TY - JOUR
T1 - Government capacity to contract
T2 - health sector experience and lessons
AU - Bennett, Sara
AU - Mills, Anne
PY - 1998/10/1
Y1 - 1998/10/1
N2 - Using case-study material of contracting for clinical and ancillary services in the health care sector of developing countries, this article examines the capacities required for successful contracting and the main constraints which developing country governments face in developing and implementing contractual arrangements. Required capacities differ according to the type of service being contracted and the nature of the contractor. Contracting for clincial as opposed to ancillary services poses considerably greater challenges in terms of the information required for monitoring and contract design. Yet, in some of the case-studies examined, problems arose owing to government's limited capacity to perform even very basic functions such as paying contractors in a timely manner and keeping records of contracts negotiated. The external environment within which contracting takes place is also critical; in particular, the case-studies indicate that contracts embedded in slow-moving, rule-ridden bureaucracies will face substantial constraints to successful implementation. The article suggests that governments needs to assess require capacities on a service-by-service basis. For any successful contracting, basic administrative systems must be functioning. In addition, there should be development of guidelines for contracting, clear lines of communication between all agents involved in the contracting process, and regular evaluations of contractal arrangements. Finally, in cases where government has weak capacity, direct service provision may be a lower-risk delivery strategy.
AB - Using case-study material of contracting for clinical and ancillary services in the health care sector of developing countries, this article examines the capacities required for successful contracting and the main constraints which developing country governments face in developing and implementing contractual arrangements. Required capacities differ according to the type of service being contracted and the nature of the contractor. Contracting for clincial as opposed to ancillary services poses considerably greater challenges in terms of the information required for monitoring and contract design. Yet, in some of the case-studies examined, problems arose owing to government's limited capacity to perform even very basic functions such as paying contractors in a timely manner and keeping records of contracts negotiated. The external environment within which contracting takes place is also critical; in particular, the case-studies indicate that contracts embedded in slow-moving, rule-ridden bureaucracies will face substantial constraints to successful implementation. The article suggests that governments needs to assess require capacities on a service-by-service basis. For any successful contracting, basic administrative systems must be functioning. In addition, there should be development of guidelines for contracting, clear lines of communication between all agents involved in the contracting process, and regular evaluations of contractal arrangements. Finally, in cases where government has weak capacity, direct service provision may be a lower-risk delivery strategy.
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U2 - 10.1002/(SICI)1099-162X(1998100)18:4<307::AID-PAD24>3.0.CO;2-D
DO - 10.1002/(SICI)1099-162X(1998100)18:4<307::AID-PAD24>3.0.CO;2-D
M3 - Article
AN - SCOPUS:0031758973
SN - 0271-2075
VL - 18
SP - 307
EP - 326
JO - Public Administration and Development
JF - Public Administration and Development
IS - 4
ER -