Abstract
Increasingly, policy advisors need to acquire and practise skills in co-ordination, collaboration and networked governance, finding new ways to work with others to facilitate incremental social problem solving. Collaboration is not the answer to everything, however, and incurs costs as well as benefits.
Responsible policy advising in the long-term public interest embraces a number of functions and tasks that policy managers and their teams need to review periodically. In the drive for continuous improvement, “scheming virtuously” becomes part of our repertoire, along with developing ethical competencies for public service. Effectiveness in the policy advice role requires more than technical skills. It challenges us to be and become our best selves.
This chapter introduces:
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Modes of working together, on a continuum between competition and collaboration;
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Benefits and costs of collaboration;
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“Gifting and gaining” in networked governance;
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Dimensions of policy advising in the long-term public interest;
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Interpersonal skills, and scheming virtuously; and
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Ethical competencies for public service.
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- 1.
See further the Department of Prime Minister and Cabinet's's (2014) foundation report for the New Zealand Government's Policy Project.
- 2.
A current focus in the New Zealand state sector is integration of services, whether provided by the public sector, NGOs or private sector organisations, using “life events” (e.g. becoming a victim of crime), people-centred service design and digital technology (Department of Internal Affairs, 2014).
- 3.
Where an agency does invite feedback and participation, for example in “citizen science”, the mode of working has shifted from communication to engagement.
- 4.
On collective impact, see further Kania and Kramer (2011). They identify five conditions of collective success: common agenda; shared measurement systems; mutually reinforcing activities; continuous communication; and “backbone support”.
- 5.
See further the New Zealand Government's Kia Tūtahi Relationship Accord Engagement Guide (Department of Internal Affairs, 2016).
- 6.
Cf. my reflection in Sect. 1.5 on the twin gates at the Temple of Literature in Hanoi, Vietnam—the Attained Talent Gate, and the Accomplished Virtue Gate. Public servants in policy advice roles need to cultivate virtue, as well as talent and skills.
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Bromell, D. (2017). Working Together … in the Public Interest. In: The Art and Craft of Policy Advising. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-52494-8_6
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