Public-private cooperation is a sleeping giant that needs to be awakened

Public-private cooperation in Denmark is a 'sleeping giant' that needs to be awakened, according to Ole Helby Petersen, a professor and center director at Roskilde University. In a commentary published in Berlingske, Petersen advocates for a new strategy to invigorate these partnerships, a proposal that Dansk Industri (DI) finds excellent. Denmark possesses a substantial public sector with an annual purchasing power of 470 billion Danish kroner, making the public sector a significant customer for Danish businesses. However, DI's surveys of its member companies indicate that the full potential of these collaborations remains largely untapped on both sides. Municipalities and regions, the article argues, are not systematically enough testing their service delivery against market solutions. While not advocating for blind outsourcing, DI stresses that an open-minded and strategic approach to competition can yield significant gains in quality, economy, technology, and sustainability. Currently, public-private collaboration is often described as sluggish and outdated, with contracts frequently awarded based on the lowest price. This short-term, safe approach, the commentary suggests, deters responsible and innovative suppliers from engaging with the public market in the long run. A new strategy could break these negative cycles by promoting the widespread adoption of successful competition models, setting national targets for green procurement, and enhancing transparency in public accounts. Such measures would activate the dormant potential, leveraging the public sector's considerable purchasing power to address societal challenges ranging from labor shortages to supply security and emergency preparedness.

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Public-private cooperation is a sleeping giant that needs to be awakened.