Outsourcing government-provided goods/services

Explaination of  the nature and rationale of contracting out or outsourcing government-provided goods/services. This is also sometimes called privatization, but is it really privatization if the government is still ultimately behind the provision of the good or service? What about the alternative of government getting out of the way entirely, including ceasing to fund private contractors, to allow fully private provision? What’s your view on the government contracting and privatization issue