WHORLEY, David <br/><br/>
The Andersen-Comsoc affair :   

 -  2001 
<br/><br/> In January 1997,Ontario`s Ministry of Community ad Social Services (Comsoc) entered into a public-private partnership with Andersen Consulting. The business transformation project was intended to support the Ontario Works program  and Ontario disability Support program. The provincial auditor subsequently reviewed the project and identified a number of problems. This particular case illustrates some of the key issues associated with public-private partnerships in Ontario,  and perhaps more generally. The article examines the government`s managerialist agenda and the twin goals of downsizing the Ontario Public Service while increasing  the involvement of business in program delivery. Analysis focuses on how the Ontario government conceives of partenership arrangements; the issues of differences in organizational power between public and private actors; the question of whether shared interests need necessarily exist between the parties; and the problem of securing accoutability in partnership arrangements. It finds that collaborative partnerships and democratic accountability are in tension; public-sector organizations risk entering public-private partnerships in subordinate roles; and that divergent public and private purposes hampered the project. Moreover, the article suggests that the  ministry`s eventual corrective actions embraced traditional public administrative concerns. This development indicates that while recent manageralist reforms have posed some challenge to public administration, its shows continued relevance in protecting the public interest