Joined-up Government Research Articles

Whole‐of‐government and joined‐up government: A systematic literature review

AbstractWe conducted a systematic literature review of 340 journal articles (1992–2021) pertaining to whole‐of‐government (WG) and joined‐up government (JUG)—two terms that denote public sector efforts to promote cross‐boundary work and restructuring. This review clarifies and renews our understanding of developments with respect to WG/JUG research. While JUG articles do not appear to be increasing, the number of WG articles is on a general upward trend. As of 2021, more WG articles were published on countries other than the Western nations typically recognized as centers for these reforms, signaling increasing global relevance of the topic. These articles were published in over 200 journals and span various policy spheres, suggesting the wide impact research can have. While the qualitative studies we reviewed update the list of recommendations for effective WG/JUG, large‐N hypothesis testing remains limited—a gap that can be addressed to generate robust knowledge on this topic.

Why no population register in peacetime? Explaining Britain’s difficult decisions, 1943-1969

ABSTRACT Although some influential officials saw value in it during peacetime, 1950s British governments decided to allow the national register and identity card wartime scheme to lapse without replacement. Scholars have not satisfactorily explained why they did so. This article argues that neither the surveillance imperatives for tracking citizens nor ‘joined-up government’ aspirations for service integration nor the limits of analogue systems were the decisive considerations. The article draws upon a very extensive study of the full range of files from all the departments of state involved in the decision-making process in Whitehall in the post-war years, to reconstruct in much greater detail than has been attempted before, just what the main considerations were and how the inter-departmental battles were fought over them, which resulted in the discontinuation of the wartime scheme and the decision to reject subsequent proposals to introduce a fresh one. In particular, it traces the crucial role of financial as well as of organisational imperatives, which are neglected in the standard surveillance, welfare improvement and technological explanations.

Food Security in the Face of the COVID-19 Pandemic: The Simeulue Community's Strategies

This article examines why and how the people of Simeulue realize food security during the COVID-19 pandemic. This research is important to reveal how the people of Simeulue can realize food security during the COVID-19 pandemic during a global community experiencing a crisis in various aspects. The author uses Max Weber's theory of social action to explain why the people of Simeulue have the motivation to achieve food security. In contrast, the Joined-up Government concept explains the synergy between stakeholders in realizing food security. This study uses qualitative research methods with data collection techniques through interviews with research informants. The study results indicate that the motivation for realizing food security for the Simeulue community is common. There are three social actions in realizing food security, namely traditional actions, value rationality actions and instrumental actions, while synergy between institutions is built through horizontal communication and coordination without elite domination by reproducing the local wisdom "Humasa Sebbel/Khumaha Heba" (planting rice at the same time).

A Strategy Design Analysis of the Toronto Poverty Reduction Strategy

Poverty reduction strategies have become a popular policy instrument for addressing poverty across various levels of government. In 2015, the City of Toronto launched phase one of its own municipal poverty reduction strategy, which ran from 2015 to 2018. The following commentary uses strategy design principles to examine the strengths and weaknesses of phase one of the Toronto Poverty Reduction Strategy (TPRS) based on interviews conducted with four key stakeholders involved in the strategy’s design and implementation. Joined-up governance and public participation were both identified as design strengths of the TPRS, while a lack of prioritization and funding were identified as challenges to effective implementation. As governments across Canada and the world search for feasible, acceptable, and effective ways to reduce and alleviate poverty and other health-related issues. strategy design principles provide a valuable framework for analyzing the complex processes which contribute to a strategy’s success or failure.

THEORETICAL FOUNDATIONS OF USING INFORMATION AND COMMUNICATION TECHNOLOGIES IN PUBLIC ADMINISTRATION DECISION-MAKING PROCESSES

The purpose of this article is to substantiate the theoretical foundations of using information and communication technologies (hereinafter – ICT) in public administration decision-making processes using the framework of categories and concepts proposed by New Public Management, Joined-up government, Public Value Рaradigm, Actor Network Theory and Socio-Technical Systems. The research task is to comprehensively consider the methods, approaches and foundations of using ICT in public administration through these theories. General scientific methods (analysis and synthesis, deduction and induction) as well as the comparative-historical method have been used. Such an approach allows to generalize and comprehend the role and impact of ICT in public administration within the framework of different theories and to offer an empirical application of the developed concepts. Correlation of the considered concepts' theoretical principles with the criteria for public services delivery, the role of citizens, approaches to measuring the performance of public servants makes it possible to conclude the information about the attitudes and requirements for innovations in public administration from the perspective of each of the theories. It can contribute to further study of the ICT's impact on the public administration decision-making processes, predicting the transformational impact of e-governance and theoretical advances empirical application by both public servants and those who hold political positions.

