Public or Private?
Gary Sturgess
Ethos Journal - October 2008
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Yet again, the US Federal Government is grappling with the question of what activities are 'inherently governmental'. In this article Institute Executive Director Gary Sturgess outlines how traditional perceptions of public service operations are worthy of revision......This article first appeared in Ethos in October 2009. A version was subsequently published in Guardian Public.

Privateering and Letters of Marque: An Historical Analysis of the Commercialization of War
Gary Sturgess
Journal of International Peace Operations - July 2009
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State licensing of private vessels to conduct war against enemy shipping was a practice that lasted for centuries until the American Civil War. The history of such naval contracting raises a number of fascinating historical issues and questions, including: how to manage the conflict of interest between commercial gain and larger military objectives? This article first appeared in the Journal of International Peace Operations, July-August 2009.

The Pioneering Pinkertons: The story of the world's most famous private detectives
Gary Sturgess
Journal of International Peace Operations - May 2009
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The Pinkertons are the most famous of all private detective agencies and a spectacular example of successful public service provision by a private firm. They developed excellent reputational trust in pioneering law enforcement techniques including cross-jurisdictional investigation, innovative recruitment and investigation practice, and new technologies. They represent a vivid example of how non-government bodies can scale up innovative public service operations in a way that government often finds difficult. This article first appeared in the Journal of International Peace Operations, May-June 2009.

Contracting in the Seven Years War: A Review of David Syrett's "Shipping and Military Power in the Seven Year's War"
Gary Sturgess
Journal of International Peace Operations - January 2009
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Corruption and incompetence have traditionally been cited for the failure of government contracting in the 17th and 18th centuries. However, recently historians have sought to revise this caricature by providing detailed evidence that naval contracting for military supplies during this period was on the whole successful in delivering essential goods to the frontline and made a key contribution to British victories in the field. This article first appeared in the Journal of International Peace Operations, January-February 2009.

Open for business? How Australia can build on its untold public services success story
Gary Sturgess
Australian Financial Review - July 2008
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Australia's public services industry is one of its great untold success stories. In this article Institute Executive Director Gary Sturgess outlines how Australia can reap great benefits if business and government rethink the private sector's role in public services.... This article first appeared in the AFR on 11th July 2008.

Competitive Edge: How competing for work impacts on performance
Gary Sturgess
Ethos - March 2008
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Competition and contestability can bring value-for-money benefits to public services which are struggling with scarce resources and escalating demand. Analysis of the published research by the Serco Institute found that financial benefits of 20% are not uncommon when public service monopolies are first exposed to competition and, in some cases, much more. This article was first published in the March 2008 edition of Ethos.

Please Release Me
Gary Sturgess
Public Finance - November 2007
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Despite the rhetoric, the public sector is still handcuffed by bureaucracy and targets. A better solution is performance contracting, which has worked in prisons and has the power to bring creativity and accountability to other services, too......This article was first published in Public Finance on 23 November 2007.

Build to serve with service design
Gary Sturgess
Infrastructure Partnerships Australia - August 2007
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There is a great deal more to public private partnerships than front-end gains such as value-for-money savings and on-time, on-budget delivery. Where service design is placed at the heart of building design, the opportunity exists to transform the way in which public services are delivered...... This article was first published at IPA's second annual Partnerships conference in Sydney on 1 August, 2007.

We can show the world how to build bridges
Gary Sturgess
The Australian - March 2007
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Australia has immense value locked up in its infrastructure services sector. Realising that value depends on whether governments, state and federal, are willing to make the transition from an outdated paradigm based on the monopoly provision of public works...

Good people trapped in bad systems
Kevin Beeston
National Audit Office - February 2007
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The challenge is how to structure the delivery of public services so that managers are given a charter to assume a leadership role. The negotiation and signing of a quasi-contract can create the space required to meet this challenge.This article was first published as a chapter in the NAO's 'Opinion pieces on improving government efficiency'. It is based on Serco Institute research 'Good people, good systems: what public service managers say'.

Blair resets standard for public services
Gary Sturgess
Australian Financial Review - September 2006
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As far as public services are concerned, history is likely to look kindly on the Blair years. That is not to say that he has done everything right, but he has changed forever the way we look at the delivery of public services... An edited version of this paper was published in the Australian Financial Review, 18 September 2006. It is based on a speech to the Menzies Research Centre, Canberra, Australia, 11 September 2006.

Private funding still a better way forward for public projects
Gary Sturgess
Sydney Morning Herald - October 2005
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An edited version of this article was published in the Sydney Morning Herald on 24 October 2005

Serving two masters
Gary Sturgess
Public Service Magazine(PSM)  - May 2005
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As the government looks to the private sector to assist in improving public services, a new kind of public servant is emerging: contract managers - in some cases people who have spent the majority of their careers inside the public sector - who have chosen to leave government and take up positions running a PPP or PFI contract in the private sector. More often than not this involves delivering a similar service but within a very different framework.

In my opinion - Chartered Management Institute
Kevin Beeston
Management Today - 8 April 2005
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Chartered Management Institute Companion Kevin Beeston, executive chairman of Serco Group, argues for a positive kind of corporate governance.

Competition and Contracting: you get what you pay for
Gary Sturgess
Public Infrastructure Bulletin - September 2004
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The idea that competitive tendering can be used to improve the performance of public services sometimes comes as a surprise. But price should not be the only performance measure if real value-for money is to be achieved, argues Gary Sturgess.

PPPs: Creating winning conditions
Gary Sturgess
Australian Chief Executive - July 2004
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Australian Chief Executive is CEDA's official magazine, is published 3 times a year with the aim of encouraging debate on issues concerning Australia's economic and social development.

Tapping The Hidden Power Of Private Companies
Gary Sturgess
South China Morning Post (Please note: this link will open the page in a new browser window)

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