This part examines how the Department assesses the financial aspects of the partnership.
4.1 An inherent risk in any outsourcing contract is that the purchasing organisation may lose its direct contact and familiarity with the marketplace for the outsourced service. This may weaken its ability to assess the comparative value of the service provided by its supplier and may lead to the procurement of solutions that do not provide value for money. The risk is greatest in fluid markets like information technology.
4.2 Part 3 of the report examined how the Department maintains and develops the in-house skills needed to help maintain an external perspective. This part of the report examines how the Department assesses the financial aspects of the partnership.