What Do They Know, and Whom Do They Hold Accountable? Citizens in the Government–Nonprofit Contracting Relationship

Devolution and pressures from elected officials and citizens to reduce government involvement in service provision have increasingly led many public agencies to contract with nonprofits for service delivery. In this article we consider the effects of the changing institutional arrangements governing...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Journal of public administration research and theory 2004-04, Vol.14 (2), p.191-209
Main Authors: Van Slyke, David M., Roch, Christine H.
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Accountability
Citizens
Community Satisfaction
Contracts
Cost reduction
Delivery Systems
Government
Government Agencies
Government bureaucracy
Government contracts
Government reform
Government relations
Government services
Governmental reform
Local government
Non-profit organizations
Nonprofit Organizations
Polls
Privatization
Public administration
Public opinion surveys
Public Sector Private Sector Relations
Public Services
Quality of service
Social Services
Studies
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Summary:Devolution and pressures from elected officials and citizens to reduce government involvement in service provision have increasingly led many public agencies to contract with nonprofits for service delivery. In this article we consider the effects of the changing institutional arrangements governing the delivery of publicly funded social services on citizens' satisfaction and ability to hold service providers accountable. Specifically, we consider whether citizens are able to accurately identify service providers as nonprofit or governmental providers and investigate what drives individual perceived and actual use of nonprofits for social services; what the relationship is between perceived and actual use and a citizen's satisfaction with social services; and whether satisfaction with services influences the likelihood that citizens will correctly identify a provider as a nonprofit or governmental agency. Using public opinion data, we examine these questions empirically. Our results suggest that citizens are more likely to misidentify nonprofit service providers as governmental agencies when they are less satisfied with the services that they have received. The public management implications of contracting with nonprofit organizations and citizen satisfaction and accountability are discussed.
ISSN:1053-1858
1477-9803
DOI:10.1093/jopart/muh013