Characteristics of effective interorganisational network structures in the American public health system and Hong Kong social welfare system

Effective leadership and management in the public sector so often requires more than excellent work within organisations. To solve many of the complex and multifaceted problems in society, one must be able to make decisions... [ view full abstract ]

Effective leadership and management in the public sector so often requires more than excellent work within organisations. To solve many of the complex and multifaceted problems in society, one must be able to make decisions and effectively manage relationships across organisations - whether they are networks, collaboratives or partnerships. Important in many segments within the public sector, interorganisational relationships are critical in the U.S. public health system where public, private and nonprofit organisations work together to assure the conditions for population health (IOM, 2012). Similarly, 90% of social welfare services in Hong Kong are delivered by approximately 400 non-government social service agencies (HKCSS, 2015), highlighting the importance of interorganisational relationships and coordination in meeting social welfare needs. The literature is rich regarding the reliance upon networks; however, there is a critical shortage of evidence that focuses on performance. Responding to this gap, my research explores:
a) how the attributes and characteristics of interorganisational public health stakeholder networks in America affect their performance, and ultimately, their contribution to public health strategies at the local level;
b) how the attributes and characteristics of interorganisational networks of non-government social service agencies in Hong Kong affect their performance, and ultimately, their contribution to public welfare strategies at the local level.

Framed by systems theory and organisational network research, five community-based, public health interorganisational networks in Colorado, U.S. were examined through network analysis, and analyzed with triangulated performance measures in a most-different cross-case research design. Emergent trends were then further analyzed through content analysis. Results showed that trust among organisations within a stakeholder network is not a sufficient condition for network performance, underscoring the complexity of the commonly accepted notion that trust is critical to collaboration. The results also revealed a positive relationship between network structures with a system-building organisation in a key position relative to network performance; and a negative relationship between network structures with a service provider organisation in a key position relative to network performance.

I have been awarded a Fulbright Scholar Grant by the U.S. State Department to build upon these findings through research on social welfare networks in Hong Kong that are led by organisations with a strong systems focus (such as building capacity across the system). I look forward to sharing preliminary findings from my research in Hong Kong.

Please note: Network performance measures were based on external stakeholder assessments, network self-assessments and local early intervention assessments.


References

Hong Kong Council of Social Service [HKCSS]. (2015). Who we are. Retrieved from http://www.hkcss.org.hk/e/fc_detail1.asp?fc_id=15

Institute of Medicine [IOM]. (2012). Primary care and public health: Exploring integration to improve population health. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press.