Our Objectives
Looking forward
Our research starts from the premise that privatization has failed to deliver equitable and affordable public services, but is forward looking in terms of identifying and assessing progressive public service alternatives. We focus on existing public service practices in different sectors involving a variety of different actors, from governments to civil society groups to frontline workers. We develop tools for researchers and practitioners to better understand the pros and cons of these models and how good practices might be shared and reproduced elsewhere.
Finding recipes for
success
The MSP has established innovative methodological frameworks for identifying and evaluating progressive forms of public service delivery, including normative frameworks for assessing factors such as equity, accountability and solidarity. We acknowledge that there is no singular way to evaluate these norms – and that no public service is ‘perfect’ – but we employ these methods in an attempt to establish explicit and measurable criteria against which public models can be gauged, and which allow for reasonable comparisons across sectors and regions.
Encouraging
participatory research
We are committed to broad-based participation in research development and knowledge sharing, involving academics, activists and practitioners. Our objective is to conduct research that is relevant and useful to communities and organizations on the ground, involving service users, front-line workers, managers and other parties involved in the delivery and consumption of public services, enabling us to help build research capacity and draw insights from the grassroots to the policy level.
Advocating for reforms
We use our research findings to advocate for progressive service delivery reforms that involve reclaiming and transforming the state. We engage at the local and multilateral level, sharing promising alternatives with government officials, labour unions, NGOs and social movements, employing a broad range of dissemination products and techniques as well as direct engagement with activists and policy makers.