Collaborative learning and coordination across agency boundaries to tackle wicked problems

Sydelko, Pamela J.

Abstract

Conventional approaches to government are confounded by issues that cross agency, stakeholder, jurisdictional, and geopolitical boundaries. These open-ended and highly interdependent issues are often characterized in the literature as ‘wicked problems. Typically, policies and budgets are developed to align with organizational boundaries, making it difficult to bring the appropriate talent, knowledge and assets into an interagency approach to tackle the interdependencies of whatever wicked problem is at hand. Many governments have recognized the need for interagency coordination in the face of highly complex problems; and in response, there has been advocacy for improved approaches to increase collaboration and synchronized interagency working. However, without appreciating that the perspectives and values of the various government agencies and other stakeholders can vary widely, and often can be in conflict, interagency endeavors often start out to solve very different perceived problems. Furthermore, interagency constructs are frequently organized through periodic meetings and loose agreements. They do not develop concrete strategic and operational plans for how an integrated approach will be organized and implemented.
The research described in this thesis was conducted to develop and evaluate a Systemic Intervention (boundary-exploring and multi-method) approach to designing interagency responses to wicked problems. This multi-method approach attempts to address many of the challenges to interagency design found in the literature. The Systemic Intervention approach was trialled on the wicked problem of international organized drug trafficking and its interface with local gangs in Chicago, USA. This wicked problem illustrates extreme complexity and the need for a cross-cutting design that cut across agencies, jurisdictions, and geographical boundaries.
The research was conducted in two phases: (1) the creation of a common understanding of a wicked problem among multiple agencies using Boundary Critique and a new participatory Problem Structuring Method (PSM) called ‘Systemic Perspective Mapping’; and (2) the design of an interagency meta-organization using the Viable System Model (VSM), introduced to participants through a novel board game layout, so drug crime could be addressed at multiple scales.
The research findings indicate that the combined use of Boundary Critique and Systemic Perspective Mapping was able to generate enough of a common understanding to provide a foundation for the design of an interagency organization. Also, the VSM Board Game effectively enabled multiple agency representatives to intimately interact with their representation of the V wicked problem and with each other in order to clearly delineate new agency responsibilities, communication mechanisms and channels, adaptive operations management, and an anticipatory function – all tailored to address the wicked problem they had structured as a group.
The methodological approach developed in this research shows significant promise for transfer and adaptation to help tackle the design of interagency organizations for other wicked problems.

Citation

Sydelko, P. J. (2022). Collaborative learning and coordination across agency boundaries to tackle wicked problems. (Thesis). University of Hull. https://hull-repository.worktribe.com/output/4321188

• Thesis Type: Thesis
• Deposit Date: Jul 3, 2023
• Publicly Available Date: Jul 3, 2023
• Keywords: Systems science
• Public URL: https://hull-repository.worktribe.com/output/4321188
• Award Date: Sep 1, 2022