Municipalities in Canada have an array of servicing options available to them when producing or delivering local services, such as water, public transit, and waste collection, including in-house provision or privatization. However, services may also be contracted or jointly-delivered with neighbouring municipalities - a practice some local governments are increasingly gravitating towards.

Delivery by Design sheds light on this practice in Canadian local government by examining three crucial questions: why do municipalities cooperate? What is being shared or contracted with other governments? And what leads to successful or unsuccessful relationships between municipalities? The book finds that Canadian municipalities are cooperating fairly regularly, but are doing so in a small number of policy areas, mainly emergency and administrative services. Zachary Spicer examines these types of relationships, explaining how they will be crucial in the future as local services are increasingly shared or jointly delivered by municipal governments.

Relying on extensive data and document collection, surveys, and a series of primary interviews with local decision-makers, Delivery by Design explores the nature of inter-local collaboration in Canada, mapping out a relatively understudied process in local governance.