Governments have three distinct roles in the ecosystem for service delivery to its citizens – direct provision, managing interface with market through regulation, and policy. Traditionally, government focus has been more on the “direct provision” function. However, a combination of fiscal constraints, market-based efficiencies and incentive mismatches makes it necessary for governments to judiciously engage with non-state actors (both for-profit and non-profit) to ensure access to affordable and high-quality services.
To create effective “service ecosystems”, the State and Markets team supports governments in measuring cost-effectiveness of delivery across different forms of provision, and in defining and implementing mechanisms to better coordinate actions across public and private sectors. Our approach includes identifying the right combination of these three levers - provision, regulation and policy - while considering market and government (in)efficiencies, building government and market capacities, defining and implementing incentives to drive performance, and instituting high-quality monitoring to complete the feedback loop.
By facilitating the engagement between states and non-state actors, the State and Markets team strives to overcome traditional constraints, enhance market efficiencies and ensure access to high-quality, affordable services. Our mission is to create low-friction service ecosystems that enhance government and market efficiency and, ultimately, the quality of life of common citizens.