Giving away shares to the public has been a main feature of the privatization of SOEs in most post-socialist countries. The second broad privatization strategy is delegation. Unlike divestment, which is generally a one-time act, delegation requires a continuing, active role for government. When privatizing by delegation, government delegates to the private sector part of or all of the activity of producing goods or services but retains responsibility for overseeing the result. Delegation is carried out by contract, franchise, grant, voucher, or mandate.
Government can privatize an activity by contracting with a private organization to perform the work.
Local governments, for example, often contract for services such as solid-waste collection, street repair, street cleaning, snow removal, and tree maintenance. The private firm usually pays the government a fee. Two forms of franchising exist. This arrangement is often called a concession. The second form is a lease, in which tangible government-owned property is used by a private renter to engage in a commercial enterprise.