Providing help or restrictions? Frontline workers’ understandings of behavioural conditionality for health-related social insurance and social assistance benefit in a joined-up governance context

ABSTRACT Norway has a strong welfare state that emphasises a combination of enabling activation policies and behavioural conditionality (BC) in a broad range of benefits, including the main health-related, long-term social insurance benefit and the last-resort social assistance (SA) benefit. The frontline workers in employment and welfare agencies thus need to form particular understandings of appropriate conduct of claimants with different needs when deciding what a measure should consist of (i.e. what is a suitable condition), and whether to impose a sanction in cases of non-compliance. The paper asks how frontline workers implement BC for recipients of different benefits in the era of increasingly unifying welfare policies. Reporting on qualitative interviews with 27 frontline workers, the findings suggest that frontline workers are less concerned with questioning conduct for claimants of the health-related insurance benefit, while frontline workers who provide with follow-up of recipients of SA more frequently question benefit eligibility. However, frontline workers of both benefits reason with a basis in ‘soft paternalistic’ and reciprocal justifications of conditionality, and both emphasise dialogue and relational work with claimants. BC can therefore also include reasonable help that protects against the risks of health and social problems for citizens.

Joined-up Government Approach for Coordination in Disaster Management in Bangladesh

Joined-up Government Approach for Coordination in Disaster Management in Bangladesh

Policy Rogue or Policy Entrepreneur? The Forms and Impacts of "Joined-Up Governance" for Child Health.

Joined-up governance (JUG) approaches have gained attention as mechanisms for tackling wicked policy problems, particularly in intersectoral areas such as child health, where multiple ministries that deliver health and social services must collaborate if they are to be effective. Growing attention to the need to invest in early childhood to improve health and developmental trajectories, including through developmental screening, illustrate the challenges of JUG for child health. Using a comparative case study design comprised of the qualitative analysis of documents and key informant interviews, this work sought to explain how and why visible differences in policy choices have been made across two Canadian jurisdictions (Ontario and Manitoba). Specifically, we sought to understand two dimensions of governance (structure and process) alongside an illustrative example—the case of developmental screening, including how insiders viewed the impacts of governance arrangements in this instance. The two jurisdictions shared a commitment to evidence-based policy making and a similar vision of JUG for child health. Despite this, we found divergence in both governance arrangements and outcomes for developmental screening. In Manitoba, collaboration was prioritized, interests were aligned in a structured decision-making process, evidence and evaluation capacity were inherent to agenda setting, and implementation was considered up front. In Ontario, interests were not aligned and instead decision making operated in an opaque and siloed manner, with little consideration of implementation issues. In these contexts, Ontario pursued developmental screening, whereas Manitoba did not. While both jurisdictions aimed at JUG, only Manitoba developed a coordinated JUG system, whereas Ontario operated as a non-system. As a result, Manitoba’s governance system had the capacity to stop ‘rogue’ action, prioritizing investments in accordance with authorized evidence. In contrast, in the absence of a formal system in Ontario, policy ‘entrepreneurs’ were able to seize a window of opportunity to invest in child health.

Policy learning to reduce inequalities: the search for a coherent Scottish gender mainstreaming policy in a multilevel UK

ABSTRACT Policy ‘incoherence’ describes a lack of joined-up government that contributes to a confusing mix of policy instruments. It is an inevitable feature of multilevel policy-making, in which many actors compete to set the agenda, and ‘inequalities policies’, such as gender mainstreaming, which contain multiple and often-contradictory aims. This insight may prompt policy-makers to learn how other governments have responded pragmatically, rather than seeking to design abstract mainstreaming policies with unrealistic levels of coherence. Yet, policy learning is a political process characterized by contestation. Many policy-makers compete to define the policy problem, set the parameters for learning and determine which governments should take the lead. Therefore, we ask: How can we use policy theories to facilitate research-informed policy learning under these circumstances? We describe the framework that we developed for the Horizon 2020 project IMAJINE to encourage policy learning in multilevel policy-making systems. We then illustrate its value in a case study of our work for the Scottish Government’s National Advisory Council on Women and Girls (NACWG), which asked us to identify lessons from gender mainstreaming policies in other nations. This framework and case study help explain the limited impact of research on policy learning.

