Partnership Governance in Northern Ireland; Improving performance
First published 2001 by Ashgate Publishing
Reissued 2019 by Routledge
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Copyright 2001, Jonathan Greer
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ISBN 13: 978-1-138-72632-1 (hbk)
ISBN 13: 978-1-315-19147-8 (ebk)
This book is focused on partnership governance, an area which has been gaining widespread attention from academics and public policy officials throughout many countries. Indeed, within the last two decades, partnerships have become an increasingly popular and important form of service delivery and could be described as a universal or global phenomenon. Partnership formation is now well established in advanced capitalist societies and is synonymous with policy initiatives designed to deal with complex problems such as economic development, urban regeneration and social exclusion.
The emergence of partnerships is recognition of economic, social and political changes, which have transformed the manner in which policy is made and delivered. The creation of a global economy, increasing social diversity and fragmentation in public administration has caused separation, complexity and division in the policy environment. As one means to adapt these changes, governments at every level have embraced the concept of partnerships. Partnerships have been regarded as an ideal mechanism as they can bring together organisations in the policy process to build and manage an integrative approach in an increasingly interdependent system.
Although the partnerships are being increasingly applied to a range of public policy areas and are emerging as a central feature in public administration, very little is known about how to improve the performance of partnerships. This issue has emerged as, in certain cases, partnerships have furthered the problems of administrative complexity, ineffectiveness and lack of co-ordination; the very problems which partnerships were created to resolve. In addition, concerns have been raised that partnerships are fragile mechanisms of policy implementation as they struggle to combine a wide variety of interests and are prone to conflict.
Given the uncertainties surrounding the partnership approach and the consequences for policy formulation and implementation, this book aims to provide a greater understanding of partnership governance by examining the performance of partnerships. To date, studies on improving performance have tended to be vague as partnerships have largely been regarded as one entity. By contrast, partnership is a loose term which embraces a diversity of multi-organisational relationships making it extremely difficult to define what is a successful partnership. In acknowledging the variety of partnership arrangements, this book therefore, seeks to examine the conditions which affect their performance. By providing a greater understanding of partnerships and the conditions in which they operate, this book has applied policy relevance for policy makers and partnership actors as it contributes to the debate towards creating more co-ordinated government, better service deliver and reducing pressures on public resources.
This book is set within the context of Northern Ireland, an area in which partnerships are emerging as a central feature in public administration and are being established as both multi-level and cross-cutting areas of public policy. Partnership arrangements have also been developed on a trans-jurisdictional basis, for example, on a cross-border basis with the Republic of Ireland; this interconnectedness is reshaping governance. In this case some analytical reflection on partnerships and their potential for future development is important.
This is also an important and timely book as it is located against the backdrop of ongoing political and administrative developments in Northern Ireland. After almost thirty years of civil conflict Northern Ireland is facing the prospect of peace given the paramilitary cease-fires and a negotiated settlement more commonly known as the Good Friday Agreement of April 1998. Over the last two decades the transition from government to governance in Northern Ireland has been superimposed on deep historical divisions and within this book, specific focus is also given to examining how the partnership approach can address social, economic and political problems. Therefore, by critically reflecting on the partnership experience in Northern Ireland, this book will offer important insights for other countries and regions, particularly in Eastern Europe and the Developing World, which are making the transition to new models of governance.
Finally, following the Good Friday Agreement new political and administrative institutions have been established in Northern Ireland with the creation of the Northern Ireland Assembly, North-South Ministerial Council and Council of the Isles. This book argues that by adopting a participative framework within Northern Ireland and on a cross-border basis, partnerships have the potential to deal with an increasingly complex and interdependent administrative and social environment by rebuilding civil society, facilitating pluralist decision making and addressing social inclusion. Moreover, it is maintained that partnerships can break down barriers and build reconciliation and trust within Northern Ireland and on the island of Ireland. Under this approach partnerships can contribute to, and work alongside, the new institutions of devolved government.
The completion of this book has depended upon the support of many others. At the outset, I would like to offer a sincere thank you to all those who provide help, advice and encouragement.
First of all, I am indebted to, Professor Colin Knox and Dr Michael Murray of the University of Ulster, whose guidance and experience were crucial in over-seeing the completion of this book. Their constant help, direction, expertise and supportive attitude have been invaluable throughout the last number of years.
Secondly, I would like to mention the contribution made to this book by Professor Colin Knox, Dr Michael Murray and Dr Joanne Hughes in conducting a qualitative evaluation of the District Partnerships for Peace and Reconciliation, funded by the Northern Ireland Partnership Board. Working with this team provided extensive research and greater analysis and insight into partnership experience in Northern Ireland.
Thirdly, I owe a large debt of gratitude to Kilian McDaid and Pat McKee of the University of Ulster who helped in the production of this book. In addition, thank you can be extended to Professor James Walsh and Dr Brendan Murtagh for their critical comments and suggestions.
