Rethinking Public Service Delivery

Together with John Alford, I have just released Rethinking Public Service Delivery: Managing with External Providers with Palgrave. We've had great endorsements for the book and have also been doing quite a bit of press around the launches that we had in Melbourne and Canberra.

'This excellent book provides a useful and innovative framework for understanding effective delivery of public services.' – Steven Rathgeb Smith, University of Washington, Seattle. 

'A brilliant introduction to new ideas and techniques for delivering public services, backed by convincing examples and analyses.' – Knut Eggum Johansen, Special Adviser, Government Reform, Norway 

'Should be required reading for all who want to understand the costs and benefits of different forms of public service provision, and the circumstances that influence their relative effectiveness.' – George Boyne, Cardiff Business School 

'A landmark survey. The framework can be used by both scholars and practitioners and will significantly advance the cause of creating public value.' – G. Edward DeSeve, former Senior Advisor to President Obama

'Drawing on lively case examples, this compelling book introduces differing types of engagement, concepts for choosing them, and techniques for managing them.' – Terry Moran, former head, Prime Minister's Department, Australia.


In an op-ed for The Guardian this week we set out the key arguments from the book and related them to some current contracting 'scandals' in the UK. We also had a feature piece in the Public Sector Informant, the monthly public sector lift out in The Canberra Times. John was interviewed on ABC Radio National, and we have some more op-ed/feature pieces coming out in the UK and possibly the US over the coming weeks.