Integrating Service Delivery Across Levels of Government: Case Studies of Canada and Other Countries

Public services are traditionally delivered through a number of government agencies via programs that are not connected to each other. In the midst of this decentralized fragmentation, two trends - a citizen-centric philosophy and network model of service delivery - are driving demands to integrate the delivery of citizen-oriented services across levels of government. The rapid increase in technology allows this new collaborative approach to service design and delivery to be a successful substitute for the old hierarchical approach.

This report identifies strategies for, and challenges to, better integrating the delivery of citizen-oriented services. These strategies are based on experiences from Canada and four other countries that are also integrating their service delivery networks. The report concludes that at a minimum, governments - and their leaders - need to embrace a mindset of interdependence if they hope to chart a comprehensive vision of integrating the delivery of citizen-oriented services.