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Over past decades, governments within Australia and throughout the Western world have sought to establish multi-sectoral planning processes that operate at a regional scale. Research on these processes has tended to focus on the challenges of ‘joining-up’ government and non-government sectors to create robust, effective and democratic regional structures and processes. Far less attention has been paid to integration within and between the various entities of government involved within these regional governance initiatives. This thesis, therefore, investigates the role of inter-governmental integration, or ‘whole-of-government’ activities, in relation to regional multi-sectoral governance. The institutional forms, enabling and constraining factors, and implications of inter-governmental arrangements between the various agencies and levels of government are examined. The study applies a sociocultural approach to institutional analysis. Commonly known as grid-group cultural theory, this approach provides a conceptual framework for identifying the fundamental social dynamics underlying differing forms of social organisation and governance. This framework specifies the primary forms, modus operandi and enabling social contexts of inter-institutional integration. These are, respectively: coordination by authority within hierarchy; cooperation through self-interest based collective action within competitive individualism; and collaboration through trust and a sense of commitment to the group within a communitarian social context. This study sought to investigate whole-of-government within regional governance through examination of two contemporaneous region-wide, multi-sectoral planning projects in Central Queensland, Australia. These were, namely, Central Queensland: A New Millennium, covering planning across a broad suite of issues, and the Fitzroy Basin Association, more specifically focussing on natural resource management planning for the region. Both bodies were in the process of implementing their regional plans at the time of this study. A qualitative case study methodology was employed in research, involving in-depth interviews with government officials, examination of project documents, and participation at meetings. The research data were analysed to identify the main processes and perceived outcomes of the two projects, and underlying factors relating to these. The two regional planning processes were generally perceived to have resulted in widely differing levels of success, and with many of the same government officials involved, there was considerable scope to contrast the whole-of-government structures and processes applied in the two cases. Analysis of the case material in the light of the theoretical framework and broader literature emphasised the nested and subordinate nature of regional whole-of-government efforts within the broader system of government. This system was revealed as characterised by horizontal fragmentation between departments and between jurisdictional tiers of government (Federal, State, and Local) but strong vertical integration within departments. The research highlighted the importance of central level political commitment to regional level integration efforts. Support is seen as particularly important in the form of 1) the political will to direct high-level coordination between departments and to advance cooperation between tiers of government; 2) sufficient resources allocated to regional plan implementation in order to motivate inter-governmental cooperation at a range of levels; and 3) the granting of sufficient autonomy to ensure effective devolution and regional level ownership that assists cooperation and collaboration at the regional level. In the light of the decisive importance of central level support, it was found that while high quality regional level leadership of regional whole-of-government processes is a necessary condition for their success, it is not a sufficient condition. To be effective, regional whole-of-government leadership requires both meaningful devolution and substantive central support. The study identified the multiple and contradictory forms of inter-governmental relations that comprise the social contexts at different levels within the broader system of government. In particular, the case study comparison suggested that success at the regional level relies on the application, at all levels, of forms and mechanisms of inter-governmental integration that are appropriate to the specific social contexts within which they are embedded.

Regeringsuppdraget Tillsammans mot brott har ökat prioriteringen av och intresset i myndighetssamverkan. Detta utgör bakgrunden till Operation Klöver där åtta olika aktörer var involverade; Polismyndigheten, Tullverket, Kronofogden, Arbetsmiljöverket, Miljöförvaltningen, Skatteverket, Räddningstjänsten Nordväst samt Försäkringskassan. Men risken med samverkan är att sådana arbetsformer initieras som ett rent egenvärde och utan att ta hänsyn till de nödvändiga förutsättningarna för att samverkan ska ha ett förväntat brottsbekämpade och brottsförebyggande genomslag. Denna studie är en mål-processutvärdering av Operation Klöver. Syftet är att ge de aktörer som är involverade i Operation Klöver en översikt av deras arbete gentemot operationens andra mål, att utveckla myndighetssamverkan. Förhoppningen är att deras arbetsformer kan utvecklas för att om möjligt bli mer ändamålsenlig samt att deras gemensamma brottsbekämpande och brottsförebyggande arbete kan utvecklas och fortsätta även i framtiden. Frågeställningarna är: Vad finns det för riktlinjer eller förutsättningar för samverkan hos de olika aktörerna? samt Hur har de involverade aktörerna upplevt att samverkan har fungerat före, under och efter Operation Klövers genomförande? Resultatet från denna utvärdering visar att aktörerna har väldigt goda förutsättningar för samverkan samt att alla aktörer varit nöjda med varandras arbete samt är positiva till framtida myndighetssamverkan. / The government assignment Tillsammans mot brott has increased the prioritization of and interest in inter-agency collaboration. This forms the background to Operation Klöver where eight different swedish actors were involved; the Police, Customs, Enforcement officer, Work-environment authority, Environmental administration, Tax agency, Northwest rescue service and the Social Insurance Agency. The risk with these kinds of collaborations is that such forms of work are initiated as a pure intrinsic value and without taking into account the necessary conditions needed for their collaboration to enhance their crime-fighting and crime prevention rather than inhibit it. The purpose of this goal-process evaluation is therefore to give the actors involved in Operation Klöver an overview of their work in relation to the operation's second goal, to develop inter-agency collaborations. The hope is that their workmethods can be developed to, if possible, become more suitable for its purpose and that their crime-fighting and crime prevention can be developed and continued in the future. The central queries are: What are the guidelines or conditions for collaboration between the various actors? and How have the involved actors experienced that the collaboration has worked before, during and after Operations Klöver’s implementation? The results from this show that the actors have very good conditions for collaboration and that all actors have been satisfied with each other's work and are positive about future inter-agency collaboration.

