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In this article, the authors discuss "whole-of-government" initiatives as a reaction to the negative effects of New Public Management reforms such as structural devolution, "single-purpose organizations," and performance management but also as a reaction to a more insecure world. The authors examine what is meant by a "whole-of-government" approach and explore how this concept might be interpreted in analytical terms. The structural approach is contrasted with a cultural perspective and a myth-based perspective. Finally, results, experiences, and lessons from the whole-ofgovernment movement are discussed.
In the recent generation of modern public sector reforms-those following two decades of New Public Management (NPM) reforms-there has been a change in emphasis away from structural devolution, disaggregation, and single-purpose organizations and toward a whole-of-government (WG) approach (Christensen and Laegreid 2006; OECD 2005). This trend is most evident in the Anglo-Saxon countries, such as the United Kingdom, Australia, and New Zealand, once seen as the trailblazers of NPM, but it is also occurring in other countries, such as the United States, under the heading of collaborative public management (Agranoff and McGuire 2003; O'Leary, Gerard, and Bingham 2006). Countries that joined the NPM movement late, such as the Scandinavian countries, are also gradually acquiring WG features (Christensen and Lasgreid 2007).
One pertinent issue is whether this development is really new, as it raises the old question of coordination, and indeed, elements of it have been observable in the United Kingdom and Canada for some time. Nevertheless, it probably would be correct to say that the approach has been revitalized and become more comprehensive (Halligan 2005, 29). Another issue is whether the WG approach should be seen as breaking with the past-that is, transforming the main features of NPM-or whether it should instead be construed as rebalancing the NPM system without changing it in any fundamental way (Gregory 2006; Halligan 2006).
In this article, we will first discuss what the WG approach is. Second, we will outline some of the main arguments for WG initiatives. Third, we will discuss analytical interpretations of the WG concept and how this is manifested empirically. A structural approach will be contrasted with a cultural perspective and a myth-based perspective. We conclude the essay by indicating some results, experiences, and lessons from the WG movement.
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