Procurement of intermediary services: Interpreters in the Netherlands

This paper reports on the procurement of intermediary services in interpreters to approximately one third of all public clients in The Netherlands. The procurement has lead to a smooth transition from public to a private organization and the new intermediary performs to the satisfaction of its clients. The problem is however that the procurement has lead to a situation with a dominant intermediary. We discuss the implications in two situations that are very likely to take place in the near future: a situation in which a new lot will procured on the monopolized market, and a situation in which the current contract will be replaced. One of the recommendations is to use the mostfavored- costumer clause of the old contract to attract new entrants.