Which aspects of a public service must the state provide itself – and where could it become more efficient if it commissioned others to deliver them? This question cannot be answered either by giving fundamental priority to public provision or by placing blanket trust in private providers. The decisive factor is which model works sustainably under which conditions.

The think tank compares public, private and cooperative operating models against the same criteria: quality of service, total costs, capacity for innovation, accessibility and effective public oversight. The analysis explicitly addresses economic incentives as well. What is an operator paid for: for capacity provided, actual usage or proven improvements? When is it worthwhile to reduce effort and complexity? And how can we prevent economic optimisation from coming at the expense of difficult cases or long-term quality?

Two or three thought-provoking questions put different models and their respective prerequisites up for discussion. Participants will examine how tasks, risks, funding and decision-making powers should be allocated – and which steering powers must remain with the state, regardless of the chosen model.

The aim is not to reach a general decision for or against privatisation. The aim is to develop criteria for determining which operator model is suitable for which service, and which conditions public contracting authorities and operators would be required to fulfil.