Privatization is the most significant, most comprehensive and most consistent reform in the political-administrative system in Israel since the mid-1980s. Nonetheless, there has been no examination or assessment of this major reform, its social and economic implications, the disparate effects on minorities or the poor; the possible threat to civil and political liberties by non-governmental entities, that are not democratically accountable; and the exclusion of certain groups from basic goods and services.

In response to these challenges, we launched our groundbreaking Privatization Project in April 2007, expanded in 2012 to include Israel's regulation policy.  The project seeks to:

o       Act as an effective watchdog, closely monitoring developments in the field of privatization and nationalism in Israel and functioning as the focal point for research, analysis, and publications on these issues.

o       Examine the advantages and disadvantages of privatization in various fields and assess the responsibilities of the State and the effect on achieving an equitable and just society in Israel.

o       Develop and advance legislation on privatization and disseminate concrete recommendations for a suitable regulatory system that will enshrine effective mechanisms in Israeli law.  

o       Empower decision-makers and the Israeli public through access to real-time studies and information that will encourage debate on privatizations (or nationalizations), and the appropriate regulation.

Outputs

• Book on privatization - The Center set up a policy-oriented, multidisciplinary research group of 20 renowned scholars.  Their in-depth research will be published in a book to appear in late 2013.
• Annual report – summing up all privatization and nationalization actions over a year. Three Reports (2010-2012) have been presented to the Speaker of the Knesset at a formal ceremony and examined in the Knesset Finance, Education, and Health Committees.
• Policy Papers – To stimulate public discussion, we continuously publish short policy papers on subjects on the public agenda (such as privatization of ports; compulsory arbitration; regulation of private schools; and more). Each paper is uploaded onto our website where it receives media exposure and discussion in various contexts.
• Regulation Research – A natural evolvement of our privatization research is the new project which examines regulation in Israel through test cases. The purpose is to publish position papers with concrete recommendations for regulatory models appropriate for the Israeli system of government.
• Courses on Privatization – Several universities and other institutions are holding academic courses on privatization and regulation initiated and taught by academics involved in the project. In addition, a special workshop for senior officials in the public service was conducted in December 2012, and will be undertaken again in 2013.
• Conferences and Sessions on Privatization – We held several public conferences and participated in many others, academic and non-academic forums including presentation in Knesset committees.
• Advocacy, Media and PR - We are continuing our media outreach activities, with the aim of promoting an ongoing public discussion of the various aspects of privatization and regulation.
• MK'S work - In December 2012, we launched a campaign which summarizes the work of MK'S on privatization issues during the 18^th Knesset and acts as a democratic watchdog that promotes transparency.
• Legislative initiative - Our special committee of experts drafted a bill aimed at setting the boundaries of privatization policy in Israel. We have been discussing the draft of this bill with senior officials in the Ministry of Justice.
• Manual for government ministries – Parallel to our legislative initiative, we created a methodology for government ministries which are considering privatization of social services. The idea is to create a guidebook for decision making, including a list of questions and criteria that should be considered and explored before any privatization action. The Manual aims to serve all ministries.

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Many democratic countries are now reassessing their privatization policies and introducing new considerations to policy-making in this field. One of the new questions posed by our project is how privatization and regulation contribute to the economic and social wellbeing of Israeli citizens. 

Program Staff