Commercialization of Public Services
Many public services are well-suited for delivery by the private sector. Typically, however, when public services are privatized or contracted out through a public-private partnership or similar transaction, the services end up being provided by a large local corporation or, sometimes, by foreign operators. Merely transferring responsibility from one large organization preserves the concentration of ownership and does not always result in improved quality or availability of services. One alternative to maintaining a monopoly of services is to broaden ownership and responsibility for delivering previously publicly-managed services. Many public services are particularly well-suited for commercializing in a manner that borrows from franchising principles. These candidates include primary care and family healthy clinics, water distribution, and residential electric service hook-up and repair services as just a few examples. The top level provider of these services can be a government agency, NGO, or a public-private venture. It is not the organization that directly delivers the services. Instead, it recruits, selects, trains, provides equipment and monitors the performances of entrepreneurs who deliver the services. Depending upon the nature of the service and size of the economy hundreds to tens of thousands of individual entrepreneurs can be engaged in providing the services and, in many instances, assuming ownership when they meet certain buy-in conditions.
Product Approach and Outputs
Providing the infrastructure and supporting environment for commercializing public services requires, at a minimum, equipping a local entity with appropriate management and quality assurance capabilities. It is also necessary to assure that current laws and policies provide adequate protections to the entrepreneurs and supervising organization. Sibley Consortium has nearly 20 years’ experience in organizing commercialized public services and the associated self-regulating and professional organizations. A partial list of the activities that Sibley Consortium teams carry out to promote and support commercialization of public services includes:
- Identifying public services that are good candidates for commercialization
- Assessing and recommending appropriate configuration for the lead supervising organization
- Defining the responsibilities and relationships of the lead organization and the entrepreneurs
- Drafting regulations and legislation required for effective operating environment
- Providing draft by-laws and standards for professional organizations
- Training lead organization personnel, entrepreneurs and professional association officers
- Performing periodic performance audits and evaluations
How to Access the Commercialization of Public Services
The product is available from the Sibley Consortium through the General Business Trade and Investment II (GBTI II) indefinite quantity contract (IQC). A brief written request through the Mission or Regional Contracting Officer is all that is required by the fast-track procurement process set up by USAID to provide easy access to small businesses. Contact Theresa Stoll, GBTI II CTO, or Mark Karns, Deputy CTO, for more details on the fast-track process available to small businesses under USAID procurement regulations.
What Does It Cost?
The range of services and the level of effort needed to commercialize a public service vary greatly depending upon the business environment, nature of the target service, level of sophistication of entrepreneurs, ready availability of a franchising organization, and others. Typically, an initial assessment of commercialization potential can be completed for about $100K.
USAID Contacts:
Theresa Stoll
CTO GBTI II EGAT/EG
Tel: (202) 712-0924
Fax: (202) 216-3025
stoll@usaid.gov
Mark H. Karns, CFA
658427
Structured Finance Advisor
EGAT/ED/EDFM
Tel: (202) 712-5516
Fax: (202) 216-3025
mkarns@usaid.gov
Sibley Consortium Contacts:
Robert Rourke
Project Manager GBTI II
Tel: (202) 833-9588
Fax: (202) 775-9416
gbti@sibleyinternational.com
Donna Sibley
President
Tel: (202) 833-9588
Fax: (202) 775-9416
dsibley@sileyinternational.com