There is minimal research into families where a person who is receiving palliative care has dependent children. In particular, there is a lack of information about the work that palliative care social workers undertake with such families. This study examines the role of the palliative care social worker in safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children of adults receiving specialist palliative care. This is a qualitative study involving the collection of information from a total of 57 palliative care social workers in three ways: focus groups, survey and semi-structured interviews. The analysis demonstrates that palliative care social workers understand the term 'safeguarding children' to mean more than child protection alone. The analysis also focuses on the process of referral, institutional barriers, supports for their work with children, and inter-agency collaboration. An equally important aspect of the analysis, and one generally neglected in psycho-social studies, relates to the socio-economic context of the palliative care social workers' work, including the effects of the immigration status of families on children. In the main, concerns about the present and future care of children come to the attention of palliative care social workers via members of the multidisciplinary team in which they are based. The numbers are reported to be relatively small in contrast to the total number of referrals received. The extent to which support to children is provided varies considerably; some palliative care agencies do not encourage palliative care social workers to work directly with children prior to bereavement and others restrict direct work with children post-bereavement. The main emphasis for all workers, however, is on support to the parents to help them understand their children's needs during the terminal phase of the illness. The well-being of children at this time of emotional stress is included in the palliative care social workers' definition of 'safeguarding children'. In addition, the wide-ranging examination of the palliative care social workers' involvement with the families illustrates the extent of the dedication involved in an under-resourced and little understood area of their work. Whilst palliative care social workers reported receiving basic training on child protection within their agency, with some themselves providing this training, further training on safeguarding children is not always available or known about. The amount and type of professional supervision and support is also varied, particularly in relation to child-care matters; not all have access to supervision from another social work professional. There are a small number of examples given in the study where children are considered to be at risk in some way. Children cared for by lone parents are recognised as being especially vulnerable, particularly if future care plans are not in place before the death of the parent. Also identified as vulnerable are children of parents whose immigration status is in question as their future location may be in doubt, placing children and the surviving parent under additional stress. One of the major difficulties for palliative care social workers is securing support services from local authority children's services. Whilst there are examples of collaboration and co-operation, the findings in this study echo those of others which examine the relationship between adult and children's services. In this study, palliative care social workers speak of frustration and disappointment in the responses they receive, and they are concerned that the needs of children of dying parents are not understood. This study contributes to the debate about the focus of children in care services for adults and how staff may be supported in their task of safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children. This study also adds to the limited existing knowledge about palliative care social work practice.

Tax crimes, money laundering and other financial crimes threaten the strategic, political and economic interests of developed and developing countries. The problems encountered by the researcher, is the broad and vague meaning of financial crime compounded by the confusing and ill-considered use of the term by law- and policymakers, politicians, government agencies, agency officials and practitioners weakening effective communication about the phenomenon. The literature shows that given the complexity and multi-faceted nature of financial crime, combating financial crime in all its facets cannot be undertaken by investigative agencies acting in isolation. This study was undertaken with the aim to describe and systematically categorise financial crime and evaluate the prospect of using a Whole-of-Government approach as a framework to harness the capacity of the existing government agencies to combat financial crime more effectively. The research was underpinned by a pragmatic paradigm allowing the researcher to apply a qualitative research methodology using an exploratory and evaluation research design. A detailed review of the literature available nationally and internationally was conducted to establish a conceptual and practical understanding of the issues under investigation. An interview schedule with predetermined questions was developed, pre-tested and administered to participants who are active practitioners involved in combating financial crime in the primary government agencies responsible for combating financial crime based on a purposive sample. The data obtained from the literature and participants were analysed, interpreted and thematically listed according to the frequency with the aim of identifying and comparing similarities and differences between the data. The data was used to develop a system to categorise financial crime systematically based on descriptors used to describe the meaning and application of the term financial crime and to propose practical methods practises and models to combat financial crime more effectively. This research indicates that financial crime can be systematically categorised according to descriptors of the unlawful conduct and that the whole of government approach is a viable approach to combat financial crime more effectively according to the available models for arranging Whole-of-Government work. / Police Science / D.Litt. et Phil. (Police Science)