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Governments in general, face challenges in dealing with complex social problems such as drug abuse, child abuse, and homelessness. Since the late 1990s, the NSW Government has concentrated on using collaboration as a means of addressing these problems and better tailoring services to meet the needs of citizens. |
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In this audit, we examined three collaborative projects: the Employment and Training Strategy, the Statewide Community and Court Liaison Service, and the Road Safety 2010 Strategy. Our overall objective was to determine if collaboration had been a successful approach to improving services or results. |
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In the cases we examined, we found that agencies working together can improve services or results. However, the changes were not always as great as anticipated or had not reached maximum potential. |
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The Government promotes and supports collaboration between agencies, expecting chief executive officers and their agencies to work together to respond more effectively to the needs of citizens. More and more problems facing government may require this approach. Yet getting agencies with different roles and responsibilities to work together can be a difficult process. |
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Establishing the right governance framework and accountability requirements between partners at the start of the project is critical to success. And joint responsibility requires new funding and reporting arrangements to be developed. |
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Guidance material from the NSW Premier’s Department goes someway to help agencies establish collaborative partnerships, but it is now somewhat outdated (1999). Recent involvement of the NSW Cabinet Office in coordinating collaborative projects is having positive results. |
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The establishment of five joint chief executive forums covering portfolios such as human services, provides a stable platform to progress issues of shared interest that affect clients. These forums are possibly the best means of ensuring that collaboration between agencies occurs. |
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We recommend that the NSW Premier’s Department routinely update its guidelines on agency collaboration to include: § critical success factors (pages 19, 20, 22, 23 and 24) §
contemporary examples of best practice in
collaboration § restating the role of the NSW Premier’s Department in promoting and facilitating collaboration between agencies (page 14) § recent changes such as the establishment of the chief executive forums and the involvement of the NSW Cabinet Office in establishing and monitoring cross-agency initiatives (page 14). |
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We recommend that the NSW Premier’s Department establish a means of publicly reporting on collaborative projects being undertaken as well as the results (page 24). |
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We also recommend that the NSW Premier’s Department in conjunction with NSW Treasury: § continue to examine ways of funding collaborative projects that provide for joint decision-making on priorities as well as clear accountability for resources. A framework for funding collaborative projects should be published in time for agencies to use in the 2007-08 budget cycle (page 21). |
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Chapter 1 Can agencies work together? |
Collaboration involves a number of agencies working together to achieve government outcomes. The intent of collaborative efforts is to break down traditional barriers between agencies so that agencies work as one, focussed on achieving a common outcome. |
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Getting government agencies with different roles and responsibilities to work together is a complex process. Legislative arrangements can promote vertical accountability, from chief executives to the Minister, for expenditure and for providing services or products. These arrangements can create silos where agencies tend to work in isolation of each other and rarely cross boundaries. |
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Collaboration in NSW has been promoted through: § guidance material on how to approach collaborative projects § the allocation of resources to support collaborative efforts § strategic initiatives such as the natural resources management reforms, and the CEO Committee on sustainable procurement in government § specific forums of agency chief executives dedicated to removing barriers to collaboration and addressing common problems affecting clients § agency amalgamations to create super departments such as the Department of Environment and Conservation which used to operate as three separate entities. |
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Chapter 2 Does collaboration work? |
We found that collaboration had improved services or results in all three case studies.
In examining the approaches taken in the three collaboration case studies, we found there were no bureaucratic or regulatory restrictions limiting the extent of collaboration. Rather, differences in partner priorities or practices that were not addressed at the start of the project had a greater impact on outcomes. |
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As a minimum, accountability arrangements between the partners should be addressed at commencement and outline: § project objectives, outcomes and timeframes § the roles and responsibilities of each partner including service standards or specific contributions § resources to be applied by each partner § how partners identify and share risks and benefits § how the project will be evaluated § how progress and outcomes will be reported. |
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The case studies used various forms of formal and informal agreements between the partners but none had clearly articulated or documented all the above elements to ensure accountability. |
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What appears critical for the success of collaboration is not what form this agreement takes but rather its content. As a minimum, the accountability arrangements need to be comprehensive, clearly articulated and documented in some form. |
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Aboriginal Employment and Training Strategy |
The objective of this strategy is to maximise training and employment opportunities in 22 selected Aboriginal communities that are part of the Aboriginal Communities Development Program. Under the strategy, apprenticeships are offered in building construction and landscaping trades. |
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The Department of Aboriginal Affairs is the lead agency. The strategy started in 1998 and is due for completion in 2008. It has a budget of $11 million and involves four agencies in total (see Appendix 2). |
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Benefits of the strategy have been: § 222 Aboriginal apprentices have been trained and employed in the 22 priority communities § 13 Aboriginal building companies set up to employ the apprentices under the strategy § new and refurbished houses that meet community needs § apprentices become role models for other community members. |
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Statewide Community and Court Liaison Service |
The objective of this Service is to divert people with a mental illness from the criminal justice system into appropriate hospital or community based care. The Service provides same day pre-hearing assessments to assist magistrates in deciding the best course of action for a defendant. |
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The service operates in 17 local courts and assesses around 10 percent of defendants. |
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Justice Health within NSW Health is the lead agency. The Service started in 1999, costs around $2 million each year and involves seven agencies in total (see Appendix 3). |
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The Service has achieved better, more appropriate outcomes for people with a mental illness than could be achieved by the local courts and Justice Health alone. Where the service is available, people with a mental illness are assessed at the time they attend court rather than being held in remand until an assessment can be completed. |
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Where appropriate, defendants are diverted from the prison system to receive treatment in a hospital or community setting. |
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Road Safety 2010 Strategy |
The objective of this strategy is to halve the road toll, saving 2,000 lives, by the year 2010. The strategy promotes community understanding and involvement in road safety initiatives around three themes: § safer people § safer roads § safer vehicles. |
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The Roads and Traffic Authority is the lead agency. The strategy started in 1999 and is due for completion in 2010. Around $113 million is spent each year on road safety and there are eight agencies plus local government involved in the strategy (see Appendix 4). |
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So far, the strategy has saved an estimated 234 lives. |
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Improving road safety is a complex problem that cannot be effectively addressed by one agency alone. The Strategy recognises that many agencies need to combine their expertise and resources and coordinate operations to achieve results. |
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Response from the NSW Premier’s Department |
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I refer to your letters of 24 February 2006 to the Premier and to myself providing the final report of the Performance Audit titled Agencies Working Together to Improve Services. The Premier has asked me to respond on his behalf.
