ABSTRACT
In this chapter, as in the previous one, a domain of public administration is described using the systems framework described in Chapter 1. However, the domain of activity is radically different to that of urban regeneration. In this chapter we seek to demonstrate that the systems framework described in Chapter 1can be applied in quite different public administration contexts, with a particular objective of establishing the scalability of the framework in terms of organization level. The public management domain explored is information systems projects in healthcare settings. The healthcare information systems (HCIS) domain was selected to represent intra-organizational complex systems, in contrast to the inter-organizational systems represented by urban regeneration (UR) projects. Like urban regeneration, the HCIS projects involve multiple heterogeneous agents, but-as we shall see later-their heterogeneity springs from a different source. Also, exploring the healthcare setting allows us to take on a completely different set of policies and governance structures, not to mention different professional norms, to those operating in urban regeneration. Finally, the focus on information systems projects in healthcare contributes to the potential for different agent schemata operating within the system and also allows us to analyze a critical issue in healthcare, as well as in other social service areas, namely the effi - cient and effective use of information to provide public services.
