JOHN ALFORD is Professor of Public Sector Management at the University of Melbourne and at the Australia and New Zealand School of Government.JANINE O'FLYNN is Professor of Public Management at the University of Melbourne, Australia.

'There is no other work that I am aware of which brings together so effectively the wide range of lessons we have learned about the consideration, initiation and management of the many new (and not so new) forms of alternative service delivery.' - John Langford, Canadian Public Administration

• IntroductionMapping The Changing Shape of Public Service DeliveryBenefits and Costs: What Government Organizations Seek From External ProvidersMotivations and Mechanisms: What External Providers Seek From Government OrganizationsOutsourcing and Contracting to Other OrganizationsPartnering and Collaboration with other organizationsCalling on VolunteersRegulatees as Contributors to Social OutcomesClients as Co-producersManaging in Multi-Party Networks of ProvidersA Contingency Framework for Decisions about ExternalizationOrganizational Capabilities for Managing External ProvisionConclusion.