The latest issue of CEDA's quarterly magazine, Australian Chief Executive, provides a road map for continued improvement to the quality of government services in Australia.
Gary Sturgess argues in the magazine that private competition in contracting can be used not just to cut costs but also to push up service quality. But he argues that to do so, we will need to evaluate bids more rigorously, measure performance more appropriately, and manage publicly-controlled networks more effectively.
And he notes that all three of these issues arose in European Australia's very first contracting-out exercises - the management of the First and Second Fleets in the late 1700s.
Sturgess, a pioneer of public sector reforms in the 1980s as an advisor to former NSW premier Nick Greiner, now heads UK services think tank The Serco Institute. He has presented regularly at CEDA during his frequent trips to Australia.
"We know that competition and contracting can be used to improve the quality of public services," Mr Sturgess says in the August Australian Chief Executive. "But for the most part, this is not how the private sector has been employed."
"In fact, in the 1980s, when governments in the English-speaking world turned once again to contracting for the provision of public services, there was insufficient recognition of the need to specify service standards carefully and monitor the contractor's performance to ensure that standards were maintained."
Mr Sturgess argues that the future of public service contracting "depends on how well companies like Serco, our competitors and our public sector customers cope with this particular tool of management".
CEDA chief executive office David Edwards says CEDA endorses Mr Sturgess's call to use contracting to improve the quality of public services.
"Australia's 'third wave' of economic reform must focus not just on lowering costs but on improving services in education, health, infrastructure and many other fields," he says.
The August issue of Australian Chief Executive also expands on CEDA's research into lifelong learning, one of the major challenges facing Australia, and includes insights from academic and business leaders who helped launch CEDA's recent lifelong learning report.
Other highlights include Vint Cerf on the Internet, Kevin Rudd on China, and an overview of CEDA's latest information paper on the challenges facing management development in Australia.
The August edition of Australian Chief Executive is attached in PDF format. For printed copies, email info@ceda.com.au.
For further information please contact:
John Harris
Corporate Relations Director
Phone 03 9652 8415
Email info@ceda.com.au
Printed from the CEDA Web site at http://ceda.com.au. Copyright 1999-2009 CEDA