Creating Cross-Government Success

Working across agency lines for a more citizen-centric public sector

"Cross-government working" refers to the public sector's approaches to integrating different services, processes, systems and resources across departmental and agency lines. Coordinating government units to work together for a common outcome—to deliver more efficient, citizen-centric government—remains a constant challenge worldwide. Yet in the face of austerity programs and more empowered citizens, the pressure to simplify and refocus delivery models is greater than ever. Findings in a recent A.T. Kearney study outlines best practices to improve coordination, reduce duplication and encourage collaboration.

Political administrations as far back as the Roman Empire have struggled to work together efficiently across departmental lines. The pressure has intensified in recent years as citizens have grown more impatient with service problems and increased their scrutiny of fiscal performance targets. This has made the push for better "cross-government working" all the more prevalent. More public-sector leaders are seeking to reorganize and optimize their services so that they can serve their citizens more effectively and conveniently.

Getting different departments to work together is easier said than done. Ministers are typically responsible for the success of their departments alone—and how well they collaborate with other departments is rarely a top priority. Reward and audit structures often give agencies more incentives to focus on their own objectives within their silos than to work successfully across lines toward shared objectives. When different sides do work together, success depends on reaching a degree of consensus not always evident in politics. Poorly defined or incompatible goals, contrasting perspectives between central and local government and diluted leadership across many areas can also slow progress, as they lead to duplication and a lack of coordination and synergy. These common problems cause service disruptions that leave citizens unhappy.

This report, based on a six-month global research project, aims to motivate the discussion about the future of cross-government working (see sidebar: About the Study). Drawing on practical examples and input from senior-level civil servants, we identify the major trends, best practices and key enablers of cross-government success.

10 Ways to Work Together

Cross-government working is not about completely reorganizing government; rather, it entails modifying typical departmentalized governments.

The goal is to make interactions among agencies and departments flexible enough to confront pressing issues while keeping budgets in check.

Our research finds no silver bullet to achieve cross-government working success. At the country, state, city, agency and department levels worldwide, public leaders have used many different approaches with mixed results and varied rates of success. And despite the availability of broad-based solutions—including improving information technology (IT), centralizing functions and realigning front-line delivery—few governments have truly integrated citizen-centric service delivery models.

From our interviews, research and analysis, we identified 10 best practices for developing successful cross-government working relationships.

Figure 1: Reducing costs is rarely the primary driver of cross-government working

1. Focus on customer satisfaction rather than cutting costs. Cost is seldom a major reason for initiating collaboration. Instead, improving service and customer satisfaction and reducing complexity are the usual reasons. Only in Slovenia and the United Kingdom did respondents say that working across department lines is primarily about cutting costs (see figure 1). More often, efficiency is a positive outcome of cross-government working—certainly an important goal for taxpayers and policymakers who are asking their governments to do more with less during this downturn (see figure 2).

Figure 2: Efficiency is most commonly an outcome—rather than a goal—of cross-government working

Cross-government working starts with the citizen and then evolves, says one U.K. civil servant. "Poor citizen service is associated with gross inefficiency—they are two sides of the same coin." One Colombian government worker says, "The primary driver has to be the relentless desire to serve citizens through the effective provision of services and solutions to their problem."

2. Identify shared objectives, outcomes and benefits. Identifying shared objectives, outcomes and benefits is essential to uniting different agencies and departments. Respondents offer several examples in which shared objectives and benefits across agencies proved instrumental to success—from the U.K.'s Olympics Legacy Programme to the e-Vem Program in Slovenia (see sidebar: Case Studies in Cross-Government Working).

There is less agreement about whether success is possible without understanding and articulating shared objectives, outcomes and benefits. Respondents who believe it is possible tend to be more senior in rank.

3. Ensure data sharing among all stakeholders. More government leaders see effective data sharing among all stakeholders as an imperative for cross-government working, especially as technology improves and becomes cheaper, data grows more complex, and citizens' expectations rise.

Our analysis finds that respondents from countries with a shorter history of government IT investment, such as the Czech Republic, Colombia and Mexico, consider data sharing more important than do those from countries with a longer history of IT investment. As one Colombian government worker explains, "Data sharing is very important. It allows for the proper planning, execution and evaluation of projects and programs. When information is widely available to all involved actors, a good outcome is more likely." A U.K. respondent explains it this way, "Data is a prime asset, and governments must make better use of it. It is at the heart of everything we do."

