Contracting ‘person-centred’ working by results: street-level managers and frontline experiences in an outcomes-based contract

Eleanor Carter, Franziska Rosenbach, Fernando Domingos and Felix-Anselm van Lier

Public Management Review, 2025, vol. 27, issue 8, 1893-1911

Abstract: Outcomes-based contracting (OBC) has been heralded as a mechanism for improving the efficiency and effectiveness of social programmes yet has persistently failed to deliver meaningful support for people experiencing social disadvantage. This mixed-method study evaluates the contractual shift of a British support service for adults with multiple, complex needs from bilateral fee-for-service arrangements to an outcome contract in the form of a ‘social impact bond’. Our findings add much-needed empirical evidence on the implications of OBC for personalization and co-production of public service delivery. In contrast to prior payment-by-results experiments we find evidence of enhanced person-centredness and asset-based practice.

Date: 2025
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DOI: 10.1080/14719037.2024.2342398

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