Partnership Governance in Northern Ireland

Improving Performance

Jonathan Greer

• Publisher: Routledge
• Year: 2019
• Topic: Politics & International Relations
• eBook ISBN:
  9781351752183
• Subtopic: National Security
• Index: Politics & International Relations

Originally published in 2001. Drawing together a broad range of material on Partnership Governance, this volume provides an invaluable contribution to a fast-growing area of political science. Powerful syntheses and a robust analytical framework accompany three empirical case studies focusing on how the transition from government to governance in Northern Ireland is being superimposed on the deep historical divisions that still exist. Political scientists, geographers, government and society and local development specialists will find this text striking in both its substance and lucid style. The text will also be of interest to public policy officials relying on public partnerships as a means of tackling social, economic and political problems.

1
Introduction

Introduction

One of the most striking features of contemporary language is the rise and albeit short lived, dominance of particular words and phrases, some of which emerge from specialist technical fields to become part of everyday usage. The spheres of policy making and governance are fertile breeding grounds for such fashionable terms. Expressions such as ‘joined up’, ‘integrated’, ‘facilitating’, not to mention ‘top down’ and ‘bottom up’ permeate the literature, and in their widespread use they seem to acquire an uncontested quality, making any rigorous analysis or critique of their underlying meaning a difficult task. The list of vogue words has been joined of late by ‘partnerships’, which may be described as the sine qua non of policy implementation and service delivery mechanisms. As noted by Darwin,

Partnerships are now everywhere. Alliances, joint ventures and network forms of organisation now proliferate in the private sector. In the public sector many areas of activity, such as the health service, have been restructured into multi-organisational forms. Every part of the public sector is now exhorted to take part in partnerships, and all of the ‘wicked problems’ (Rittel and Weber, 1973) from economic regeneration to crime and disorder, are seen as requiring a partnership approach, usually involving both public and private sectors (Darwin, 1999, p. 125).

The emergence of partnerships is recognition of economic, social and political changes, which have transformed the manner in which policy is made and delivered. Within the last two decades the creation of a global economy, increasing social diversity and fragmentation in public administration has caused separation, complexity and division in the policy environment. As a result of these changes, Bryson and Crosby comment that a fundamental paradigm shift has occurred from the world we previously lived to a shared power world in which,

no one organisation or institution is in a position to find and implement solutions to the problems that confront us in society. In this world, organisations and institutions that share objectives must also partly share resources and authority to achieve goals (Bryson and Crosby, 1992, p.4).

National governments are finding it increasingly difficult to manage this ‘no-one in charge’ world. The free market and a global economy have diminished the role of national governments who lack sufficient policy levers to provide the conditions for production, while the traditional command structure of public administration is being fragmented into a series of networks (Prior, 1996). In addition, increased social diversity has created difficulties as governments do not have the necessary resources, know how and information to deal with complex social problems (Berham, 1996).

As partnerships are arrangements which envisage the convergence of different actors or sectors of influence to ensure the implementation or delivery of specific objectives, they have been seen by national governments as one means of adapting to this complex and interconnected policy environment. According to Bailey partnerships represent,

A mobilisation of a coalition of interests drawn from one sector in order to prepare and oversee an agreed strategy for a defined area or objective (Bailey, 1994, p.293).

In facilitating co-operation between different levels of government, the private and voluntary/community sectors, partnerships are changing the nature of governance as the state takes a less pronounced role in dealing with complex problems. Thus, the notion of partnerships converges easily with the political pressures for a reduction in state activity and increased responsibility at the local level. In reshaping the nature of governance, partnerships are emerging as a central feature in public administration and their development has wide implications for the organisation and function of government and policy formulation and implementation.

Partnerships have become an increasingly popular and important form of service delivery and could be described as a universal or global phenomenon. Partnership formation is now well established in advanced capitalist societies and is synonymous with policy initiatives designed to deal with complex problems such as economic development, urban regeneration and social inclusion in the USA (De Witt et al, 1994; Berham, 1996), Canada (Gratias and Boyd, 1995), in Europe, for example, (Marino, 1999; Paisana and Olivera, 1999) and in Britain and Ireland (Hutchinson and Foley, 1994; Walsh, 1998).

