Developments in the NHS, Network Rail and London Underground have led to speculation about whether a new organisational form is now needed for public service delivery. There are several perceived problems with the conventional models, which have led to the increased involvement of the private and voluntary sectors in recent years. However, company and charity models were not designed with public services primarily in mind, so does Britain need a new type of organisation to protect the public interest while providing a stimulus to creativity, risk-taking and entrepreneurship? Does the current debate about new organisational forms, including the Public Interest Company model, contain the answer? The Public Management Foundation explores where the problems with public services lie, and the extent to which new forms might be the solution.

Jane Steele, Mary Tetlow and Alison Graham are a research team at the Public Management Foundation, a research centre concerned with improving the impact of services that create public value. The Public Management Foundation merged with the Office for Public Management in 2002.