GOVERNANCE FOR COMPLEXITY - HOW TO ORGANIZE FOR THE HANDLING OF 'WICKED ISSUES'? The case of internal security and the welfare administration in Norway

This paper examines the main coordination arrangements for handling ‘wicked issues’ in the area of societal security and welfare administratio n in Norway and ask whether network arrangements have replaced hierarchy. In both cases reforms have addressed major coordination problems related to both the vertical dimension and the horizontal dimension. Empirically we draw on data collected in four diffe rent research projects. Theoretically we apply a structural-instrumental perspective and a c ultural perspective. We describe two new organizational arrangements: the lead agency approa ch and the one-stop-shop and show how they develop as hybrid forms in the tension between the principles of ministerial responsibility and the principle of local self-gove rnment. A main finding is that the horizontal inter-organizational coordinating arrangements seem to supplement rather than replace traditional hierarchical coordination producing mor e complex organizational arrangements. Paper to be presented at the Policy & Politics Conf erence “The challenges of leadership and collaboration in the 21 st Century”, Bristol, September 16-17, 2014.

[1]  A. Boin,et al.  Building European Union capacity to manage transboundary crises: Network or lead‐agency model? , 2014 .

[2]  Per Lægreid,et al.  Joined-Up Government for Welfare Administration Reform in Norway , 2014 .

[3]  Tom Christensen,et al.  The Governance of Wicked Issues: A European Cross-Country Analysis of Coordination for Societal Security , 2014 .

[4]  Tom Christensen,et al.  The Many Faces of Accountability: Comparing Reforms in Welfare, Hospitals and Migration , 2014 .

[5]  Peter John,et al.  Agendas and Instability in American Politics , 2013 .

[6]  Tom Christensen,et al.  After a Terrorist Attack: Challenges for Political and Administrative Leadership in Norway , 2013 .

[7]  E. Ferlie,et al.  Making Wicked Problems Governable , 2013 .

[8]  Matt Andrews,et al.  The Limits of Institutional Reform in Development , 2013 .

[9]  B. Peters,et al.  The SAGE Handbook of Public Administration , 2012 .

[10]  Ron Hodges,et al.  Joined‐Up Government and the Challenges to Accounting and Accountability Researchers , 2012 .

[11]  Per Lægreid,et al.  Complexity and Hybrid Public Administration—Theoretical and Empirical Challenges , 2011 .

[12]  Per Lægreid,et al.  Organizing for Internal Security and Safety in Norway , 2011 .

[13]  Christopher Pollitt,et al.  Talking About Government , 2011 .

[14]  Carole Talbot.  Introduction: Reviewing Experiences from Joined-Up-Government (JUG) Initiatives , 2011 .

[15]  Tom Christensen,et al.  Beyond NPM? Some Development Features , 2010 .

[16]  Tom Christensen,et al.  The Ashgate Research Companion to New Public Management , 2010 .

[17]  S. Thiel.  Book Review: Mapping coordination reforms, part I?: Geert Bouckaert, Guy Peters and Koen Verhoest (2010) The Coordination of Public Sector Organizations: Shifting Patterns of Public Management. Basingstoke: Palgrave Macmillan , 2010 .

[18]  Johan P. Olsen.  Governing through Institution Building , 2010 .

[19]  Koen Verhoest,et al.  The Coordination of Public Sector Organizations: Shifting Patterns of Public Management , 2010 .

[20]  S. Osborne.  The new public governance? : emerging perspectives on the theory and practice of public governance , 2010 .

[21]  Tom Christensen,et al.  How to Carry Out Joined-Up Government Reforms: Lessons from the 2001–2006 Norwegian Welfare Reform , 2009 .

[22]  Per Lægreid,et al.  Reorganizing the welfare state administration , 2009 .

[23]  Johan P. Olsen,et al.  The Logic of Appropriateness , 2008 .

[24]  R. Goodin,et al.  The Oxford handbook of public policy , 2008 .

[25]  A. Héritier,et al.  The Shadow of Hierarchy and New Modes of Governance , 2008, Journal of Public Policy.

[26]  Allan McConnell,et al.  Governing after crisis : the politics of investigation, accountability and learning , 2008 .

[27]  A. Meijer,et al.  Safeguarding public accountability in horizontal government , 2008 .

[28]  Jarle Trondal,et al.  NATIONAL AGENCIES IN THE EUROPEAN ADMINISTRATIVE SPACE: GOVERNMENT DRIVEN, COMMISSION DRIVEN OR NETWORKED? , 2007 .

[29]  Tom Christensen,et al.  The Whole‐of‐Government Approach to Public Sector Reform , 2007 .

[30]  C. Ansell,et al.  Collaborative Governance in Theory and Practice , 2007 .

[31]  Tom Christensen,et al.  The Challenge of Coordination in Central Government Organizations: The Norwegian Case , 2007 .

[32]  Tom Christensen,et al.  Reform of the employment and welfare administrations — the challenges of co-coordinating diverse public organizations , 2007 .

[33]  K. Provan,et al.  Modes of Network Governance: Structure, Management, and Effectiveness , 2007 .

[34]  Bjørn Ivar Kruke,et al.  Societal Safety: Concept, Borders and Dilemmas , 2007 .