The Partnership Approach in Northern Ireland

The partnership approach has also found favour in Northern Ireland. In Northern Ireland different types of partnerships have been increasingly applied across a wide range of different government programmes at different levels of governance, be it at the local, regional or national level or between institutions of Northern Ireland, the Republic of Ireland and elsewhere. However, over the last ten to fifteen years the rapid, diverse and ad hoc development of partnership arrangements in Northern Ireland has created a complex and confusing picture, at times furthering the problems of environmental complexity, ineffectiveness and lack of co-ordination; these are the very problems which partnerships were created to resolve (Cebulla, 1996). Therefore, the case of Northern Ireland suggests there are inherent limitations in the partnership approach and this has consequences for policy formulation and implementation. In this light, it would then prove valuable to examine the performance of partnerships.

Examining the Partnership Approach

Within the last decade much consideration has been focused on how to improve partnership performance, and models and steps of best practice have been identified (Combat Poverty Agency, 1995; Wilson and Charlton, 1997). This work, however, has tended to be conceptually vague as partnerships have largely been regarded as one entity. The main problem in examining partnership performance can be found when analysing the nature of partnership arrangements themselves. There are many different kinds of partnerships, they exist for different reasons, create different structures, involve different partners, operate under different conditions and set themselves different goals. In government programmes each initiative has required a different approach and it has therefore become extremely difficult to define what is a ‘successful partnership’. Therefore, it must first be recognised that partnership is a loose term and that partnerships can operate under different and varying conditions.

Partnerships can represent a variety of different arrangements and can be seen to exist within a family of multi-organisational relationships. A number of commentators such as Rogers et al (1982), Webb (1991), Gray (1989), Mattessich and Monsey (1992) and Hall et al (1977) have analysed the diversity of multi-organisational relationships and have classified them into different coalition building processes. These processes have been identified and located on a multi-organisational continuum. It was suggested that co-operation is situated at the low end of the continuum and is a process which involves informal relationships which have no structure or planning effort. Co-ordination is located at the centre of the continuum and is typified by more formal relationships where there is some joint planning but authority still rests within individual organisations. Collaboration, on the other hand, rests at the high end of the continuum and is characterised by formal relationships, there is a new organisational structure, and mission and authority are determined by the collaboration. By recognising diversity a deeper understanding of partnerships can be sought as different approaches, processes and structures are taken into account. Given that it is not possible to outline a universal formula for a successful partnership, the purpose of this book is to examine the conditions which affect the performance of partnerships and their value in the emerging public administration system of Northern Ireland.

Book Sequence

Following the introduction, this book is divided into seven subsequent chapters. As a means to provide a deeper understanding of the partnership approach in public policy, Chapter 2 begins by tracing the theoretical roots of partnerships, examining the theories and concepts behind partnerships and identifying different types of partnership models. Following that, Chapter 2 aims to examine the different coalition building processes within partnerships and the conditions for facilitating and achieving partnership governance.

To set the context of partnership governance in Northern Ireland, Chapter 3 reviews the public sector environment in Northern Ireland and discusses the dynamics behind the partnership approach. The chapter then goes on to briefly describe the nature of partnership governance in Northern Ireland and compile a conceptual map detailing major partnership arrangements, within Northern Ireland and between Northern Ireland, the Republic of Ireland and other jurisdictions. To date, no map of the network of partnership arrangements has been completed and this will provide a valuable contribution to the study of the range and type of partnerships in Northern Ireland.

Chapters 4, 5, and 6 aim to evaluate the performance of different kinds of partnership, drawing upon case studies, in terms of their coalition building processes. From the conceptual map three partnership case studies have been selected, namely the District Partnerships for Peace and Reconciliation, the Local Authority Cross-Border Networks and the partnership relationship between the Northern Ireland Tourist Board and Bord Fáilte.

