The ins and outs of outsourcing and insourcing

What is it about?

This article examines the main lessons from 30 years of outsourcing around the world, and the more recent experiences of insourcing. It explores the reasons why having an organisational split between service commissioners and providers can have major advantages - and also the down sides of such a split. It shows how the greatly increased range of mechanisms for service provision - such as intensive co-production with citizens, genuine partnerships with the private and third sectors, contracting for social value with social enterprises, and a more outcome-based focus, has increased the opportunities for the service commissioning role to be much more creative and cost-effective.

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Why is it important?

As the savage cuts in public expenditure take effect in the UK and many other countries across the world, governments are increasingly turning to outsourcing as a way of keeping up outcomes in spite of falling budgets. This article shows why this sometimes works - and why it sometimes turns out very badly.

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