[35]  Stephen P. Osborne,et al.  The New Public Governance? 1 , 2006 .

[36]  Martin Lodge,et al.  The Politics of Public Service Bargains: Reward, Competency, Loyalty - and Blame , 2006 .

[37]  B. Peters,et al.  The Politics of Path Dependency: Political Conflict in Historical Institutionalism , 2005, The Journal of Politics.

[38]  E. Page,et al.  Joined-Up Government and the Civil Service , 2005 .

[39]  C. Hood,et al.  The Idea of Joined-Up Government: A Historical Perspective , 2005 .

[40]  C. Hood,et al.  Joined-up government , 2005 .

[41]  D. Moynihan.  Leveraging Collaborative Networks in Infrequent Emergency Situations , 2005 .

[42]  Donald F. Kettl,et al.  Contingent Coordination , 2003 .

[43]  J. Kooiman,et al.  Governing as Governance , 2003 .

[44]  Christopher Pollitt,et al.  Joined-up Government: A Survey , 2003 .

[45]  Perri,et al.  Towards Holistic Governance: The New Reform Agenda , 2002 .

[46]  F. Scharpf.  Games real actors play , 1997 .

[47]  R. Rhodes.  Understanding governance : policy networks, governance, reflexivity and accountability , 1997 .

[48]  Royston Greenwood,et al.  The Reforming Organization. , 1996 .

[49]  高橋 進.  サイアート, マーチの「A Behavioral Theory of the Firm」 , 1995 .

[50]  D. Krane,et al.  Coordination and Welfare Reform: The Quest for the Philosopher's Stone , 1994 .

[51]  C. Hood.  A PUBLIC MANAGEMENT FOR ALL SEASONS , 1991 .

[52]  Stephen D. Krasner.  Sovereignty , 1988 .

[53]  James G. March,et al.  Organizing Political Life: What Administrative Reorganization Tells Us about Government , 1983, American Political Science Review.

[54]  H. Rittel,et al.  Dilemmas in a general theory of planning , 1973 .

[55]  J. March,et al.  A Behavioral Theory of the Firm , 1964 .

[56]  C. Lindblom,et al.  Politics, Economics and Welfare. , 1953 .

[57]  Paul Williams.  Crossing Boundaries in Public Management and Policy: The International Experience By Janine O'Flynn, Deborah Blackman and John Halligan Abingdon: Routledge, 2014. ISBN 978‐0‐415‐67824‐7; £90.00 (hbk). , 2015 .

[58]  L. H. Rykkja,et al.  Coordinating for Crisis Management in Norway after the Terrorist Attack in 2011 , 2014 .

[59]  Per Lægreid,et al.  Organizing for Coordination in the Public Sector , 2014 .

[60]  L. E. Lynn.  The Persistence of Hierarchy , 2011 .

[61]  Tom Christensen,et al.  Increased Complexity in Public Organizations — the Challenges of Combining NPM and Post-NPM , 2010 .

[62]  A. Fenna,et al.  Wicked Problems in Public Policy , 2009 .

[63]  James Mahoney,et al.  Explaining Institutional Change: Explaining Institutional Change , 2009 .

[64]  Johan P. Olsen.  Europe In Search Of Political Order , 2007 .

[65]  Per Lægreid,et al.  Autonomy and regulation : coping with agencies in the modern state , 2006 .

[66]  G. Bouckaert,et al.  Machinery of government and policy capacity : the effects of specialization and coordination , 2005 .

[67]  E. Sørensen,et al.  Netværksstyring: fra government til governance , 2005 .

[68]  A. Quinlivan,et al.  Multi-level governance , 2005 .

[69]  E. Stern,et al.  The Politics of Crisis Management: Public Leadership under Pressure , 2005 .

[70]  M. Egeberg.  How Bureaucratic Structure Matters: An Organizational Perspective , 2003 .

[71]  R. Gregory.  All the King's Horses and All the King's Men: Putting New Zealand's Public Sector Back Together Again , 2003 .

[72]  T. Ling.  Delivering joined–up government in the UK: dimensions, issues and problems , 2002 .

[73]  David Richards,et al.  Departmentalism and joined-up government , 2001 .

[74]  B. Guy Peters,et al.  Managing Horizontal Government: The Politics of Co-Ordination , 1998 .

[75]  Robert K. Yin,et al.  Applications of case study research , 1993 .

[76]  B. Jones,et al.  Agendas and instability in American politics , 1993 .

[77]  Johan P. Olsen,et al.  Rediscovering institutions: The organizational basis of politics , 1989 .

[78]  Donald L. Mills,et al.  Organizations: Rational, Natural and Open Systems , 1983 .

[79]  C. Hood,et al.  The limits of administration , 1976 .

[80]  E. Johnsen.  Richard M. Cyert & James G. March, A Behavioral Theory of The Firm, Prentice-Hall, Inc., Englewood Cliffs, New Jersey, 1963, 332 s. , 1964 .

[81]  Philip Selznick.  Leadership in administration , 1957 .

[82]  L. Urwick.  Notes on the theory of organization , 1952 .

[83]  M. Bevir,et al.  The SAGE Handbook of Governance , 2022 .