From evaluating the case studies and comparing their experience against the conditions for achieving partnership governance set out in Chapter 2, Chapter 7 develops a synthetic model highlighting both the micro and macro conditions associated with improving partnership governance. Micro conditions refer to those operating at the level of individual partnerships and include contextual, decision making, stakeholder/organisational and operation conditions. Macro conditions also influence the performance and the overall development of partnerships in public policy and these include, rebuilding civil society, and the tensions between representative and participative democracy, and political pragmatism and new idealism. By outlining a model of partnership governance this book is of central importance to policy makers and partnership actors as it will create a better understanding of partnerships and the conditions in which they operate. Through greater understanding, the book can contribute to the debate towards improving partnership performance and point in the direction towards creating more co-ordinated government, better service delivery and reducing pressures on public resources.

Chapter 7, and the book, conclude with a discussion on the value of partnerships in public administration and on the implications of the findings for future governance in Northern Ireland and the island of Ireland. It is argued that a participative partnership framework in Northern Ireland and on a cross-border basis, has the potential to deal with an increasingly complex and interdependent administrative and social environment by rebuilding civil society, facilitating pluralist decision making and addressing social inclusion. Moreover, it is maintained that partnerships can break down barriers and build reconciliation and trust within Northern Ireland and on the island of Ireland.

2
The Partnership Approach to Public Policy

Introduction

Before analysing partnership arrangements in Northern Ireland a clear understanding must first be grasped of what is meant by the term partnership. This chapter aims to provide a background to the study by analysing partnerships and gaining a deep insight into partnership arrangements, their structures, processes and procedures.

This chapter will be divided into five parts; in the first, attention will be given to the origins and roots of partnerships, explaining how they emerged and why partnerships have become such a popular approach in public policy. Following this, the second part includes a critique of partnership models in which various types of partnership arrangements are assessed and located within the context of other multi-organisational relationships. The third part discusses the advantages of the partnerships, and the fourth part, analyses the disadvantages of the approach. Finally, in part five, the conditions which facilitate partnership governance will be highlighted and examined.

The Emergence and Pervasiveness of Partnerships

In the last two decades a general rise in the popularity of the partnership approach to public policy has occurred (Tilson et al, 1997). Within this relatively short period of time partnerships have become a major force in public policy formulation and implementation in a number of different countries, particularly in contemporary advanced democracies. Partnerships have been applied across a wide range of government departments, for example, in economic development, education, environment and at different levels of governance be it at the local, regional, national or supranational levels. This section seeks to examine and explain common themes which have precipitated the rise of partnerships throughout contemporary advanced democracies.

There are a number of economic, social and political changes which have taken place in both the global and national spheres which help to explain the pervasiveness of the partnership approach. It is these three interlocking and changing factors which have accumulated in recent years to cause fragmentation and separation in the world order and have led to what some commentators such as, Meadowcroft (1997), Kickert et al (1997), Rhodes (1997) and Peters and Pierre (1998), call a paradigm shift in the process of governance.

Both national and global economic systems have experienced dramatic changes in the last twenty years. One of the most prominent changes is that the economic system is becoming more interconnected, largely due to the expansion of technology and the rise of multinational companies. This has created a global economic system in which the concepts of free trade and the market have diminished the importance of national boundaries. Alongside global interconnectedness, changes in economic organisation have led to increased diversity and division in economic production. As Healey states,

Firms not only vary in sectors they operate in and i...

Table of contents

• Cover
• Half Title
• Title
• Copyright
• Contents
• List of Figures
• List of Tables
• Preface
• Acknowledgements
• Abbreviations
• 1 Introduction
• 2 The Partnership Approach to Public Policy
• 3 Public Administration and Partnership Governance in Northern Ireland
• 4 The District Partnerships for Peace and Reconciliation
• 5 The Local Authority Cross-Border Networks
• 6 The Partnership between the Northern Ireland Tourist Board and Bord Fáilte
• 7 A Synthetic Model for Partnership Governance and the Wider Implications of Partnership for Public Policy
• Appendix: Mapping Partnerships Northern Ireland
• Bibliography
• Index