Outsourcing scorecard for the UN and similar international public sector organisations

Abstract

Outsourcing has become one of the most powerful, organisation-shaping management tools available today. However, the UN's experience in outsourcing is limited to providing troops for peacekeeping operations. The purpose of the paper is to develop an outsourcing scorecard for the UN and similar organisations. Forty national and international organisations were surveyed through questionnaires, review of relevant literature and records. The research established that by identifying core competencies, goals and objectives, risks, selection of provider as well as measurements and evaluation of providers' performance using an outsourcing scorecard, support functions can be outsourced successfully. Other criteria indicated as important is peace-building, suitable for humanitarian organisations. The scorecard developed by the research could provide the UN with a number of benefits, such as maximisation of efficiency and savings in costs. The paper develops the first outsourcing scorecard to guide the UN and similar organisations in identifying services that can be outsourced successfully.