Chapter 10: Whole of government

Abbreviations

A list of the abbreviations used in this report is available in the Glossary

Key chapter findings

Significant progress has been made in embedding whole of government ways of working in the APS. The APS has improved its capability to transfer and exchange information, has begun to rationalise its financial and ICT infrastructure, and a number of highly relevant capability development programmes have been put in place. Specific governance arrangements are dealing with some of our most pressing needs in relation to Indigenous affairs and improving our preparedness for a possible avian flu outbreak.

A growing number of agencies are looking at how best they can provide appropriate support and guidance to their employees involved in formal whole of government activities and are emphasising the importance of collaborative ways of working to their leadership group. DAFF, DEST and DFAT, which have all put a strong emphasis on promoting whole of government issues, show that these activities can have a real impact on agency culture. The extent of support provided by agencies more generally is, however, variable, as are employee perceptions of their agency’s cultural bias towards whole of government work.

The need for effective whole of government approaches continues to grow. The APS can boast a wide range of achievements in this area and there is evidence that the impact of cooperation across agencies is helping to improve the quality of service delivery.

Experience to date, however, confirms that whole of government approaches are not always easy to implement or maintain. The onus is on all of the APS to make whole of government work effectively. This is particularly important in view of the extensive upcoming COAG agenda and the fact that there are a number of initiatives, particularly Indigenous service delivery, that are at critical threshold points.

In light of this, there are some key risks and pressure points that require continued attention and action.

At a systems level, although there has been progress in improving ICT infrastructure, more needs to be done, particularly in the area of implementation at agency level. Some agencies continue to identify problems with information management and infrastructure, including systems and IT incompatibility. This is an area where both agencies and relevant whole of government forums need to focus.

Despite some successes, there is also more to do in structuring supportive financial budgeting and accountability arrangements for whole of government work. More work is needed on how to marry vertical and horizontal lines of accountability, and in particular, ensure that governance structures are sufficiently flexible to allow them to operate horizontally across traditional boundaries. Although the existing outcomes and outputs Budget framework has the flexibility to provide appropriate Budget and accountability arrangements for whole of government projects, there are still perceptions among some agencies that it tends to hinder joint approaches. The whole of government approach taken to the Indigenous Budget arrangements shows what can be achieved, but also highlights the complexity of the issue. There are many agencies that would benefit from further practical guidance on this matter.

Embedding whole of government culture and capability at both the service-wide level and in individual agencies is an ongoing project. Although showing some signs of improvement, senior employees involved in structured whole of government activities continue to pass mixed judgments on how collaborative and well supported these structures have been in practice. The results suggest a need for a greater focus on how multi-agency forums such as inter-departmental committees and task forces work.

There is also a need for a continued focus on some of the key themes identified in Connecting Government, including the modeling of collaborative leadership behaviours, capability development, opportunities for increasing the depth of experience and exposure, and rewards and recognition strategies that promote and reinforce collaborative behaviour. Although not the only option for enhancing depth of experience, the increase in mobility for the last two years is encouraging, but needs to be sustained.

Finally, there are a number of specific and practical issues that could have the potential to detract from the success of whole of government endeavours. In particular, there is a need to ensure that employees have the appropriate authority to express views on behalf of an agency and for forums to clearly identify goals and responsibilities. Agencies need to clearly articulate to their employees their expectations and requirements in these areas, and ensure that relevant staff understand what whole of government means in practical terms. They also need to ensure that multi-agency forums are underpinned by high-level agency agreement that makes it clear where responsibility lies and ensures that there is the follow- through on this responsibility.

In progressing the whole of government agenda, support from senior leadership will be critical. Embedding One APS–One SES across agencies will go a significant way to ensuring this support. However, portfolio secretaries and agency heads have a specific role to play in leading by example in collaborating with each other, developing appropriate structures, and aligning Budget frameworks to reflect shared responsibility for outcomes.

Whole of government working is not yet natural to public servants. It requires a fundamentally different approach to working and alignment of finances and accountabilities. It will take many years to embed. It is clear that public servants are learning how to work in this new environment and are seeing the results.

We can be confident about the future.