Achieving outcomes in complex public service systems: the case of the early years collaborative

Governments around the world have been increasingly adopting an ‘outcomes-focus’ in the design of policy and the management of public services, the implications of which have been subjected to increasing scrutiny within public administration (Boyne and Law 2005; Elvidge 2012; Heinrich 2002; Housden 2016; Lowe 2013; Lowe 2017; Wimbush 2011). Yet wherever an outcomes-based approach has been applied, be it within performance management (Bevan and Hood 2006; Lowe 2013; van Thiel and Leeuw 2002), budgeting (Perrin 2006; Ryan 2003), or commissioning, its achievements have fallen short of expectation (Wimbush 2011). Outcomes have predominantly been conceptualised and operationalised within what this thesis calls a ‘Rationalist’ approach, linked to the New Public Management context within which an outcomes-focus was popularised. This approach assumes we can understand the factors which drive outcomes, plan appropriate service interventions, harness the resources and commitment needed to put such interventions into practice, and manage such interventions towards their expected end points. Outcomes however are inherently complex phenomena – they are always transboundary, always co-produced by the individuals who experience them, and always impacted by a large number of unpredictable and uncontrollable factors in their external environment. Public management theory and practice finds itself at a crossroads: an imperative to improve outcomes, and a paradigmatic inability to do so – a challenge which scholarship is just beginning to respond to (Housden 2016; Lowe et al. 2016). This thesis contributes an alternative ‘Complex Systems’ theoretical framework which responds to (rather than simplifies or externalises) the inherent complexity which outcomes present. This theoretical framework draws on complex adaptive systems theory to enable a ‘Complex Systems’ approach to the management of outcomes. The framework is based on the conception of outcomes as emergent products of complex systems, and integrates three defining components of complex adaptive systems (self-organisation, distributed agentic learning, and attractor states) to enable an endogenous process of service transformation in conditions of uncertainty. This theoretical framework provides public management with more solid footing for understanding, analysing and designing outcomes-focussed interventions, with distinct advantages relative to existing outcomes-based approaches, in pursuing complex public service outcomes. The thesis applies this framework through a multiple embedded case study analysis (Yin 2009) of the Early Years Collaborative, a large-scale multi-agency Quality Improvement Collaborative operating across Scottish local authorities, as it seeks to improve a set of population-level child development outcomes

The social sciences struggle to be relevant. can action-oriented research help?

How can the social sciences bridge the divide between abstract theory and idiomatic practice? Max French and Melissa Hawkins propose that one approach following this middle-way is ‘action oriented research’ (AOR). In this post they outline what AOR is and how it can make a strong claim as a route to relevance for the applied social sciences whilst also advancing academic theory. However, to play this role well, it needs to achieve clear standards of quality and clarify its pathway to impact

Making performance management relevant in complex and inter-institutional contexts: using outcomes as performance attractors

Purpose Modern public service systems tackle many complex issues by operating across institutional boundaries. Performance management must operate in this context without clear lines of accountability or central authority. This paper introduces and develops the theoretical mechanism of ‘performance attraction’ to describe how outcomes and associated performance indicators can operate as organising instruments in inter-institutional contexts by attracting, rather than directing, institutional behaviour. Design We explore the ‘performance attractor’ role played by outcomes through a multiple case study analysis of three prominent outcomes frameworks operating at the regional, national and international levels: the Scottish Government’s National Performance Framework, the Western Australian Alliance to End Homelessness Outcomes Measurement and Evaluation Framework, and the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals. Findings We find support for two theorised mechanisms facilitated by the performance attractor concept: (1), that performance attractors enable coordination by creating a shared sense of responsibility for interdependent goals while also permitting autonomous navigation of individual contexts, and (2), that performance attractors support performance improvement by motivating collective learning and adaptation informed by institutional interdependencies. Cases relied primarily on voluntary adoption of outcomes frameworks, rather than utilising more coercive forms of accountability. Further studies should explore the institutional response to performance attractors to better understand the potential of this mechanism. Originality The paper contributes to a growing body of critical literature that has explored alternatives to traditional control-oriented performance management in complex and inter-institutional settings. We describe design principles that policymakers and practitioners can adopt to construct more effective performance frameworks in these conditions

Navigating complexity: The future of public service

It is now widely accepted that the complex nature of public service has a number of profound consequences which public servants must address (Haynes 2003, Bovaird 2008, Rhodes 2008; Lowe and Wilson 2017). This chapter explores what is required of public servants in order to achieve their task of creating opportunities for positive social outcomes to emerge (such as improved wellbeing, increased employment or reduced crime) in complex environments. A new conceptual framing for organisations which deal with complex problems is introduced - the “Human Learning Systems approach” - which explores the principles, cultures and processes required to create a complexity-engaged organizational design for public service organisations

Sonneries Quintet: Max Schoenfeld, Flute; Russell Bedford, Bassoon; Timothy Hurtz, Oboe; Aris Chavez, Clarinet; Philip Hillstrom, French Horn; January 24, 1975

Illinois Music Educators Assoc. ConventionArlington Heights, Ill.Friday AfternoonJanuary 24, 19752:30 p.m

The Sonneries Quintet: Russell Bedford, Bassoon; Aris Chavez, Clarinet; Philip Hillstrom, French Horn; Timothy Hurtz, Oboe; Max Schoenfeld, Flute; February 2, 1976

Goodman Theatre of the Art Institute of ChicagoMonday EveningFebruary 2, 19768:00 p.m

Sonneries Quintet: Max Schoenfeld, Flute; Aris Chavez, Clarinet; Tim Hurtz, Oboe; Russell Bedford, Bassoon; Philip Hillstrom, French Horn; March 20, 1977

Hayden AuditoriumSunday AfternoonMarch 20, 19772:00 p.m

The Sonneries Quintet: Max Schoenfeld, Flute; Timothy Hurtz, Oboe; Aris Chavez, Clarinet; Russell Bedford, Bassoon; Philip Hillstrom, French Horn; March 27, 1977

Carnegie Recital HallSunday AfternoonMarch 27, 19772:30 p.m

Faculty Woodwind Quintet: Max Schoenfeld, Flute; David Sheaffer, Oboe; Aris Chavez, Clarinet; Philip Hillstrom, French Horn; Russell Bedford, Bassoon; January 11, 1973

Centennial East Recital HallThursday EveningJanuary 11,19738:15 p.m