Yesterday’s O includes an article indicating that PDOT has violated statutes for putting re-paving projects out to bid (possibly making it a net-neutral PR day for PDOT, they also got named best employer by the Women in Transportation Seminar, as noted in the Daily Journal of Commerce).
This peaked my interest, because I’m currently reading the book Governing by Network, which discusses strategies for delvering government services in hybrid public/private/non-profit-sector arrangements. While I’m only part way through the book, the key idea is that you ask yourself the outcomes-based question: how can I assemble a network that delivers [insert public benefit here]? In this case, “what network of partners and services can we put together to keep Portland’s streets up to standards?”
I wonder if asking that question would deliver an answer different than just taking bids on certain classes of repaving projects?
Link to book at Powell’s
Link to book at Multnomah County Library
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