Open Tenders in Public Procurement of Welfare Services: Professionalization, Standardization, and Innovation among Civil Sector Providers

Abstract

In the article we discuss the increased use of open tenders in the public procurement of welfare services in Norway in order to determine if this implies standardization, professionalization, and/or innovation among civil sector providers and if this differs between welfare areas. The study is based on a review of public documents over the last 40 years and interviews with both purchasers and providers of welfare services in two welfare areas: SUD treatment and vocational rehabilitation. We emphasize the systemic and in part organizational levels, focusing on what the purchaser and management of the provider perceive as the result of these changes in the procurement regime. In light of neo-institutional theory and theories on innovation, we find that the increased use of public procurement and tenders have professionalized and standardized non-profit organizations while also providing room for innovations, according to our informants. We find a kind of dual process, where organizations become more alike in structure, administration, and – to some degree – treatment while also becoming more specialized and, in some cases, arriving at new and innovative solutions regarding content.