How to Carry Out Joined-Up Government Reforms: Lessons from the 2001-2006 Norwegian Welfare Reform

The article reports a case study of a recent and major reform in the Norwegian welfare sector, involving the employment service, the national insurance administration, and the social services. The reform involves two common joined-up government reform measures, namely partnerships and mergers. The study examines how instrumental problem solving in the reform process was conditioned by external forces, negotiations, and administrative traditions. The analysis shows a transformative approach, in which the scope for rational problem solving is both constrained and enabled by interests and cultural constraints.