LIST OF PANELS

Integration is a process that involves multiple actors, government agencies and policy domains addressing complex problems that exceed the scope of individual sectoral goals (Cejudo and Michel 2017). Integrated approaches can be the drivers for overcoming policy overlap, conflict, inefficiencies and inconsistencies (Briassoulis 2004, Candel 2019). However, they have complex designs due to their multidimensional characteristics which may include multiple governments, multiple levels, different policy contexts and diverse goals (Howlett and Del Rio 2015). Integrated policies become further complicated by cross boundary and cross field/sectoral issues (Trein and Maggetti 2020, Coban and Bali 2022). As a result of this complexity, failure is common in policy integration attempts (Rayner and Howlett 2009, Vince 2015). However, integration is still being pursued by governments and is seen as a process that is continuously adjusted (Tosun and Lang 2017, Biesbroek and Candel 2020, Biesbroek 2021). This need for continuous adjustment and coherence across sectors and jurisdictions raises important questions about whether the actors involved in the process have ‘integrative capacity’ (Vince et al., 2024).

Integrative capacity refers to the strategies, approaches, norms, resources, and organizational practices required for cross-sectoral collaboration and coherence, distinct from those required for single-sector policy development (Vince et al., 2024). It involves mechanisms to coordinate efforts, manage inter-sectoral trade-offs and synergies, and harmonize between multiple policy objectives. Consequently, policy makers in government and public agencies involved in integrated policy design and implementation need to develop integrative capacity to improve their chances of achieving policy success. By identifying and building integrative capacity public agencies can work to leverage certain pre-existing organizational resources, competencies and institutional arrangements as foundations for policy integration.

This panel will explore the following research questions:

·        What is required of governments to develop and implement integrated policies?

·        How can integrative capacity be achieved?

·        What are the roles, impacts and legitimacy of stakeholders involved in policy integration?

·        What are the practical implications of achieving integrative capacity?

The aim of this panel is to address the following topics arising from the scholarship on policy integration. These topics include:

·        The evolving nature of policy integration

·        The diversity of theoretical approaches and terminology used to describe the phenomena

·        The roles, impacts and legitimacy of stakeholders

·        The nature and significance of partnerships between government agencies and stakeholders

·        The role of politics in the integration process

·        The impact of multilevel governance on the policy making and implementation process

There has been a growing focus on policy integration over the last two decades in public policy scholarship, however, further research is needed to understand integrative capacity and the practical implications for governments. The key scientific relevance of this panel lies in further understanding why governments continue to pursue policy integration; what political and system structures enable them to develop the integrated policies despite underlaying sectoral legal frameworks; and the limits and possibilities of achieving integration by improving integrative capacity. It aims to provide insights into the conditions under which policy integration can be effective and sustainable, thereby advancing both theoretical and practical knowledge in public policy.

Over the last two decades, research on policy integration has revealed not only the complexities of policy making with multiple governments, different policy contexts and diverse goals, but also broader insights into policy capacity, development and implementation, stakeholder engagement and the role of non-state actors in decision making. Integration is a process that involves a diverse set of actors, government agencies and policies working to address complex challenges that exceed individual goals. Integrated policies are further complicated by cross boundary and cross sectoral issues. Due to this complexity, policy failure often occurs in policy integration. However, despite these challenges, governments continue to pursue integration, recognizing it as a dynamic process that requires ongoing adjustment and coordination.

This need for continuous adjustment across sectors and jurisdictions raises important questions about whether the actors involved in the integration process have ‘integrative capacity’. Integrative capacity encompasses the strategies, approaches, norms, resources, and organizational practices required for cross-sectoral collaboration and policy coherence - distinct from those required for single-sector policy development. Integrative capacity necessitates mechanisms for coordination, management of inter-sectoral trade-offs and synergies, and harmonization of policies.

This panel examines the many facets of policy integration and integrative capacity. Its aim is to examine the broader or specific topics within integration and the lessons they provide for the discipline of public policy and governance studies.

These topics include, but are not limited to:

·        The evolving nature of policy integration and integrative capacity

·        The diversity of theoretical approaches and terminology used to describe the phenomena

·        The roles, impacts and legitimacy of stakeholders

·        The nature and significance of partnerships between government agencies and stakeholders

·        The role of politics in the integration process

·        The impact of multilevel governance on the policy making and implementation process

·        The nature and significance of integration across and within jurisdictions

·        And the practical implications of achieving integrative capacity.

We welcome papers that address empirical case studies and theoretical contributions that answer the broader questions about integration in governance, law and the policy making process.