Public Private Partnerships

Def. of Partnerships: Partnerships as inter-organisational collaborative

relationships that are horizontal & vertical for service delivery

NSW Treasury identifies these projects as PPPs

o Education, health, rail, roads water treatment, airport they are all
building projects (primarily major infrastructure projects)
Other PPPs includes: surf life-saving organisations, rural fire service (as a
largely volunteer organisation)
In this context: 3 sector organisations= volunteer org.= NGO
Partnerships do not only deliver infrastructure, but also social services
Who the private are:
o In infrastructure: Private= usually for profit org
o In social (public service) Private= usually voluntary org.
Whether PPP falls under NPG depends on how it is structured
PPP a long standing tradition
o Esp. with religious org & health care
Accelerated recently usually for:
o Cost savings
o Efficiencies
o Efficacy
o as other org. can do it better/cheaper.
o But is there empirical substantiation in this? E.g. Wood Commission
Report recommended to move out of home care to NGOs as they do it betterbut there is no empirical support for this
Key Challenges
o Funding Issues identified by Families Australia:
Short term funding cycle (1-3 yrs)
Tendering requirements disproportionate to financial returns (esp. to smaller
org.)
Evaluation of pilot projects too close to end to provide certainty
o Suggest that you start evaluation process early on so as to give staff in
project more room to plan for their own futures- esp. the talented staff
Not all contracts allow for cost of living indexation
o Org. may feel compelled to raise wages etc. but contract doesnt allow
for that costs

 Smaller org. disadvantaged with ongoing operational costs etc.

o Same amt. of regulatory requirements but smaller so more expensive
When looking at things with long term consequences, what you want is
stability
o Requirement for financial management and looking after longer term
needs, which are at odds with shorter term funding models
o Accountability- Identified by Families Australia General increase in
accountability requirements stretches as org. resources
E.g. Office of the Childrens Guardian Reporting vary according to
state/federal levels
Impedes accountability
Also puts burden on organisation to provide/report data to state/fed
Narrowly defined activities restricts NGO to receive tax deductable donations
Harder to raise donations for NGO Voluntary board responsible for finances
of org increase pressure on these board to meet financial obligations
o Workforce issues Increased competition among community service orgs
for govt and private financial support as well as staff
Co-optition: where there is competition and cooperation
But there is competition for staff- not enough staff as too many org.
Workforce retention greater challenged due to salaries and super paid in
other sectors
Voluntary org. cant pay the same salaries as they do in the public or
private sector Recruiting and retaining staff from rural areas increasingly
problematic
o Advocacy Changes in: Capacity to resource advocacy
As org. now dependent on funding tied to a particular project- thus no
funding for advocacy (marketing)
Lack of untied funds
Funding shift to business model (from activist to business manager)
o Esp. with large voluntary org.
o Whereas in the past, the head of org. was an activist, rather than a
business manager who know how to run org./manage grants Willingness to
advocate
Competition, fragmentation, lack of cooperation (inter agency) among
agencies
o Arguable in some cases- there may be more co-option
Government control of advocacy
o Govt can control advocacy through contracts

o Where there are some contracts that restrict type of advocacy that org.
can do E.g. cannot publicly decry the policy implementing when receive
contract from govt.
Lack of a sense of efficacy
New culture of govt- community service org. relationships
o Silencing dissent is more accepted
What is the org. advocating for shift in advocacy
o Can advocate for more contracts/money for project to go forward rather
than for broader social change
Dependence goes both ways
o Govt. may need org. to fulfil social service roles and thus need to be
more attune to advocacy But this only occur when there is a limited no. of
third service org. proving that service
o New patterns of governance may provide new opportunities
Marketization
Choice is important- has a positive connotation
Poverty impedes Cognitive Function article
o Query whether people are poor because they make bad decisions Poor
people use less productive workers, less likely to adhere to health care/ keep
an appointment, worse financial managers for themselves These behaviours
further deepen poverty BUT do people make bad decisions because they are
poor?
o Authors propose: To focus on mental processes required by poverty
The poor have to manage things that wealthy people dont e.g. sporadic
income, other trade offs
Human cognitive system has limited capacity, and pressing problems with
budgetary concerns etc. leave less cognitive capacity to make other decisions
Built on studies of decision fatigues Decision fatigues:
Researchers set up experiment - Test effect to hypothesis that worrying
about money will affect the way you think clearly
E.g. in USA, did car breakdown and need money to fix
E.g. in India, experiment by giving cognitive tests before and after
harvestAbility to cope will increase when financial burden was eased
o What does it mean to be poor? Poor coping with shortfall of money and
cognitive resources Context of poverty impose load and impedes capacity
Effects:
Equivalent to losing sleep/chronic alcoholic with a non-alcoholic
+/- 13 IQ points o Policy implications Avoid cognitive taxes on the poor

 Dont fill out long forms, prep for long interview, decipher new rules,
respond to complex incentives Extension services (services in departments of
ag where govt is proactive in providing services for farmers)
Provide extension services during post harvest
o i.e. make financial decisions after the harvest How is it that we provide
services and support for the poor
May keep poor people in their cognitive deficit, thus may try to keep them a
big chunk of money
o But obviously other factors like alcoholism
Couldnt afford hope
Choice actually imposes a burden on poorer people
Who is included and excluded in the benefits of choice?