Community service provision for the elderly under the context of competitive contracting in Guangzhou

Abstract

Contracting is a prevalent trend in the delivery of public and social services around the world. International experience shows that contracting has positive and negative impacts on service provision. While local experiments on social service contracting are currently emerging in China, the implementation and effects of contracting are worthy subjects of examination. This study delves into this area by focusing on community service provision for the elderly in the context of competitive contracting. A street community which is located in Guangzhou, Guangdong Province of China serves as a case study to show the implementation of competitive contracting, the provision of community service for the elderly, and the implications of contracting for care.

在全球各个国家和地区，政府在提供公共及社会服务中的一个发展趋势是将服务外包。国际经验显示服务外包既有优势，也存在一定的挑战。近几年，在中国一些地方有社会服务外包的试点，但其实施过程和效果尚需检验。本研究尝试在竞争性服务外包的背景下讨论社区养老服务供给。本研究以中国广东广州一个街道社区为案例，探讨竞争性外包的实施过程，及在此背景下社区养老服务的供给，为进一步发展社区照顾服务外包项目提供相关启示。

Keywords:

• Community service
• competitive contracting
• the elderly
• China

Notes

1. According to Jing and Chen (2012), the level of competition is low in practice.

2. According to the 1954 Regulations on the Organisation of Street Offices, the Street Office is ‘a dispatch agency of the district government, the lowest tier of government in urban China’ (Wong 1998, 126). The Street Office complies with the orders of the district government and functions in ideological, economic, welfare and administrative affairs.

3. Community Residents’ Committees are officially defined as ‘self-administered, self-educated, and self-serviced’ associations at the neighbourhood community level (J. Chen 2009, 388).

4. According to Article 20 of Government Procurement Law of the People’s Republic of China, six basic requirements should be satisfied by the suppliers that participate in the activities of government procurement: having the capacity to assume civil liabilities independently; having a good business reputation and sound financial and accounting systems; having the equipment and professional expertise needed to perform government procurement contract; having a clean record of paying taxes and making financial contributions to the social security funds in accordance with law; having committed no major breaches of law in its business operation in the three years prior to participation in the procurement; and other requirements provided for in laws and administrative regulations (http://www.gov.cn/english/laws/2005-10/08/content_75023.htm).