Lessons Learned and Policy Implications

Abstract

The case studies in this book illustrate how European countries have used a variety of instruments to address coordination problems. Reforms aiming to strengthen coordination have been initiated to counteract the ‘siloization’ or ‘pillarization’ of the public sector and to increase government capacity. Governments have developed new approaches to address ‘wicked problems’ in society and to counter the fragmentation brought about by New Public Management (NPM) reforms, and also to solve more immediate problems arising within individual organizations. The new coordination arrangements seek to integrate different parts of the public sector and to foster understanding and joint problem-solving across organizational boundaries. Such initiatives have been dubbed collaborative public management, joined-up government, whole-of-government, holistic government or integrated government.