Public Service Mutuals: Longitudinal Case Study
An independent study examining the role and potential of public service mutuals as a viable way of delivering public services.
Applies to England
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This independent study examines the role and potential of public service mutuals (‘mutuals’) as a viable way of delivering public services. Middlesex University carried out the research on behalf of DCMS.
Mutuals are organisations that have left – or ‘spun-out’ - from the public sector to become independent enterprises that deliver an increasing variety of public services. They generally take social enterprise forms and incorporate a significant degree of employee (and sometimes user community) ownership, control and influence in how they are governed (Mutuals Taskforce 2011, 2012).
The case study research on which this report is based took place between May 2018 and February 2020. The overall aim has been to collect evidence in order to:
- Monitor the current health and development of the mutuals sector;
- Contribute insight and learning to help make the case for the mutual model as a viable way of delivering public services;
- Inform policy decisions about how government and others can further support the growth and sustainability of mutuals.
The case study research draws on the experiences and perspectives of diverse stakeholders – CEOs and leadership teams, employees, service users, public service commissioners and others, to gain a rich in-depth picture of mutual organisations, their success factors, and the various challenges they face.