When Does Cooperation Improve Public Policy Implementation?

Abstract

Interorganizational cooperation is often considered valuable in the public sector. However, in this article it is suggested that the impact of cooperation on public policy implementation is dependent on the type of policy being carried out. It is argued that complex policies are more effectively put into practice if agencies cooperate a lot, whereas less difficult tasks are handled just as well without interorganizational cooperation. Thus, two policies within the Swedish active labor market policy are examined. The empirical test focuses on the cooperation between Public Employment Service offices and municipal labor market administrations. In agreement with the hypothesis, the findings suggest that policy matters. The implementation of one of the policies—the complex policy—is enhanced if cooperation between agencies increase. On the other hand, cooperation does not improve implementation of the less complex task. The study is based on quantitative data.

Navigating institutional complexity in the health sector: lessons from tobacco control in Kenya

“…Within-government coordination is important for many reasons including providing benefits such as cost sharing by pooling resources (Vangen and Huxham 2003;Lundin 2007), enhanced policy coherence (Kavanagh and Richards 2001;De Alba 2012), accountability (Wilkins 2002) and clear goal-setting (Cassels 1995). As scholars note, accountability itself has several key components including financial, performance and political (Brinkerhoff 2003).…”

Ungdomars väg från skola till arbetsliv

“…En fråga som ställts är: Förbättras implementeringen av arbetsmarknadsåtgärder om Arbetsförmedlingen samarbetar med kommunen? (Lundin, 2007). Ett tänkbart problem är att en kommun kan ha "lokala" mål, som inte nödvändigtvis är samma som arbetsförmedlingens, exempelvis vilja föra över personer som går på bistånd (kommunens budget) till aktivitetsersättning av något slag (statens budget).…”

“…"….when the policy is not complex cooperation adds very little value, but still involves some costs". I stället för att, som vanligt är bland forskare och politiker, prisa samarbetsmodellen generellt, vore bättre att ta reda på när samarbete förbättrar läget (Lundin, 2007).…”

Les démarches décisionnelles incrémentales dans les systèmes complexes : Le cas des politiques publiques dans le système de la propriété intellectuelle

“…Il se centre plus particulière-ment sur des décisions de type politique publique. En effet, celles-ci impliquent souvent une démarche décisionnelle à caractère incrémental (Robinson et Meier, 2006) et un degré élevé de complexité (Lundin, 2007). Par ailleurs, si la science de la complexité est de plus en plus présente dans le domaine des sciences de la gestion, elle est aussi de plus en plus appliquée à celui des politiques publiques (Meek, 2010).…”