A Complexity Case Study : The Implementation of an Interministerial Policy — A View from Within Government
Pernelle Smits
Journal on Policy and Complex Systems • Volume 4 , Number 1 • Spring 2018
Associate Professor & Associate Researcher École Nationale d ' Administration Publique ( ENAP ) Université De Montréal , Professeure Université Laval PhD Public Health-Evaluation
pernelle . smits @ fsa . ulaval . ca
Marie-Christine Therrien
Nassera Touati
Abstract
We investigate how a governmental agenda can penetrate easily inside various sectors . Our case is Health in All Policies in Quebec , Canada , between 2001 and 2012 . Over 60 interviews and 100 documents were analyzed . We specify themes of Morin ’ s metatheory of complexity ( dialogy / hologram / recursivity ) to uncover the dynamics at stake and current tendencies . Results are the identification of ( 1 ) the dynamics within public administrations that support and limit the establishment of a specific agenda into sectors and ( 2 ) the unlocking strategies to move beyond established dynamics . We suggest that the permeation of such an agenda can benefit from a complexity lens , and we propose the practical implications for managers implementing such an agenda across sectors . Categories for a potential performance assessment framework of the establishment of said agenda , relate to learning process , episodes of communication , and permeability to innovations . A model of implementation of an interministerial policy within government is developed .
Keywords : policy implementation , health in all policies , agenda , dynamics
65 doi : 10.18278 / jpcs . 4.1.4