Contracting For Services In State And Local Government Agencies

This second edition of Contracting for Services in State and Local Government Agencies provides state-of-the-art tools for best practice in the procurement of services at state and local levels, from initial stages through to completion. Including lively case studies and research conducted with state and local agencies across the United States, this book provides management advice and tips on compliance to reduce costs, select the best-qualified contractors, manage contractors’ performance, and prevent corruption and waste. Utilizing the results of new research in all fifty states, author William Sims Curry offers updated best-practice documents, methodologies, and templates including: a Request for Proposal (RFP), a scorecard for proposals to select the best-qualified contractor, a toolkit for meeting socioeconomic contracting goals without compromising price, quality, or on-time delivery, and a Model Services Contract (MSC). Special consideration is given to obtaining services and products in states of emergency. Several additional resources for practitioners are available online, including sample contracts and a straightforward, inexpensive tool for tracking contractors’ progress and cost management. The roadmap and templates contained in this book and available online to readers will prove essential to state and local government agency contracting professionals and other officials and employees called upon to participate in the drafting of solicitations, writing sole source justifications, writing scopes of work, serving on advance contract planning and source selection teams, recommending award of contracts, or assisting in the management of those contracts.

"Contracting for Services in State and Local Government Agencies: Best Practices for Public Procurement, Third Edition provides state-of-the-art tools for best practice in the procurement of services at state and local levels, throughout the procurement cycle. Including lively case studies and research conducted with state and local agencies across the United States, this award-winning book provides management advice and tips on compliance to reduce costs, select the best-qualified contractors, manage contractors' performance, and prevent corruption and waste. Utilizing the results of new research across states, cities, counties, and institutes of higher learning, this third edition offers 18 all-new best-practice documents as well as updated methodologies and templates including but not limited to: a full-length and short-form Request for Proposal (RFP), a full-length and short-form Pro Forma Contract (PFC), letter contracts, a sample estimate at completion, a contract amendment template, and a form for evaluation of proposals. Special consideration is given to obtaining services and products during states of emergency. Several additional resources for instructors and professionals are available online, including templates and PowerPoint slides. The roadmap and templates contained in this book and available online to readers will prove essential to state and local government agency contracting professionals and other officials and employees called upon to participate in the drafting of solicitations, writing sole source justifications, writing scopes of work, serving on advance contract planning and source selection teams, recommending award of contracts, or assisting in the management of those contracts"--

The second edition of Government Contracting: Promises and Perils picks up where the first edition’s mission left off: exposing fraud, incompetence, waste, and abuse (FIWA) and analyzing corruption, mismanagement, and ineptitude that defile government contracting. The first edition thoroughly outlined procurement throughout the contracting cycle including initial planning, contractor selection, contract administration, contract closeout, and auditing. This significantly revised new edition provides additional much-needed guidance on contracting documents, management tools, and processes for addressing negative influences on government contracting, including an improved approach to evaluating proposals. Specific guidance for avoiding FIWA is provided for government officials and employees, government agencies, and government contractors, and practical solutions to problems faced by individuals and organizations involved in government contracting are intended for both practitioner and pedagogical applications. The "Government Procurement Corruption Wall of Shame" that was introduced in the first edition to illustrate contracting perils such as conflicts of interest, duplicity, favoritism, incompetence, kickbacks, and protests is continued in the second edition, and cases illustrating the existence of FIWA in government contracting have been thoroughly updated. Contracting documents and contract management tools are provided on a website designed to accompany the book. Written at the graduate level and specifically intended for state, local, federal, and international government procurement activities, this textbook is required reading for public procurement, contract management, business, and public administrations courses.

Privatization of government services in the United States has accelerated in the last two decades, especially at the state and local levels. This work focuses on contracting out—the most widely used method of privatization. Contributors from academia, consulting firms, government agencies, and private providers discuss the why and how of contracting out and examine the results of contracted services, including quality and cost measures of performance. Some chapters apply economic theory to contracting out. Others examine recent case studies of contracting out initiatives. The book begins with a thoughtful essay on the theory of privatization and examines the recent record of use in state and local governments. Section 1 takes an overview look at contracting out. Section 2 examines contracting in the criminal justice area as well as examples of contracting in such diverse areas as trash collection and the operation of golf courses. The final section looks in depth at the mechanics, obstacles, and effects of contracting. The book points out the pluses and minuses of contracting out and points to the lessons that can be learned from the recent history of this privatization technique.

Should we be doing—or trying to do—everything ourselves, or might it be better to contract some tasks out to others? Could they do them better and cheaper than we can? More and more state and local governments are asking these questions, and while there are many answers on the Federal level, these answers often don't apply lower down the line. Nevertheless, it is evident that contracting out is often the better strategy—but how best to go about it? What are the benefits and what are the hidden risks? Dr. O'Looney's book provides precisely the guidance that state and local managers need: first, how to decide to outsource a government service, then step-by-step how to proceed. Based on extensive interviews and other research, O'Looney takes managers through the intricacies of contract outsourcing and administration, but in doing so he makes clear that he appreciates the importance of government. His book is not an argument for privatization, as so many other books are; rather, it is an affirmation of government and the benefits of its many services. Readers will find theory and advice on the services that are most suitable for contracting out; a listing and review of the components of a high-quality analysis, including the analysis of often overlooked political, organizational, and functional aspects of government; advice on how to go from deciding to outsource to actually designing, implementing, and monitoring a contract in situations that could prove hazardous to the livelihoods of government workers. He also discusses the changes that need to be made in the organizational culture, management, and employee training as a result of the change to a contract-based system of providing services; the considerations in designing work specifications and other critical aspects of the government-vendor relationship, and how ideal contracting processes and ideal contracts can differ according to the nature of the service being contracted. The result is a thorough and highly practical volume for executives and managers in the public sector, and for those who hope to do business with them.

Addressing the major issues of state and local government administration, this introductory, core textbook is ideal for courses in State and Local Government Administration, State Government, Municipal Government, Labor Relations, Public Budgeting and Decision-Making, Policy-Making and Personnel Administration. Offering reliable, up-to-date information, this text provides a thorough understanding of state and local government administration and its current, general trends. Written by leading experts in their respective fields, this work contains in-depth, authoritative examinations of four crucial areas: organization and management -- including management structures at various levels of government such as counties and special districts, and leadership functions; budgeting, decision-making, and financial management -- discussing state budgeting functions and limitations, and internal and external control mechanisms; policy-making and policy implementation -- demonstrating patterns within the executive and legislative branches as well as alternatives to municipal service delivery and the integration of human services management within delivery systems; and personnel administration and labor relations -- covering organizational training, employee benefits, unionism, and collective bargaining. Now, advanced undergraduate- and graduate-level public administration and political science students; public administrators and managers; and professionals in government agencies and institutes can meet the demands of this rapidly changing field with this outstanding text. Book jacket.