4. Take citizens' concerns about the use of personal data seriously. Confidentiality and sensitivity are major areas that must be addressed and guarded wherever possible. The strongest opinions about the sensitivity of personal data come from countries such as the United Kingdom, which has experienced significant data losses in the public sector. "The recent scare stories have meant people are being overly protective," one U.K. respondent says. Another from South Korea sums up the quandary as it pertains to cross-government working. "Usually, entities do not want to share information with other entities. But to understand, develop and execute better, cross-government working requires full data access."

Figure 3: On a scale of 1 to 10, how important do you think it is that government coordination is tied to targets?

5. Measure performance and track success stories. Governments have strived over the past decade to create strong mechanisms to measure, monitor and reward cross-government performance. Most senior-level officials agree that performance management techniques and solid targets will bring overall improvement (see figure 3).

To date, however, few initiatives successfully measure performance, and most of the successful attempts are limited in scope, such as the U.K. Public Service Agreements (PSAs) in which departments share some specific targets. However, in the PSA case, and others, it's difficult to determine if collaboration is the cause of positive outcomes.

6. Steer clear of shared budgets. Some observers believe shared budgets and financial accountability engender cooperation and coordination—but our interviewees are skeptical. Even though shared objectives, outcomes and benefits are enablers of effective cross-government working, shared budgets are not necessarily similar keys to success.

Financial accountability is difficult to achieve in practice because of different rules and processes across departments, and while shared budgets may be desirable, they are not essential for success. "Shared budgets are not important, and would be more of a deterrent," says one Czech respondent. "It's too complicated, because every institution has different budget rules and processes." A U.K. respondent says, "Money is important and certainly having a joint budget forces cooperation. But it can also cause conflicts if there are not clearly agreed-upon protocols and parameters."

7. Establish simple and unambiguous governance models. Administrations worldwide have successfully used various governance and leadership models. Our findings suggest that the best governance arrangements, whatever they may be, are simple and unambiguous.

Centralized leadership has been the clear preference in the United Kingdom, where specific individuals serve as "tsars" in the belief that one central figure enhances effective cross-government working. While some other countries, such as China and South Korea, also favor this centralized model, the general consensus is that many other approaches work just as well.

More important than governance is the quality of the people and an effective culture —and that all work leads to a desired outcome. "It is important to send a message of alignment and coordination," one Colombian official says. "Each agency should have its own governance structure, without any need for the program to impose it."

8. Ensure leadership continuity. While every country has a distinct model of government, cabinet-style governments are undoubtedly the norm—as are the increasingly impatient demands of citizens and the role of the media. This often means high turnover of department and agency leaders exists, particularly in countries where there is a great deal of ministerial turnover, such as in the United Kingdom.

This—combined with increased turnover at lower levels—has a negative impact on cross-government working. One Slovenian civil servant agrees that reducing leadership turnover is an important issue, with a caveat: "Turnover in leadership positions can affect cross-government working negatively, especially when it comes to turnover in critical points of the project. However, turnover in leadership positions can sometimes be beneficial, especially when there are deadlocks and misunderstandings."

9. Obtain middle management buy-in. The success of cross-government initiatives and programs often depends on mobilizing middle management. Our respondents indicate that middle managers' support has a direct impact on frontline workers' ability to implement and coordinate initiatives successfully. Some interviewees believe middle managers are often underutilized and ignored as the focus is on front-line delivery and central coordination.

A Colombian worker says, "It is middle management that executes the process of coordination: They interact with the agency and mobilize it, and thus might support or hinder its success." A U.K. interviewee says, "It can be done without middle managers, but it will be done a lot better with them."

10. Empower a citizen-focused front line. The emphasis today is increasingly on empowering and coordinating front-line workers to improve cross-government working. When front-line workers understand the operations and have a citizen-focused service ethos, citizens feel better about their interactions with government.

Some initiatives that exemplify this include Total Place in the United Kingdom and the Program for the Eradication of Child Labor (PETI) in Brazil, both designed around coordinating or co-locating front-line services. Our findings suggest that the best cross-government initiatives are designed with direct front-line input.

