Experiences with Public–Private Partnerships in Sweden: Balancing Collaboration and Competition

In Sweden, managerial and organizational reforms of municipal park and road departments were initiated systematically in the 1980s. This chapter discloses a unique approach to contracting park and road services within a Scandinavian context in a case study in Täby municipality. The approach included a long-term public-private partnership, embedded the contract in a policy framework for park services and formed part of a larger strategy to make Täby municipality an attractive place in which to live within the overall metropolitan area in Stockholm. The Täby case reflects a strategic and collaborative approach to contracting and illuminates practical experiences with such approaches, but also represents a particular approach to collaboration focusing only on the relationship between purchaser and service provider and excluding any active involvement of users and citizens. An analysis of the process of a contract renewal contributes also to the understanding of how this unique contract develops over time.