Public authorities have a crucial role to play in the design of the PHS framework. As will be explained in the next chapters, without the support of public authorities, it is difficult to develop PHS activities.

Therefore public authorities have a determining role to play first in identifying the PHS measures needed and secondly in introducing and financing PHS measures. Alongside this crucial role of supporting and financing PHS measures, the public authority can also play a different role. We can list, among others, the following possible roles, depending on the selected PHS measure:

• Intermediary, facilitating matching supply and demand (see, for example, “plan Borloo” in France and the development of national agencies for matching demand and supply);

• Quality controller: the public authority might offer warrantees for the quality of services provided by suppliers by, for example, allocating agreements to suppliers under specific conditions;

• Monitoring of the system (conducting evaluation of the system, etc.).

These roles can be provided by one ministry (for example, of employment, health or treasury), however PHS may also bring about important earn-back effects for other ministries.