Citizen Participation in the Age of Contracting

'Contracting of public services is still upon us. This fascinating book examines if citizen participation is possible in the age of contracting. Based on around 100 interviews and a systematic and clear analysis, the book comes up with some important and astonishing results that will be of interest to scholars and students of contracting in public management and governance. The book is destined to be a landmark study on the relationship between citizens and contracting'.- Carsten Greve, Professor of Public Management and Governance, Copenhagen Business School, Denmark 'Amirkhanyan and Lambright's work explores one of the central issues of any democratic state: sustaining an active citizenry. This is an especially important issue in light of the widespread use of nongovernmental contractors to deliver public services. Their rich analyses identify the diverse motives, strategies, and tradeoffs of public managers, private contractors, and citizens/clients in the arena of health and human services. They shed light on the tradeoffs and barriers managers and contractors face regarding managerial values and the democratic goal of meaningful citizen engagement.'- Barbara Romzek, Professor of Public Administration and Policy in the School of Public Affairs at American University 'Citizens want efficient government, but they also want democratic accountability. Nowhere is the tension between these two values greater than in the case of contracting. Leading experts on public sector contracting Amirkhanyan and Lambright offer an important account of how contracting of public services has come at the cost of transparency and participation.'- Donald Moynihan, Director of the La Follette School of Public Affairs, University of Wisconsin-Madison 'In this excellent book, Amirkhanyan and Lambright wed two important and long understudied areas of public administration scholarship: contract management and public participation...Offering stimulating findings and introducing a topic ripe for future research, the book is likely to become a staple for scholars interested in inter-sectoral management, cross-sector collaboration, and government contracting.'- Benjamin M. Brunjes, Journal of Public Administration Research and Theory 'For students interested in the multifaceted nature of public participation today, Citizen Participation in the Age of Contracting is a useful introduction.'- Brad A. M. Johnson, Journal of Public Affairs Education 'Amirkhanyan and Lambright's work sheds much needed light on the intricate relationships surrounding citizens and contracting. As with any landmark piece, the study raises various additional questions. For example, these results report on the perspective of managers, with all of the biases and motivations that accompany their roles. How might an examination of these questions from the perspective of citizens, including the larger community and individual clients, fit in with this research? In this work, the devil is in the details. The interview approach, with all of the included direct quotes, provides an insightful and interesting foray into the work of contracted services. It is a worthwhile read for scholars and students of contracting, citizen participation, and health and human services, with constructive applications for practice.'- Pamela S. Medina, Public Administration Review