ABSTRACT
The Danish welfare model is built on the basis of collective responsibility for welfare tasks such as child care and care for the elderly. It has so far been a characteristic of social policy that the solving of any social problems that arise is by definition a task solely for the public sector. A good deal of uncertainty and reluctance exists towards ceding welfare tasks to private sector service providers, especially tasks relating to care. Involving private contractors in the handling of social tasks is nothing new, but there is no tradition of extensive interaction with private companies. Thus, no comprehensive overview of the extent of the practice and no systematic collection of experience in the field exists. The fact is, however, that an overview is lacking of both the extent of and the experience with cooperation between the public authorities and private sector companies in the area of social services.
