Administration between Public and Private Actors

The research interest of the section focuses on the interaction system between public administration, other public institutions, and private actors, taking into account the ever-changing economic, social, demographic, technological, political and other conditions. It comprises decision processes linking up administration and other actors referred to above, including organizational, legal and other structural characteristics of the interaction framework. While the research programs of Section I and Section II focus on governmental and intra-state structures and processes, Section III puts special emphasis on the external relations of the administration. Internal characteristics of public administration are taken into account only to the extent that their linkage with external relations is investigated.

The research program extends to European and international levels of administrative action. It comprises empirical, normative-legal and historical projects.

Empirical and normative-legal analyses of action structures, interactions and decisions are conducted at the interface of public administration and other public and private actors. Reform concepts are developed and evaluated. Comparative approaches in law and public administration may also be employed.

The empirical analysis can be carried out from two different perspectives. The first perspective conceptualizes the description, explanation and evaluation of administrative action as a dependent variable, and considers the characteristics of private action as independent variable. The second perspective conceptualizes the description, explanation and evaluation of private action as dependent variable, which is influenced by attributes of administrative action (independent variable). The second perspective, which has been neglected to date, constitutes a medium-term focus of the research program. The sometimes noticed "state-centred introversion" of public administration research can be overcome by analysing the influence of public administration on private action (e.g. innovation decisions of private companies), and by putting emphasis on private interests, opinions and action structures. At the same time, new areas for interdisciplinary cooperation with economic and social sciences are opened up.

Another objective of the research program is the elaboration and evaluation of reform concepts that aim at improving the relationship between administrative and private actors. The concept of the "enabling state" provides a good example. It is based on the idea that the state retains an overall responsibility for the provision of public goods, although it is not obliged to provide all public goods by means of administrative services. This concept requires the administration to integrate private actors as far as possible into performing public tasks. The program is divided into two focal points of research: "Regulation and Liberalization of Infrastructures (Transport, Water and Energy Supply and Pollution Control, Education)" and "Public Private Cooperation Arenas in Market Economies". The first focal point of research deals with those areas in which the breaking up of monopolies has changed the regulatory relationships between public and private actors. The second focal point of research deals with public-private forms of cooperation, characterized by terms like informal Rechtsstaat or negotiating state.

While those who take a supporting view characterize these interactions as new and progressive forms of governance, others criticize them as indicators for a creeping loss of statehood.

Focal Point of Research
"Regulation and Liberalization of Infrastructures (Transport, Water and Energy Supply and Pollution Control, Education)"

This focal point of research deals with the changing tasks of public and private actors and their economic and social relations, as influenced by the liberalization of infrastructures. Infrastructure in a narrow sense refers to networks for transport, energy and water supply and the telecommunications sector. In a broader sense, infrastructure comprises all services that are necessary for the delivery of public goods, and which cannot be delivered by market forces. As a result, the facilities (e.g. buildings) and the institutional and personal components of the education system are to be considered as infrastructure. This point of view is also supported in Economics. Transport, supply and discharge and education are selected for investigation under this focal point of research given that the public administration plays a central role in these domains.

For a longer time period, the establishment of infrastructure was regarded as being part and parcel of the responsibility of the state for delivering public services (public service obligations). The central assumption was that monopolies and comprehensive state control were necessary preconditions for a functioning infrastructure. However, the creation of the European common market has led to an increased liberalization of previously legally protected domains. While regulations have been abrogated, new regulation that guarantee competition have been adopted. The currency and gas markets provide examples of a far-reaching re-regulation.

Against this background, our research interest is focussed on the analysis and evaluation of organizational and regulatory structures and the future scope of administrative responsibilities in matters of infrastructure. Liberalization and privatization have altered the concept of state responsibility. A transition from full responsibility to shared responsibility (Gewährleistungsverantwortung) implies that the state increasingly relies on private actors instead of public authorities for performing public tasks.

Research is to be carried out into the changing regulatory structures and into the functioning and effects of regulatory instruments. Effectiveness and efficiency are important criteria of evaluation. A third criterion is the safeguarding of public goods. A command and control approach often leads to implementation problems, e.g. caused by the asymmetrical distribution of information. From a liberalization perspective, the functioning of incentive and market mechanisms, and of instruments of self-regulation are matters of research. This includes instruments that simulate the functioning of markets, e.g. emission certificates and charging. Finally, the functioning of different instruments and mechanisms is analyzed from a comparative perspective.

