Organizational Coordination in Public Policy Implementation: Practical Dimensions and Conceptual Elements
Organizational Coordination in Public Policy Implementation: Practical Dimensions and Conceptual Elements

Summary/Abstract: A great part of public policies, explicitly or implicitly, involves responsibilities shared among different organizations such as departments, governmental spheres, ministries or private organizations. This fact makes policy implementation a fragmented process and evidences the need of coordination in the programs’ daily practice. However, despite the acknowledgment of the coordination problem by the literature, there is no consolidated framework able to effectively explain and prescribe the proper manner of program coordination yet. In this sense, the present paper seeks to discuss the coordination of policy implementation, identifying the different dimensions in which coordination is manifested in practice, on the one hand, and some conceptual aspects influencing its dynamics, on the other hand. To explore the practical dimensions, the analysis recognizes that coordination in the context of policy implementation may occur at different levels, from the interpersonal and intraorganizational to the interorganizational level. These levels are discussed as dimensions in which coordination is manifested in practical programs. Then, the article discusses two conceptual aspects that cut across the dimensions previously studied: interdependence and institutions. These aspects have a significant impact on the dynamics of coordination. As a result of the discussions developed, summary tables of key ideas/variables are presented that may be useful for those who deal with policy implementation in practice.

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