Public Service Delivery through collaboration: the case of drug treatment provision
Dr Paul Freedman, Dr Julia Kiely & Kathy Brennan
Overview
Collaborative ways of working for service delivery are on the increase. But collaboration is not easy because different service providers see things differently – they have different agendas and priorities.
Competition is no longer seen as the best way to improve service delivery. Collaborative partnership between a variety of organisations and professional bodies, each of which brings distinctive competencies and skills, is seen as the new way forward. With public service delivery in particular, collaboration offers the opportunity to bring together private and public sector groups to deliver ‘joined-up’ services. This study looks at the forces encouraging collaboration in terms of ideology and practical considerations. One of the key themes running through the academic literature on collaboration is the importance of trust. This theme is developed and explored through a framework for integrating trust and distrust. Through a detailed investigation of a complex partnership arrangement across time, the collaborative journey of individuals is tracked. The study informs on the meaning and impact of high trust in complex collaborative partnerships.
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