공공서비스 가치 제고를 위한 민간위탁 제도 개선 방향: 한국과 영국의 제도 비교를 중심으로

Abstract

(Purpose) This study focuses on the criticisms facing the United Kingdom’s public service contracting-out system, which has suffered from excessive corporatization, weakened accountability between commissioning and provider organizations, and inadequate oversight that has led to declining service quality. While outsourcing was originally promoted for efficiency and cost reduction, it has often failed to achieve the fundamental goal of enhancing public service value. The purpose of this study is to examine how the UK has sought to address these shortcomings through institutional reforms, policy interventions, and management strategies. (Design/methodology/approach) The study adopts a qualitative, institutional analysis approach to explore the evolution of the UK’s contracting-out system. It reviews legal and policy frameworks—including the Deregulation and Contracting Out Act, the Public Services (Social Value) Act, and the Procurement Act—and analyzes how they have been applied across the main stages of outsourcing: task selection, provider selection, and operational management. The analysis emphasizes mechanisms for enhancing accountability, user engagement, and social value creation. (Findings) The UK has progressively reoriented its contracting-out framework toward user-centered public service delivery by linking outsourcing with social value objectives. In the task selection phase, social value considerations are embedded as mandatory criteria; during provider selection, collaboration between commissioners and providers is promoted to maximize social outcomes; and in the operation phase, external oversight and multi-layered performance management systems strengthen accountability and service reliability. These institutional changes have contributed to rebuilding trust and improving user-perceived quality in public services. (Research implications or originality) This study highlights the UK’s experience as evidence that contracting-out can evolve from a mere efficiency-driven mechanism into a governance tool for public value enhancement through social value realization. In contrast, Korea’s contracting-out system remains provider-centered, with limited user-oriented governance, discretionary central control over task selection, and weak monitoring and evaluation mechanisms. The findings suggest that Korea should introduce institutional designs emphasizing accountability, participatory evaluation, and sustainable performance management to strengthen public service value and improve the overall effectiveness of its contracting-out regime.