• Establish a structure for successful contract management
• Improve government performance
• Implement more flexible contracting processes
• Discover new methods for monitoring contractor performance
• Ensure effectiveness and efficiency of your service contracting program

Service contracting has expanded into larger and more complex contract areas—giving local governments many attractive options. As a tool for cost containment, cost reduction, and service quality improvement, service contracting helps local government managers meet citizen demands for more and better services while working with fewer resources.

A successful service contracting program requires thoughtful planning. Careful planning and attention to detail results in a service contracting program that fits the needs of the local community. Lack of planning can mean major problems down the road.

Service Contracting: A Guide for Local Government, Second Edition, provides you and your staff with the basic tools and guidance you need to plan, develop, and administer an efficient and effective service contracting program. Completely updated and revised, packed with real-world expertise, best practices, and practical tools, Service Contracting is the most detailed, useful guide to service contracting in local government.

Service Contracting, Second Edition , takes you through every phase of service contracting from start to finish. This new edition addresses the need for more flexible contracting processes, such as negotiated approaches and hybrid procedures; the growing trend toward contracting with a wider array of service providers; the challenges of network service contracting; and the impact of technological developments.

This is a must-have guide for all local government managers who currently are engaged in service contracting or who are considering service contracting as an alternative. As the culmination of expert advice and lessons learned, this indispensable reference will help you avoid the pitfalls that can derail the process, and hands you the tools you need for success.

About the Editor

Kelly LeRoux is an assistant professor in the Department of Public Administration at the University of Kansas . She holds PhD, MPA, and MSW degrees from Wayne State University . Prior to beginning an academic career, she worked as an administrator for a nonprofit behavioral health organization based in the Detroit metropolitan area. Professor LeRoux conducts research in the areas of alternative service delivery, government-nonprofit relations, and metropolitan governance. Her recent work has appeared in the Urban Affairs Review , the American Review of Public Administration , Public Works Management and Policy , and the International Journal of Organizational Theory and Behavior .

Hardcover. September 2007. 304 pages. ISBN: 978-0-87326-718-2. Item 43480