From \u2018the global\u2019 to \u2018the local\u2019: the future of \u2018cooperative orders\u2019 in Central Eurasia in times of complexity

Living in times of increasing complexity is hard; it becomes even harder with the realisation of diminishing control. How do we adapt our governance to this complexity to ensure peaceful cohabitation of the established and emergent order regimes? This paper contends that it is important to embrace complexity in full, conceptually and practically, by shifting from ‘the global’ to ‘the local’, to understand the pressure of transformational change and to prepare the ground for the emergence of more resilient and cooperative orders. We apply this complexity-thinking, using a 3P analysis, to Central Eurasia, presently a battleground of three competing order-making regimes—the EU, China and Russia. We argue that for more resilient and cooperative orders to emerge, it is essential to understand and enable ‘the local’ and embrace the region in is diversity, to facilitate a more joined-up and bottom-up governance in managing the complexity of a changing world.

Joined-Up Government in the Prevention of Terrorist-Financing Offenses by Nonprofit Organizations: An Evidence-Based Approach

Indonesian interagency coordination to prevent terrorist-financing offenses by nonprofit organizations has several drawbacks. This article applies textual analysis and an evidence-based approach to draw effective coordination mechanisms from several countries’ experiences and to design a model of interagency coordination. The model illustrates mechanisms that can be the drivers of changes and minimize ineffective interagency coordination, which may lead to an increase in nonprofit vulnerabilities to terrorist-financing offenses. Evidence drawn from several countries that are contextually relevant to Indonesia, namely, Australia, Malaysia, Saudi Arabia, and Singapore, illustrates that effective interagency coordination potentially reduces the risks of terrorist financing and has synchronized policies, objectives, functions, and responsibilities among authorities. Therefore, authorities can prioritize interventions and resources to address the most vulnerable factors. This article suggests improvements in four aspects: collaborative endeavors toward single integrated databases; comprehensive risk assessment of nonprofits; priority settings on socialization, education, monitoring, and supervision; and network model to improve voluntary information sharing.

Space: A Case Study for UK Fusion Doctrine Development?

The UK launch of ‘The Fusion Doctrine’ in 2018 was a major event in the history of joined-up government. It diagnosed changes to the national security arena, principally the distributed nature of non-traditional threats and their responses, offering a way to promote best practice in strategy-making and implementation – all while placing a spotlight on cross-functional teams, accountability and annual review. Yet it is difficult to implement whole-of-government approaches outside of times of crisis to address longstanding subjects. Joe Fossey suggests that space may be an opportunity to develop Fusion practice, focus government departments to pool and direct resources, and organise Fusion doctrine for the long term.

Implementing the Water Framework Directive and Tackling Diffuse Pollution from Agriculture: Lessons from England and Scotland

Tackling diffuse pollution from agriculture is a key challenge for governments seeking to implement the European Union’s Water Framework Directive (WFD). In the research literature, how best to integrate and align effective measures for tackling diffuse pollution, within the context of the EU’s multilevel governance structure, remains an open question. This paper focuses on the first and second implementation cycles of the WFD to explore how national governance arrangements either facilitated or hindered the adoption of effective policies, especially with regards to the delivery of agricultural and water policies on the ground. It draws on data collected through systematic document analysis and interviews with key experts, policymakers and interest groups, and presents a comparative analysis of two case studies: England and Scotland. The case studies show that Scotland’s joined-up governance structure, which enabled policymakers and interest groups to work together and to build trust and cooperation, facilitated the adoption of stricter measures for tackling diffuse pollution. In contrast, in England institutional fragmentation prevented a meaningful engagement of all parties and acted as a barrier. The analysis unpacks the design of policy mixes and the conditions that allow national governments to pursue more holistic and integrated governance approaches to overcome opposition from interest groups and gain their support.

Joined-up government? Insights from education during DFID’s first decade

The establishment of DFID and the emergence of a new policy of international development counts as one of the major achievements of the first ten years of the Labour government, 1997–2007.Clare Short’s leadership brought a commitment and a vision to DFID’s emerging identity, but support from Blair and Brown was also crucial in carving out a decisive role for the new Department nationally and internationally. ‘Joined up government’ was an important strategy embraced by the Labour Government, with both Blair and Brown having a particular interest in development issues. The Education sector demonstrates how different initiatives helped to shape DFID’s evolving policy, but were sometimes in contradiction when other policy initiatives came to the fore.

