A Study On The Relationships Between Government And NGOs In The Process Of Public Service “Reverse Repurchase”

Since 1980 s, most of the western developed countries have started the new public management reform, which penetrating marketization and privatization into the field of public service. China also has kept up with the trend of reform to the way to the public service outsourcing. After more than thirty years, the public service outsourcing has become an important mode in service provision, NGOs have become important partners of the government. The benign interaction between government and NGOs is one of the basic conditions for the healthy development of the public service outsourcing.So, it is very important to take a rational look on the relationships between government and NGOs. However, the process of public service outsourcing is complex and diverse, the repurchase has successively appeared in the development of public service outsourcing in western developed countries. In China, “Reverse Repurchase” has also appeared. Due to the diversity of NGOs caused bythe special social and historical environment in China, the relationships between government and NGOs show more connotationin the process of public service outsourcing and "reverse repurchase",revealing special path for relationships between Chinese government and the NGOs.In order to further explore the relationships between government and NGOs in the process of "reverse repurchase". This paper will mainly adopt the method of case study, taking the “reverse repurchase” process in“Elder Companions” service project as a case. First of all, to introduce the whole process of the case, including the cooperation among government, a civil NGO and a governmental NGO. Then, to analyze the mechanism of the relationships change between government and NGOsin the process of “reverse repurchase”, from the aspects of the changing role and the reshaping of relationships in “Elder Companions”.Found in study that through the “reverse repurchase” of public service, the government become a public service planner and supervisor. Government is open-minded, the governmental NGO is not preferred. Government is willing to provide a fair and open environment for governmental NGOs and civil NGOs’ competition, to choose a better one.There was an idealized imagination of NGOs at the very beginning, however the practice deepening the understanding of governmental NGOs and civil NGOs, action of government tends to be more rational and pragmatic. In this process, the mainly provider of public servicefirstly was the governmental NGO, then changed to the civil NGO and finally changed to the governmental NGO.The civil NGOgradually lost the trust of the government because of their immature development. The governmental NGO regained government’s trust by changing management, enhancing skills andits territorial advantage. The process of “Reverse Repurchase” in this case reveals the actual state of the Chinese government and NGOs.The relationships between government and NGOs are moving towards to a benign interactionof independent and interdependent. And whether they arecivil or governmental, NGOs shouldpay more attention to their own capacity building and organizational management reforming, to improve its professional andcompetitiveness, to maintain their independence. So that NGOs could win government’s trust and participate in the process of public services provision, to achieve their long-term and healthy development.