Focal Point of Research
"Public-Private Cooperation Arenas in Market Economies"

Nowadays cooperative and consensual approaches are preferred over command and control approaches in many administrative domains. The principle of cooperation, originally developed only for environmental policy, has been transformed into a general principle of "steering" public and private actions. In this context, cooperation between public administration and societal (private) actors may be based either on contracts (for instance procurement law, funding, public private partnerships) or on non-contractual forms of cooperation (e.g. voluntary sectoral agreements or other informal arrangements).

Furthermore, this focal point of research deals with cooperation on the international level involving states, the European Union or international organizations on the one hand and civil society (non-profit) organizations on the other hand. In times of globalization, cooperation of this kind has become increasingly significant.

Although cooperation arenas can be found in many different administrative domains, this focal point of research is confined to analyzing only those with economic aspects. Infrastructure projects fall under the second focal point of research only in case that cooperation - in contrast to regulation - is the main research interest.

From a public administration perspective, cooperation with private actors often generates advantages like financial savings, process and organizational relief together with increased acceptance and an improved public image of the administration. However, disadvantages may exist in form of reduced democratic control and legitimacy, and the promotion of private profit interests at the expense of public interests. To counterbalance these disadvantages, the integration of civil society actors (NGOs) into administrative cooperative arrangements may be useful. Research interest therefore comprises not only bilateral, but also multilateral cooperative relations.

The development and structuring of new forms of cooperation is of major importance. Traditional administrative "steering" is based on a hierarchically structured administration using command and control approaches. The current trend towards increased administrative cooperation requires the development of a repertoire of structured forms of cooperation that the administration can draw upon.

The allocation of public contracts and the domain of public private partnerships (PPP) offer relevant starting points. The allocation of public contracts is characterized by a lack of free choice as regards both partners and the structure of cooperation. Transparent and non-discriminating choice of partners on the one hand and demands for greater administrative flexibility and innovation on the other hand often generate conflicts. In order to balance these different demands, research shall contribute to improving procedures for building up cooperation. PPP can be understood as a systematic modernization strategy, which reaches beyond the systematic boundaries between market and state. Hybrid arrangements between the private and public sector have strategic innovation and development potential, which the public sector should use in order to deliver public goods more effectively. Public-private networking creates an intermediate domain, which functions both as an important field for experiments and as a "steering" reserve.

Finally, international cooperation arenas in market economies also will be analyzed. Since command and control approaches are not used at the international level in the absence of supranational institutions, international organizations often have to function as arenas of cooperation. Moreover, the whole domain of international organizations, their structures and procedures have scarcely been analyzed in public administration. The prevailing perspective is the IR perspective, which considers international organizations (e.g. the World Trade Organization) not as independent actors and parts of public administration, but merely as tools in the hand of nation states. The role of NGOs as representatives of civil society is controversial in this regard. While economic actors are already now in a privileged position to influence decisions taken by international organizations, NGOs demand improved opportunities for participation. It is frequently assumed that an intensified cooperation between NGOs and international organizations would generate more legitimacy for the latter. This research program shall contribute to overcome deficits in public administration research concerning international organizations.

Medium and long-term orientation of the research program

It is planned that the two main focal points of research be examined in appropriate intervals and, if necessary, extended and completed. The focal point of research "Regulation and Liberalization of Infrastructures", which currently focuses on "Transport, Water and Energy Supply and Pollution Control, Education" is to be gradually extended to other sectors. (e.g. "Information Sector", "Judicial and Alternative Dispute Resolution"). The long-term target is to newly define tasks, instruments and organizational and legal structures, based on the concept of a responsibility for delivering public goods shared between public administration and private actors.

In a medium and long-term perspective, the focal point of research "Public-Private Cooperation Arenas in Market Economies" shall be extended to analysing forms of public-private cooperation on the European and international level. International organizations are particularly important. Since this is a new research area in public administration research, individual explorative case studies to improve the knowledge base shall be carried out in the first phase, to be followed up by comparative studies.

The collaboration with European and North American universities and research institutions within the Transatlantic Policy Consortium will be strengthened. Finally, cooperation with national research institutions will be increased through common projects.