Canadian Government Executive - Volume 22 - Issue 4

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April 2016 // Canadian Government Executive / 19
The trend to public services integration continues
to gain momentum and to achieve results.
holistic perspective of service needs
rather than the narrow lens of a single
program;
• defining the goals of service delivery
in terms of client outcomes, qual-
ity (e.g. timeliness, accessibility), cost
and the appropriateness of delivery
channels for different client groups;
• determining how integration partners
can deliver these outcomes; and
• identifying the responsibilities (e.g.
policy maker, regulator, overseer, ser-
vice provider) of each partner.
Principle 3. engage external stake-
holders in design and delivery
Pursuing service integration in an in-
clusive manner requires identifying
and reaching out to those external
stakeholders who will be impacted by
change – service providers and recipi-
ents – and including them as partners
in its planning. These parties will expect
to participate in a meaningful way and
to have an opportunity to provide input
into the design and delivery of services.
Finding solutions for complex prob-
lems requires a participative approach,
which can be challenging when compet-
itive or self-protective participants work
together for the first time. Stakeholders
must respect one another to contribute
their ideas and get done what needs to
be done. This requires building relation-
ships as the foundation of a coordinated
effort for change – establishing pro-
cesses that encourage communication,
clarify expectations and build trusting
relationships.
Principle 4. leverage technology to
develop new delivery models
Technology continues to raise the pub-
lic’s expectations for service delivery.
They want efficient, personalized, fast,
reliable, secure, omni-channel, 24/7
self-service.
Ultimately, by streamlining processes
and enhancing client interactions, tech-
nology can be a powerful facilitator and
cross-program enabler. Data sharing
and service collaboration simplifies the
delivery of services across boundaries
and helps to meet clients’ service ex-
pectations.
Today, effective delivery models en-
compass online portals and additional
communication channels, supply visual
tools that guide users through services
Jason Ducharme,
Governance &
Strategy
Ian Brunskill,
Health Services
Alan Lambert,
HR & Change
Management
and support processes, and provide
documents on demand.
Principle 5. link program funding to
performance
Historically, public sector budgeting fo-
cused on inputs – expenditures such as
personnel and facilities – with separate
budget accounts that evolved over time
to respond to specific needs. With ac-
countability assuming ever-stronger
priority, results-oriented budgeting for
new initiatives is now often mandated.
This requires establishing performance
measures for goals and linking funding
to outcomes.
Performance-based funding not only
provides direct accountability but also
facilitates oversight and improves pro-
gram effectiveness. While a variety of
strategies can be used, the goal is to
bring funding into a single area to read-
ily track and monitor spending across
multiple entities.
Linking funding and performance
also allows comparisons with similar
programs and contributes to informed
discussion regarding annual resource
allocations. When funding decisions are
integrated across programs and orga-
nizations, there is financial incentive to
pursue common outcomes.
Principle 6. Provide a proactive
organizational change management
process
Complex organizational change usually
involves major alterations to procedures,
systems, organization structure and
roles and responsibilities. This means
for any integration program to succeed,
there must be a proactive process for
managing organizational change that
focuses on the people impacted.
Reforms should be guided by a best
practice change management strategy
that addresses demands on staff mem-
bers as well as silo perspectives and or-
ganizational turf protection.
To help individuals adopt new prac-
tices, this strategy must prepare orga-
nizations for transformation, engage
champions to support change, address
resistance, gain buy-in and provide on-
going information and support.
Determining if integration offers
promising potential
The trend to public services integration
continues to gain momentum and to
achieve results.
With accelerating expectations for
excellence and rising numbers of suc-
cessful integration initiatives, this is the
ideal time for public sector leaders to
determine whether integration may of-
fer good potential to strengthen service
delivery effectiveness and efficiency.