Publication:

Outcomes-based contracts and the hidden turn to public value management

Despite long-standing criticisms of the paradigm, New Public Management (NPM) retains a strong influence over organizationsin public administration. Social Impact Bonds (SIB) are anoutcomes-orientedinvestment entity which has emerged from NPMwith grand promises of social change. Building on a longitudinal case study of a health-basedSIB, this paper identifies how key actors move away from NPMbyresisting such management principlesand shifttoward Public Value Management (PVM). The paper finds that this is possible when the public interest and performance objectives are designed with a public value orientation whilst other NPM principles shift over time through resistance and negotiation. The paper provides insight into how key actors re-organizeto embed public value in a financing and public service delivery structure that is often regarded as flawed and inefficient.The paper offers several contributions to public value literature, including the role of the state, as well as the emerging literature on SIBs and outcomes-based contracts.