Number 6 in Dr Paul Duignan's Three Minute Outcomes video series. Talks about the outcomes theory principle dealing with the situation in which a funder is dependent on a sole provider and it cannot simply punish the provider for underperformance by reducing funding.
In some cases, funders are dependent on sole providers. A government department is an example of a sole provider of core government departmental services. In such cases, a funder will have an assess model where it assesses the performance of the provider. Sometimes a funder will then attempt to use sanctions (e.g. withdrawal of funding) when a provider does not perform adequately. The problem is that the withdrawal of funding can then just lead to the provider being unable to improve its performance because of lack of resources.
The outcomes theory principle of Funding Sole Provider - Need for Assist Plus Assess Mode is discussed in this video. It points to the fact that with a sole provider you always need an assist mode in addition to an assess mode. The assist mode is then used to improve the provider when it is performing badly.
Resources:
For more discussion of this issue see the relevant outcomes theory principle on Funding Sole Provider - Need for Assist Plus Assess Mode.
Reference:
Duignan, P. (2009). Using Outcomes Theory to Solve Important Conceptual and Practical Problems in Evaluation, Monitoring and Performance Management Systems. American Evaluation Association Conference, Orlando, Florida, 11-14 November 2009