Why and How to Efficiently Collaborate Across Ministries to Achieve Common Goals: Sustainable Communities

Progress on sustainability goals rely on the coordination across key sectors such as education, social services, and health. The linkages between these sectors are manifold and are exemplified by the fact that sustainable communities are those that are healthy, productive, educated, and resilient.

It is well established that healthy populations are more productive.(1) In fact, many countries try to avoid having a sedentary economy by implementing evidence-based policies and programs that focus on health promotion. However, the current global outlook on physical activity shows that less than 50% of countries have a national physical activity policy of which less than 40% are operational.(2) This is concerning since the economic burden of physical inactivity alone is significant costing nearly US$ 300 billion by 2030, and around US$ 27 billion annually.(2) 

National strategies must consider social determinants of well which often fall under social services. For example, a population cannot be healthy if they do not have access to infrastructure allowing for physical activity, healthy foods, and reliable housing. It is also known that education is positively linked with good health as it improves self-efficacy and allows for social mobility.

Additional ministries and sectors may need to be involved based on the priority. For simplicity, the focus will be on the three sectors in the figure above, which are structured under three separate ministries with limited or sporadic collaboration across them. Given the vertical logic of accountability and each ministry having its own mandate, objectives, and budgets, it is not conductive to collaboration.(3) While these organizational silos will remain, it is important to consider how they could become less rigid. This is especially important for programs that cut across various sectors; for example, current organizations focused on delivering supportive housing are eligible for funding from twenty programs across three ministries making it more complicated, time-consuming, and costly for all those involved.(4)

The nature and extent of the collaboration across ministries could differ based on the objectives to be achieved. At the light end, for example, co-operation typically involves information sharing whereas the more intensive end of the spectrum includes the joint production of outputs and a deeper integration of resources, sometimes creating temporary structures, and joint accountability for achieving pre-specified outcomes.(3)

Irrespective of the type of work across ministries, below are key questions across four pillars that have been adapted from the OECD framework on collaboration across public agencies:  

Given the limited budgets governments are attributing to various priorities, it is important for a central body to track spending and clearly assess their impact. For example, France implemented a “green budget tagging” system in which budgets are recorded and identified for going towards programs that impact (either positive, neutral, or negative) the country’s six green objectives.(3) The United States piloted a similar approach in which the Office of Management and Budget tags funding from various ministries on 12 high-priority outcomes (e.g., workforce development, global health, and STEM education).(3)

Governments are piloting various approaches for collaboration but some of the key system enablers are having a clear and common vision, similar definitions of priorities and operationalization, defined roles and responsibilities, a clear governance structure, measurable performance targets, clear accountability, and budgets linked to performance.

Wilson & Wilbur Sustainability Team

W&W is an advisory and research firm focused on bridging the gap between research and practice by placing specialized researchers at the forefront of advisory.

Sources:

1. International Labour Organization, 2022, The Current State of Research on the Two-Way Linkages Between Productivity and Well-Being.

2. World Health Organization, 2022, WHO Highlights High Cost of Physical Inactivity in First-ever Global Report.

3. OECD, 2023, A Framework for Working Effectively Across Public Agencies.