Learned Lessons from the Government Procurement Services Model in China: Operation Mechanisms, Strategies, and a Culturally Determined Logic

Background and Purpose: In China, government procurement services have played a “funder” role to support social agencies. Non-government organizations (NGO) have found service contracts and applications for funds being constantly impacted by national competitiveness. Evaluations of this government-NGO partnership indicated that agencies with financial needs have worked with local governments to deal with shortages of social workers, agency capacity building, and localization of services (see references in Chinese). The goal of this partnership is to enhance the quality of people’s living, with results to share with other social work programs that promote human equalities.

This study presents the method for exploring the operation mechanisms and strategies of social service partnership. It analyzes the perceptions and practical strategies among social work agencies for demonstrating concepts and processes of building a social service model for NGOs as a framework for highlighting their vision.

Methods: Interviews took place in seven social service agencies and the local government social welfare department in a southern city in China. These entities were selected because of their early establishment, high level of public awareness, and large number of social service projects being implemented. The respondents were top executives who represented various backgrounds: higher education, entrepreneurship, management of overseas organizations, and government officials.

Qualitative interviews were collected from seven social work agencies. Interviews were transcribed verbatim and coded thematically using Hyper Research software, guided by the principles of grounded theory and an inductive approach to qualitative analysis.

Findings: Competitiveness among proposed projects was a main topic that led to further discussions about commissioned projects and the essentialities to prepare for social services with local interests. It was found that service delivery strategies with a focus on equality building can be analyzed in four dimensions: 1) Amount funded: for increasing choices in service design; 2) Number of projects: for branding the agency’s identity; 3) Nature of projects: for increasing operational autonomy; and 4) Types of services: for flexing service delivery options. Social services can reach the public effectively if delivery strategies are well-planned.

A culturally determined finding is the logic expressed by the respondents--Dependent to Survive, Independent to Develop. This logic promotes the mission to deliver indigenous services with funding support allotted through public policies. Under this logic, respondents identified two links: personal link--for reaching out to government officials, agency leaders, and interest groups; and rationallink--for building social service pathways to achieve social and economic justice for all. This personal-rational logic aims to obtain sufficient resources through agency projects with support from the country’s national policies.

Conclusion and Implications: This study aims to build a model of scientific and effective social governance system for all people, with a limitation on its focus on the social system in China. With the continuous improvement and promotion of the ecological chain of social service organizations, it is the vision for service providers to get innovative ideas, publicize social responsibilities and promote human equality. The model proposed in this study can be replicated in the US and other countries.