Jiangning District increases governmental procurement of public services

For the first time, the Civil Affairs Bureau of Jiangning District in Nanjing City started governmental procurement of public services for 128 projects with a total spending of 15 million yuan on July 9, through the way of competitive consultation to boost venture philanthropy.

A total of 201 residential communities in ten sub-districts of Jiangning will allocate a pool of 56 million yuan for various projects open to governmental procurement, setting a new record for the region as well as the largest such initiative at the district-level in Jiangsu.

 Venture philanthropy, as a new form of social investment method, means providing seed capital to start-ups and small and medium-sized social purpose organizations to help maximize the social impact. Then through public bidding and targeted commissioning, the government transfer its function of offering public service to be in the hand of professional providers.

 Amid efforts to control the fiscal budget, the district still increases the input to improve people’s livelihood, earmarking 15 million yuan to support public welfare projects, up 33.9 percent year on year.

The projects cover elderly care, assistance to the disabled, orphans and the poor, community governance, rural revitalization and urban management. The funding for a single project also reaches 11,800 yuan on average, up 27 percent, and more projects involve funding of over 200,000 yuan.