Public-Private Partnership in the Context of Ghana’s Health Sector Reform: A Case Study of Private Not-For-Profit Organisations in the Volta Region of Ghana

Abstract

This study investigates public-private partnership for health delivery in the context of Ghana’s health sector reform. It sets out to understand the nature of collaboration between the government and private not-for-profit health organisations in Ghana by uncovering the factors that necessitated the partnership, the mechanisms by which the partners engage each other, how the partnership arrangement fits within the governance architecture of the health sector reform and how the partnership has shaped the organisational performance of the institutions involved. Neo-institutionalism forms the theoretical anchor for the study alongside other theories that have shaped inter-organisational studies over the years. Qualitative research paradigm was used in this study with the interpretivist epistemological orientation in a case study design. Data were collected through in-depth interviews, archival records and personal observations. Analyses were done by thematic content analysis and theoretical sampling. Results of the study show formal and informal partnership between the public and private health sector actors in Ghana and identified the main drivers for the partnership. Furthermore, the partnership shows a positive relationship between the actors, and the major arrangements for collaboration were identified as properly positioned within the architecture of the health sector reform of the country by contributing immensely to realising the objectives of the reform. The partnership also impacts positively on the organisational performance of the actors involved in the study. Despite these contributions, the study also found some difficulties that militate against the partnership. The conclusion of this thesis is that the partnership arrangement between the government and mission health service providers is yielding positive results. However, the outcome of the partnership could be better if the deep-seated mistrust is minimised or eliminated. For that reason, the partnership can be successful on condition that there is mutual trust and good behavioural leadership style in addition to all the instruments put in place for the joint action. The study makes a modest contribution to knowledge by extending the boundaries of theory, method and policy. The results of this study would help reform the national policy on PPP, which virtually ignores the non-profit service sector.