Combining service locations is less essential today than in the past, as IT and online solutions have reduced the amount of face-to-face interactions. Still, the U.K.'s Sure Start Children's Centres are examples of setting up local service hubs for cross-government initiatives—in this case, providing family healthcare and advisory services.

Tear up the Old Rule Book:
A "How-To" for Working Across Departments

In this "age of austerity," it is tempting to focus cross-government transformation efforts on cost. But, our findings make it clear that to capture the best results from interdepartmental collaboration, government leaders must focus well beyond cost-related moves.

To improve the chances for success, we believe government leaders need to tear up their old rule books. In addition to the 10 best practices gleaned from our study, three specific areas stand out for creating high-quality, citizen-centric services through cross-government working.

Ensure structure, resources and support are in place. As noted earlier, shared objectives, outcomes and benefits are key enablers of successful cross-government working, as are performance measurements and middle management buy-in. To ensure that these are in place, we suggest establishing what we call a "gate-zero" process at the beginning of a program. There are three major parts in this process:

• People. Limiting program management turnover, involving middle managers and creating transparent governance structures are essential. It is wise to consult with middle managers in the beginning to get their input and support, identify an appropriate leadership structure, and agree to fixed-term contracts for program leaders.
• Processes. Government programs need mechanisms in place that can ensure the effective sharing of all necessary forms of data while also meeting the needs of citizens. Data-sharing protocols among stakeholders, appropriate systems and consultation with front-line delivery staff will help ensure that processes are strong enough at launch.
• Performance. From the beginning, it is important that all stakeholders understand the objectives of the program, can assess the outcomes and benefits, and that appropriate key performance indicators are in place to assess cross-government activity.

Test criteria should be a requirement—if they are not met, remedial steps should be taken before proceeding. A comprehensive audit will ensure that these enablers are assessed in detail before resources are committed and the plan moves forward.

Offer citizens incentives for sharing data. Data sharing is crucial for successful collaboration, to reducing costs and improving service while eliminating duplication and waste. Citizens' demands for high-quality, personal services requires user-centric, differentiated service-delivery models that can understand individual needs, preferences and demographics. When agencies are asked to work across departmental boundaries, sharing personal data becomes doubly important for success.

At the same time, this is a sensitive issue, as citizens react negatively to the loss of personal data. In some countries, citizens' concerns about the use of personal information has reduced the effectiveness of data sharing.

We recommend that governments consider giving appropriate incentives to individuals for sharing their data and facilitating citizen-focused services. One private-sector example is loyalty cards, popular in supermarkets, that offer vouchers, discounts and preferential service in exchange for customer data. How would this work in the public sector? It might mean paying for parking or reducing waiting times for benefits claims in exchange for data about employment history with other departments.

Minimize leadership turnover. Cabinet government, with its collective discussion, would seem well suited for cross-government working. But ministers are usually responsible only for the success or failures of their own departments, and cross-cutting policy or outcomes rarely get top billing. Ministers usually win their political reputations by solving problems, not preventing them. The nature of politics also means that turnover of program leaders is quite high—which leads to changes in goals and methods.

Leadership turnover can prove detrimental to the ability of departments and organizations to work together. This problem is particularly acute in countries with a large degree of ministerial turnover, such as the United Kingdom. Cross-government initiatives benefit greatly when they have continuity of leadership and cohesive programs that cross department lines. Fixed terms for senior department positions could ensure continuity and strenghten relationships with partner organizations. And fixed-term ministerial appointments should not be out of the question.

A Better Government

By better understanding customer needs and working across boundaries, governments can provide more citizen-centric services with lower costs and less duplication and waste. Successful public services improve society, form the basis of governments' efforts to create fairness, and help individuals transform their lives and communities. Improving cross-government working is essential for achieving the best public services at the right price for taxpayers.

Authors

Charles Hughes is a partner in the London office and head of the firm's public sector practice in Europe.

Wayne Brown is a consultant in the London office.

The authors wish to thank their colleagues for their valuable insights and help in writing this paper, including Haiwen Chen, Marko Derca, Myounghoon Jang, Adriana Mejia, Natasa Miklic and Eulalia Sanin-Gomez.

Copyright 2011, A.T. Kearney, Inc. All rights reserved.