ABSTRACT

This chapter points to similarities and differences concerning how the coordination challenge is handled across countries and across policy areas. It examines how country differences in rescaling tendencies correspond with country differences in coordination strategies and coordination measures. Coordination takes place both at the high level of establishing policy goals and at the low level of actually delivering something to those who need help and support. Thus national governments can use hard as well as soft coordination measures to improve coordination between government levels and between actors at the same level. Multilevel coordination challenges are further boosted if public organisations must also cooperate with private organisations. The chapter provides a roadmap of how inter-organisational, intra-organisational and multilevel coordination challenges are dealt with, in selected policy fields. Intra-organisational coordination concerns the coordination of tasks within an organisation. Multilevel coordination becomes even more demanding if vertical coordination challenges are combined with horizontal coordination challenges.