Governing the City State - Chief Minister and Treasury Directorate ...

Despite its inherent appeal to common sense, and alignment with the desires and needs of thecitizenry, joined up government is difficult to achieve. It takes time, it takes energy, and if itis to be successful, is dependent on a culture of collaboration among officials which, eventhough they might approach an issue from different perspectives, are unified by a clear goal,and common search for public value: “working across departments and tiers of governmentsrequires shared objectives, clear lines of accountability and strong relationships.Collaboration can be hindered by fragmentation, diffuse accountabilities and rigid systemsgeared towards vertical structures”. 94Success ultimately hinges on behaviours and systems:the quality of relationships between people participating as individuals or as part ofan organisation or institution, fundamentally uphold whole-of-government processes.They do this by supporting negotiation, cooperation and sustained and continuinginteraction between the various players. 95It is worth noting in this context that accountability frameworks (which are themselvesframed by appropriation structures) can make the challenges of joined up government greater.Flexibility and the capacity to work collaboratively across agency boundaries presentchallenges for appropriation structures tied to programs in individual agencies. These sameaccountability frameworks and processes can lead to high levels of risk aversion in publicsector managers. 96 That is not, of course, to be critical of such frameworks which are acornerstone of Westminster-based systems of government – merely to acknowledge thesystemic constraints they create on working collaboratively.The APSC argues, for example:for wicked problems to be handled successfully, governance structures need to supportholistic approaches, focus accountability on the whole of government outcomes theGovernment is seeking, and allow for the engagement of stakeholders and citizens.Performance measurement and evaluation needs to avoid a narrow ‘bean counting’ approachto whether the government’s objectives are being met, and take into account the likely needfor longer time frames for results to become apparent. 97Just as participatory decision making is not always appropriate, whole of governmentcollaboration is not always necessary or productive. Because it is time consuming andsometimes costly it can be a distraction from the business of getting on with routine andstraightforward issues. An assessment needs to be made of the costs and benefits in aparticular case of pursuing a joined up approach.There are times, however, where it is essential. In its Submission, Anglicare Canberra &Goulburn noted, for example:94 State Services Authority (2008) p.20.95 Hunt, S. (2005) “Whole of Government: Does Working Together Work?” Asia Pacific School of Economics and GovernmentDiscussion Paper 05-01. Australian National University, Canberra p.13.96 Hunt, S. (2005) p.12.97 Australian Public Service Commission (2007b) Building Better Governance. Commonwealth Government, Canberra, p.19.Governing the City State: 71