Inter‐organizational collaboration projects in the public sector: a balance between integration and demarcation

Löfström, Mikael

doi:10.1002/hpm.1003

Cited by 31 publications

(43 citation statements)

References 52 publications

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“…As described in the analysis section, several of the general challenges related to the different collaboration forms reported by previous research can be noted in the studied cases. At the same time, it is notable that the observation made by Löfström (2009), i.e., that inter-organizational projects in the public sector are seldom integrated in the daily activities of involved organizations, does not hold for the studied contexts. On the contrary, the new collaboration forms involve permanent joint efforts in daily alarm response, in the studied cases and in a great number of Swedish municipalities.…”

Section: Insert Figure 1 About Here Discussionmentioning

confidence: 86%

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Emerging forms of inter-organizational and cross-sector collaborations in e-government initiatives

Pilemalm

Lindgren

Ramsell

2016

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Purpose This study aims to explore recent public sector trends, inter-organizational and cross-sector collaborations, and analyzes these in terms of implications for participative development of information systems (IS). These trends are understood as being part of emerging forms of e-government. Initial suggestions for how to develop IS in the new contexts are provided. Design/methodology/approach Three cases involving the trends described above, taking place in the Swedish emergency response system, are studied and used as basis for identified participative IS development challenges and suggested adaptation needs. Data collection involves semi-structured interviews, focus groups and future workshops. Findings The identified challenges concern balancing ideological versus practical needs, lack of resources, lack of know-how and design techniques and tool challenges. Some practical implications for participative IS development include more extensive focus on stakeholder and legal analysis, need for interdisciplinary design teams, merging of task and needs analysis for yet-undefined user tasks and using on-line alternatives for interacting with users. Research implications/limitations The study is exploratory where the three cases are in different, but at the same time interrelated, collaboration contexts. The identified implications and challenges provide proposals that in future research can be applied, formalized and integrated when developing practically feasible participative IS development approaches. Originality/value It is argued that the results point toward a current emerging form of e-government initiatives directed toward certain demarcated groups of citizens actually carrying out certain tasks for their co-citizens and society rather than the broad masses, having far-reaching practical implications and complicating the issue of IS development.

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Section: Insert Figure 1 About Here Discussionmentioning

confidence: 86%

“…concern for threats to autonomy and domain). It has also been argued that inter-organizational projects in the public sector are seldom integrated in the involved organizations' daily activities, or stretching beyond the projects (Löfström, 2009). …”

Section: Public Sector Collaborationsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Emerging forms of inter-organizational and cross-sector collaborations in e-government initiatives

Pilemalm

Lindgren

Ramsell

2016

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“…On the other hand, many of the rehabilitation activities of the local associations are temporary and regarded as projects, which means that they are separated from the different organisations involved. The integration is limited to these projects and not really influencing ordinary work [45]. …”

Section: With the Wisdom Of Hindsightmentioning

confidence: 99%

A decade of integration and collaboration: the development of integrated health care in Sweden 2000-2010

Åhgren

Axelsson²

2011

Int J Integr Care

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IntroductionThe recent history of integrated health care in Sweden is explored in this article, focusing on the first decade of the 2000s. In addition, there are some reflections about successes and setbacks in this development and challenges for the next decade.Description of policy and practiceThe first efforts to integrate health care in Sweden appeared in the beginning of the 1990s. The focus was on integration of intra-organisational processes, aiming at a more cost-effective health care provision. Partly as a reaction to the increasing economism at that time, there was also a growing interest in quality improvement. Out of this work emerged the ‘chains of care’, integrating all health care providers involved in the care of specific patient groups. During the 2000s, many county councils have also introduced inter-organisational systems of ‘local health care’. There has also been increasing collaboration between health professionals and other professional groups in different health and welfare services.Discussion and conclusionLocal health care meant that the chains of care and other forms of integration and collaboration became embedded in a more integrative context. At the same time, however, policy makers have promoted free patient choice in primary health care and also mergers of hospitals and clinical departments. These policies tend to fragment the provision of health care and have an adverse effect on the development of integrated care. As a counterbalance, more efforts should be put into evaluation of integrated health care, in order to replace political convictions with evidence concerning the benefits of such health care provision.

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“…An important aspect of project work is to establish and create an organisation that is congruent with actual policy. According to Löfström (2010), projects, as a steering strategy, tend to reduce the complexity and ambiguity contained within the policy process, thereby contributing to unpredictable policy processes involving objectives that are not clearly defined with difficult to define clear objects.…”

Section: Background and Previous Research On Projectsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Projects as a policy tool: a policy ethnographic investigation in the field of education in Sweden

Gustafsson

2017

Nordic Journal of Studies in Educational Policy

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Politics and educational policy have been increasingly projectified, and projects as an organisational form have become a symbol for solving complex educational problems and interventions. The present article is a policy ethnographic case study in the field of education in Sweden, concerning the use of projects as a policy tool in the Mountain School. The analytical focus is on using projects as a policy tool within a multi-project organisation, where the projects are aimed at promoting integration of pupils with immigrant backgrounds and improving their school achievements. Through the analysis I identified four distinct themes: Outward leadership and teacher teams, The projects have never belonged to the teachers, The lack of a common educational policy and Project as vision and reality. These four themes demonstrate the complexities and difficulties in relation to organisation, management, definition and implementation. These complexities and difficulties in the policy process are not unique to either regular or temporary organisations. However, what becomes apparent in the case of the Mountain School is that the number of projects was very high, which puts considerable pressure on the headmasters and the teachers in their decoding, interpreting, negotiating and enactment of project as a policy tool.

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Inter‐organizational collaboration projects in the public sector: a balance between integration and demarcation

Cited by 31 publications

References 52 publications

Emerging forms of inter-organizational and cross-sector collaborations in e-government initiatives

Emerging forms of inter-organizational and cross-sector collaborations in e-government initiatives

A decade of integration and collaboration: the development of integrated health care in Sweden 2000-2010

Projects as a policy tool: a policy ethnographic investigation in the field of education in Sweden

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