CANARIE, GRC/Disney, l'Autoroute 407 et Chrysler/Université de Windsor. Les projets plus connus (et plus coûteux) ont fortement souligné leur caractère confidentiel, ce qui a mis en cause les valeurs traditionnelles du secteur public, telles l'imputabilité, la démocratic et la neutralité. Selon les conclusions de l'article, qui sont variées, il conviendrait pour le moins de procéder avec prudence, vigilance et scepticisme.     

Trajectories of non-intimate partner and intimate partner homicides, 1980-1999: The importance of rurality

Research had consistently shown that intimate partner homicide rates had been on a steady downward decline over the past two decades; however, a relatively recent movement in intimate partner homicide research had emphasized the need for further dissecting the aggregate trends by factors such as gender, race, victim-offender relationship, and same-sex partners. Taking this a step forward, this study utilized trajectory analysis for comparing and contrasting non-intimate partner homicide and intimate partner homicide rates over time in order to explore the importance of rurality when investigating intimate partner violence. Results of the analysis indicated that although intimate partner homicide rates had been declining over the 1980-1999 period for the majority of the 1,341 U.S. counties examined, there was evidence that rurality was significantly associated with an increased likelihood of assignment to a non-declining intimate partner homicide trajectory. In light of the findings, the authors also consider how these results can direct future research on intimate partner violence in rural areas.     

Pursuing performance and maintaining compliance: Balancing performance improvement and accountability in Ontario's public health system

This article examines the compatibility between performance improvement and compliance‐based accountability in the implementation of a new system of public health performance management in Ontario. Findings from this mixed‐method study show that only minor elements of performance improvement get incorporated into pre‐existing compliance‐based accountability structures, that reinforcement of accountability structures works to the detriment of performance improvement intentions, and that limiting managerial influence in developing performance measures and targets diminish the utility of information for improvement. The study concludes that achieving a better balance requires an alternative to top‐down decision making that goes beyond consultation to include partnership.     

Protecting Local Governments from Arbitrary State and Federal Interference: What Prospects for the 1990s?

The number of local governments in Nigeria has been fixed at453 by the 1989 Constitution. The key purpose of this provisionis to prevent state governments from creating local governmentsand altering local-government boundaries for political purposes.The provision is part of a larger program of localgovernmentreform undertaken by the federal military government to ensurethe integrity and autonomy of democratically elected local governmentsunder the Third Republic. States are limited in their abilityto intervene in local government affairs, and the federal governmenthas certain direct powers and responsibilities for local governments.Whether these reforms will achieve their intended objectives,however, is arguable.     

Intergovernmental Management: Federal Changes, State Responses, and New State Initiatives

This article surveys state responses and new state initiativesin 1983 to three sets of successive federal changes in domesticpolicy. Collectively referred to as the New Federalism, thesechanges include the block grants and accompanying regulatoryreforms of 1981, the changes in Medicaid reimbursement policyof 1982, and the job training and development programs of late1982 and early 1983. Following a brief overview of these changesin intergovernmental management perspective, state responsesin 1983 are examined in three areas—policy development,policy and program management, and service delivery management.