The overall aim of this project was to provide an overview of the theoretical rationale, policies and best practices of the UK government’s procurement of public services from civil society organisations (CSOs) to assist the Ministry of Civil Affairs (MoCA), People’s Republic of China, in developing its own strategies and policies to the procurement of public services from CSOs. The UK has considerable experience in this area that can provide valuable lessons for other governments and civil societies in the procurement of services.
The specific aims were first to provide an overview of current government procurement of public services from CSOs in the UK (primarily England), including the theoretical underpinning of procurement, the policy processes and practical challenges. The second aim was to examine empirical processes of procurement through research on three relevant areas of service procurement, namely, older people’s care, disability and children’s services, along with a brief case-study of a city’s approach to procurement of services from CSOs.