• Conceptualize public-private partnering action
• Compare theories on contracting and partnering for public and private action, including the policy for partnering and contracting, the organizational partnerships and the management of partnerships.
• - Designing concrete partnering practices and examining business opportunities in the cross section between the public and private sector.
• Critically evaluate and discuss when and how partnering strategies are useful for organizations.

This course provides the conceptual background for analysing the challenges of the public service economy and the interdependence between the public and the private sector. The public service economy is a term that underlines the economic, social and political interdependence between different sectors. There is a growing interest in the way businesses, governments and NGO’s approach partnerships. Organizations from all three sectors face challenges that one organization cannot solve individually, but where partnerships might be an option. The course explores how the public-private challenge has been met at the society level, but equally important how organizations are partnering for public and private action.

The students are introduced to different forms of partnering strategies from a business perspective as well as a government and NGO perspective. Public-private partnerships (PPP) and co-production are two of out of many forms for partnering organizations make use of.  The course looks at the business opportunities and the opportunities for solving public policy problems that arise when organizations use partnering strategies at a national and international level. New markets may be emerging that creates these business opportunities. The course explores how organizations can produce public and private value – or shared value – from various interactions across a number of fields.

The elective seeks to provide the student with insights into how and why partnering has become a more widespread model of organising for public and private organizations.  The students will be trained in different types of partnering management strategies for public-private relations.

Summarizing some of the central issues of the course:

• Insights into the policies and practices for partnering and contracting for public and private action
• Conceptualization of partnering and contracting approaches
• Discussions of potential applications to partnering and contracting in order to create business opportunities
• Discussions of when and how partnering and contracting approaches are relevant

Students learn to navigate in the areas between the public sector and the private sector, and to combine business skills with knowledge of how to create "shared value". Such knowledge might be useful for employers in larger public organizations, in NGOs and in national and international private companies. This could be in a number of business areas.

Alford, John & O'Flynn, Janine. 2012. Rethinking Public Service Delivery. Managing with External Providers. London: Palgrave MacMillan

Brown, Trevor, Potoski, Matt & Van Slyke, David. 2013. Complex Contracting. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.

Hodge, Graeme, Greve, Carsten & Boardman, Anthony. eds. 2010. International Handbook on Public-Private Partnerships. Chelthenham: Edward Elgar

Porter, Michael & Cramer, Mark. R. 2011. "Creating Shared Value" Harvard Business Review  January-February, 63-77.