Abstract
A key part of the discussion of the future public service workforce and the broader
discourse on public sector modernization and transformation has been the centrality
of cross-boundary working. The activity relates as much to the old roles that
Dickinson and Sullivan (2014) set out—the expert, the regulator, the engager, the
reticulist—as it does to the new ones—the commissioner, the curator, the foresighter,
and the storyteller (see Chap. 1). More and more governments around the
world have become interested in how to work more effectively across a range of
boundaries. This increased attention sometimes glosses over the fact that
cross-boundary working has always been a key part of getting the work of government
done—part of the old roles that Dickinson and Sullivan (2014) see as
critically important to the future. But it also signals a change in the way in which we
think about government, its role and how it goes about getting things done. A part
of this has been the notion that collaboration has become “the new normal”
(Sullivan 2014), and intensified the focus on boundary crossing activity. Thus, even
if the need to cross boundaries has, and will always, exist, the relative importance
placed on this will likely change (O’Flynn et al. 2014; Pollitt 2003; Sullivan and
Skelcher 2002).
Original language | English |
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Title of host publication | Reimagining the Future Public Service Workforce |
Editors | Helen Dickinson, Catherine Mangan, Catherine Needham, Helen Sullivan |
Place of Publication | Singapore |
Publisher | Springer |
Pages | 21-38 |
Edition | 1 |
ISBN (Print) | 978-981-13-1480-3 |
Publication status | Published - 2018 |