Working Together for Joined-up Policy Delivery

Project background

‘Joined-up policy delivery’ is about government working collaboratively across portfolio and agency boundaries, developing a more holistic approach to policy design and delivery. The Department for Health and Ageing (DHA) in collaboration with the Department of the Premier and Cabinet (DPC), Cabinet Office, and the Office for Public Sector Reform have undertaken the Working Together: Joined Up Policy 90 Day Change Project, aimed at ensuring this approach becomes a greater focus of government practice.

This work has been undertaken in recognition of the fact that what we do internally, and the processes and structures we put in place within government, influences the way government is perceived externally. Ultimately, service providers and citizens will benefit from having state government take a more collaborative approach to delivering on policy imperatives.

Achieving joined-up policy delivery is challenging, impacted by government structures, organisational culture, differing priorities across sectors, and the competitive nature of government departments operating in a time of reduced resourcing.

Vision, mission and aims

The project vision, mission and aims are as follows:

  • Project Vision: Creating better outcomes for South Australians through joined-up policy delivery
  • Project Mission: To embed supportive architecture and ethos for joined-up policy delivery across the South Australian government
  • Project Aim: To identify key elements of horizontal governance (structures, processes and practices) which support a joined-up approach to delivering on the government’s strategic policy imperatives.

Recommendations

The project identified 11 recommendations designed to embed supportive architecture (governance, structures, systems and processes) and ethos (culture, people and skills) for joined up policy delivery across the South Australian government.

These recommendations were informed by evidence from published literature, a South Australian Government staff survey, and the experience and knowledge of key people from across government who have engaged in collaborative policy approaches, including South Australia’s Health in All Policies approach and the Change@SA 90 Day Projects.

Resources

View the resources page for further information on the Joined Up Policy resources that have been developed.