EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
Some municipal companies also operate across European borders. European organizing authorities can choose, in accordance with the law, after having defined the aims and purpose of services, to directly manage services inhouse, or to delegate their management by means of external partnerships. No proven and universally superior single management model: the research dem
agement model is a public system of regulation, based on the democratic participation of all stakeholders. This marks a move from regulation by ‘experts’ to regulation by ‘actors’. There is an increasing acknowledgement of the necessity to involve all stakeholders, not just public authorities and service operators, but also consumers (domestic and industrial users, both large and small), citizens, local authorities, elected officials, staff, and trade unions.
91-100% Proportion of the population using improved sources of drinking-water in 2011
Source: Progress on Sanitation on Drinking-Water. 2013 Update. World Health Organization - Unicef.
onstrates no universally superior single management model. The optimal choice between externalisation and re-municipal isation can only be made on the basis of case-by-case assessments of the advantages and disadvantages of each model by public authorities. The performance of service operators under both delegation and direct management depends on the capacity of public authorities to control quality, price, and access, whether the operator is private or public. The relationship between the organizing authority, provider and users is central, regardless of the management model used. Democratic participation of all stakeholders: crucial to the success of any man-
Guaranteeing free choice, allowing experimentation and reversibility: no single system has demonstrated its universal superiority in the field of service management and regulation. The most important criterion for successful service provision seems to be the ability of a public authority to mobilize knowledge and expertise. Public authorities should be guaranteed a free choice of management models for basic services and be able to experiment with different man agement models and reverse their decisions if they prove unsuccessful. Financing basic public services European countries boast again a rich variety of financing models for basic public services, including: