If you are escaping a violent partner, taking your disabled teenager swimming or checking your toddler’s development milestones, there is a good chance that the service will be provided by a voluntary (or non-profit) organisation contracted by a government agency to do so. Government in New Zealand and many other countries rely heavily on such organisations to deliver vital social services. However, the current contracting and funding mechanisms used to purchase such services on behalf of citizens are problematic both for both funders and providers.

The book explores the contracting relationships from the perspective of voluntary organisations. The central issue, it is argued, does not lie in the use of contracts per se, but in the relationships and practices used to generate them. In particular, contracts tend to be drafted on the assumption that voluntary organisations and government agencies will attempt to shirk from delivering what is expected of them. But as the author highlights, voluntary organisation and government agencies typically have similar aims: to provide services that generate positive results for those receiving them. Drawing on stewardship theory, the author argues that contracts should be prepared on the basis that the relationship between the parties is symbolic and sustainable. Trust, rather than mistrust, should be the starting point.