Contracting personalization by results: Comparing marketization reforms in the UK and Australia

• 成果类型: Article
• 署名作者: Considine, Mark; O'Sullivan, Siohban; McGann, Michael; Nguyen, Phuc
• 署名单位: University of Melbourne; University of New South Wales Sydney; Maynooth University; Maynooth University; La Trobe University
• 刊物名称: PUBLIC ADMINISTRATION
• ISSN/ISSBN: 0033-3298
• DOI: 10.1111/padm.12662
• 发表日期: 2020
• 页码: 873-890
• 关键词: employment services; BLACK-BOX; work; welfare; activation; POLICY; individualization; governance; parking

摘要

Market instruments are increasingly used to drive innovation and efficiency in public services. Meanwhile, many governments recognize the need for services to be more personalized and 'user-centred'. This was a key aim of major welfare-to-work reforms in both the UK and Australia over the past decade, which sought to achieve personalization through increasing service delivery by for-profit providers, contracted via Payment-by-Results. Drawing on three surveys of frontline staff, we show the impact of recent UK and Australian marketization reforms on frontline practices to consider whether the reform mix of increased commercial provision tied to Payment-by-Results has enhanced service personalization. We find that the UK's 'black box' model was associated with some increase in frontline discretion, but little evidence that this enhanced personalization, either compared to previous programmes or to Australia's more regulated system.