Multi-agency collaboration in local governace: partnership or pragmatism? An exploratory case study

Policy makers everywhere are confronted by complex problems and public agencies strive to find effective solutions in a context of dwindling resources and increased demands. This study examines how a partnership, among Irish public agencies, was used to address anti-social behaviour on some public housing estates in Limerick City. In 2007 the Limerick City Community Safety Partnership Limited was established. This was the first time a multi-agency community safety partnership was formally established in the local governance context in Ireland. Government funding was provided to the Partnership to pilot and evaluate an innovative community safety intervention. This study examines the nature and outcomes of the Partnership. The research is conducted through a single longitudinal case study. The unit of analysis is the Limerick City Community Safety Partnership Limited. The research design includes qualitative and quantitative methods and draws on the Theory of Change as well as governance and partnership theories. Key actors, community stakeholders and service users participated in the primary research. Insights from this study and from international evidence are used to design a model of good practice for multi-agency partnerships. The study addresses three questions: (i) is multi-agency partnership an effective governance mechanism? (ii) does the multi-agency partnership approach improve the delivery of services in local governance? and (iii) what constitutes a model of good practice for multi-agency partnership? While the research is conducted with special reference to community safety on public housing estates, the partnership model is also significant for public agencies in the delivery of other services and provides an evidence-based template for effective public policy interventions. Although widely advocated, the research finds that in the Irish public sector, multiagency partnership is still a relatively new phenomenon and is underdeveloped. Change is required in the traditional hierarchical bureaucratic culture of public sector organisations if multi-agency partnership is to succeed. Public sector agents themselves must accept multi-agency partnership as a new way of working and be prepared to learn how to maximise the collaborative advantage of partnerships. The research concludes that given the appropriate environment and support, multiagency partnership can be an effective governance mechanism which adds value, thereby improving public services for service users and increasing the effectiveness of interventions by public agencies.