I welcome your principal finding that agency collaboration is working in NSW, and endorsing the work of Premier’s Department and other central agencies in promoting collaboration.
Significant work has been undertaken in NSW to improve collaborative service delivery: · streamlining of CEO level groups to provide leadership to improve service delivery across the public sector, and by ‘cluster’ areas of Aboriginal Affairs, Criminal Justice, Human Services, Natural Resources and the Environment, and Transport; · using the cluster groups to examine areas for integrated and cost efficient service delivery; · bringing together agencies with common interests into the one department to better use resources, such as the Department of Environment and Conservation, and the Department of Primary Industries; · development of cross-agency strategies, led by the cluster groups, (eg. City of Cities, and the Mental Health Action Plan); · consolidation of regional coordination of service delivery via the Regional Coordination Program; and · further measures announced by the Premier on 23 February 2006 in the Economic and Financial Statement including: o establishing a Service Delivery Unit, to provide improved efficiency of service delivery in key areas of Government, and o creating two departments to bring together agencies with common interests in State and Regional Development, and Arts, Sport and Recreation.
The recommendations for action by Premier’s Department contained in Audit Office report will be given close examination as the measures announced in the Economic and Financial Statement of 23 February 2006 are implemented.
I would like to thank your staff for their cooperative approach in conducting this performance audit, and for providing an opportunity for those agencies whose work is analysed in the report to comment on the findings.
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(signed)
Col Gellatly Director-General
Dated: 10 March 2006
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Response from NSW Treasury |
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Thank you for the opportunity to comment on the Performance Audit report Agencies Working Together to Improve Services.
The Audit recommends that Premier’s Department in conjunction with Treasury: · continue to examine ways of funding collaborative projects that provide for joint-decision making on priorities as well as clear accountability for resources. A framework for funding collaborative projects should be published in time for agencies to use in the 2007-08 budget cycle.
Treasury agrees that collaboration between agencies is fundamental to improving the way that service delivery is planned and managed.
In December 2005 the Premier announced a Government commitment to establishing a new Performance Management and Budgeting System. The new system will focus on improved service delivery and the strengthening of accountability across government for service delivery outcomes.
In February 2006 the Premier’s Economic and Financial Statement announced that over the next twelve months the systems and processes required to support the new system would be developed in preparation for full implementation in the 2008-09 Budget process. The Statement also recognized that the Government had commenced work in the performance management and budgeting area through the development of the Results and Services Plan (RSP).
The RSP is a high level service delivery and funding plan agreed between Ministers and the Budget Committee of Cabinet. It uses ‘cause and effect’ linkages to demonstrate the relationship between an agency’s services and the results it is working towards. The RSP explains what an agency can achieve with its budget allocation, and helps agencies to align a core set of performance indicators with corporate, business and financial planning.
Currently the Budget process allows for joint agency funding proposals to be submitted by a lead agency. Treasury believes the RSP approach can augment this process by helping agencies to clarify accountability for accomplishment in collaborative projects, including the use of resources.
In 2003 the Government established five Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Cluster groups to discuss common issues and to identify opportunities for cross agency collaboration in areas such as human services and criminal justice. The Audit Opinion observes that the CEO cluster groups ‘are possibly the best means of ensuring that collaboration between agencies occurs’.
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There has been significant progress in giving cross-agency issues more prominence in the Budget cycle. In recent years the Budget process has been refined to include dedicated cluster-based meetings where Ministers’ and agencies’ strategic issues can be discussed in a broader cross-portfolio context. In preparing submissions to support this process, CEO Cluster groups are now applying the RSP approach in their service delivery planning.
Consolidating these developments is one option for promoting greater collaboration between agencies. Treasury believes, however, that consideration of specific funding and accountability arrangements for collaborative projects must proceed in conjunction with development of the new Performance Management and Budgeting System. |
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(signed)
J Pierce Secretary
Dated: 6 March 2006 |