Joined-Up Governance at Local Level

This article analyzes an interorganizational cooperation initiative among local actors to improve local policy coordination. Based on the network approach to local governance, the study provides insight into why local actors cooperate and how cooperation works. The analysis is based on interviews with local authorities, public managers and local politicians.

The Integration and Coordination of Public Policies: A Systematic Comparative Review

This article undertakes a systematic comparative review of research on policy integration and coordination. Specifically, it compares studies focusing on “policy integration” with those using “joined-up government” or “whole-of-government” as key analytical concepts. It discusses differences and similarities between the two groups of articles in terms of empirical and theoretical focus as well as research design, and concludes by suggesting that the existence of different strands of literature makes sense but more exchanges across them are both possible and welcome, so as to align organizational and policy-related factors for the analysis of the relations between policy sectors.

New Labour’s Joined-Up Government and Social Service Reform

New Labour’s Joined-Up Government and Social Service Reform

Time to dismiss the idea of a structural fix within government? An analysis of intersectoral action for health in Danish municipalities.

This paper examines the role of organizational structure within government(s) in attempts to implement intersectoral action for health in Danish municipalities. We discuss the implications of structural reorganization and the governance structures that are established in order to ensure coordination and integration between policy sectors. The paper is based on 49 interviews with civil servants from health and non-health sectors of 10 municipalities. Based on participants' experiences, cases have been described and analyzed in an iterative process consulting the literature on Health in All Policies and joined-up government. Continuous and frequent processes of reorganizing were widespread in the municipalities. However, they appeared to have little effect on policy change. The two most common governance structures established to transcend organizational boundaries were the central unit and the intersectoral committee. According to the experiences of participants, paradoxically both of these organizational solutions tend to reproduce the organizational problems they are intended to overcome. Even if structural reorganization may succeed in dissolving some sector boundaries, it will inevitably create new ones. It is time to dismiss the idea that intersectoral action for health can be achieved by means of a structural fix. Rather than rearranging organizational boundaries it may be more useful to seek to manage the silos which exist in any organization, e.g. by promoting awareness of their implications for public health action and by enhancing the boundary spanning skills of public health officers.

English

The debate on accountability in collaborative working for public service delivery is still opened. However, the literature shows research challenges in extending knowledge on critical issues on routes in which accountability are adopted in the Joined-Up Government. This is the reason why public management literature focused on case studies within joined-up services provision. Notwithstanding, an extended understanding on joined-up strategic planning and delivery in culture heritage sector is also needed. More specifically, this research aims at investigating how the Resource-Based Management Theory can affect the accountability effectiveness of the strategic planning within the Joined-up cultural heritage provision. In order to achieve this aim, a case study on an Italian Strategic City was carried out. The evidences demonstrate how the Resource-Based Management in joined-up cultural service strategic planning and delivery fosters accountability. The new conceptual model provided by this case study opens up new research streams on performance measurement and management aligned to the routes of accountability in the joined-up strategic planning and delivery. Considering the social-economic implications of a good management of cultural heritage, these investigations could contribute to improve the quality of life and the welfare of the society. Key words: Joined-up government, resource-based management, Italian strategic city, cultural heritage, strategic planning, accountability.

Evaluation of Community Perspectives on National Health Insurance Policy to Health Service Delivery in Ghana

This article aims to examine the National Health Insurance Scheme (NHIS) policy from the perspective of local communities. Qualitative data from 9 key informant interviews and 72 community respondents in 9 focus group discussions were analyzed using a thematic network approach. The focus-group discussions took place in seven different communities in seven regions of Ghana. The findings noted a disconnection between NHIS policy and community life. More so, the findings showed an explicit link between equity and access with its impacts on health outcomes. The qualitative results indicated lack of voice and understanding as the features limiting people from accessing the NHIS facilities. Understanding of equity as a key theme revealed, first, lack of stakeholder engagement and consultation or participation in the NHIS decision-making process. Second, it was established that while the policy indicated a will to include all the core poor for an equitable NHIS, there is lack of willingness to implement this aim fully. Finally, despite being a pro-poor intervention by name, practical management of the NHIS is transmitted down vertical silos from the national level, with the lack of joined-up government at the center undermining local partnerships. Thus, not only are national expectations being dashed locally, local expectations are dashed nationally. This article proposes that community viewpoints should be given higher priority given that NHIS has since its inception been associated with medical treatments and biomedical paradigm. Promoting community participation, understanding, and voices should be recognized to shape the future NHIS policy and practice.