Integration and differentiation in collaboration between services for youth not in employment, education, or training (NEET)

ABSTRACT

The need for a holistic social work-like approach to labour market inclusion is widely acknowledged. When considering the case of youth not in employment, education, or training (NEETs), services from different public service organisations are often needed. To succeed in providing holistic, integrated services, interagency collaboration is necessary. Drawing on 24 semi-structured interviews with managers and practitioners, this paper aims to investigate how services in different municipalities work to enable integrated service delivery to NEETs with complex problems. The study takes place in six Norwegian municipalities, three of which had higher NEET shares than predicted and three with lower NEET shares. The municipalities are compared to explore whether there are systematic differences and similarities regarding the collaboration between services for young people in vulnerable situations. The findings suggest that the municipalities with lower NEET shares than predicted had more integrated services compared to those with higher NEET shares. The municipalities handled differentiation in collaboration differently. In the municipalities with higher NEET shares, differentiation had caused disconnections between services, while the municipalities with lower NEET shares worked to achieve a common ground through strategies such as more extensive and closer collaboration, clearer communication, and more organised information sharing across services.

SAMMENDRAG

Behovet for en helhetlig, sosialfaglig tilnærming til arbeidsinkludering er bredt anerkjent. Forskning viser at unge som ikke er i arbeid, utdanning eller opplæring (NEET) ofte har utfordringer på flere områder i livet, som krever tjenester fra ulike tjenester og organisasjoner. For å lykkes med å tilby helhetlige, integrerte tjenester er samarbeid mellom ulike aktører nødvendig. Denne artikkelen belyser hvordan tjenester i ulike kommuner jobber for å integrere tjenesteleveringen til NEETs med komplekse utfordringer. Studien er basert på 24 semistrukturerte intervjuer med ledere og praktikere i seks norske kommuner, hvorav tre kommuner hadde høyere NEET-andel enn forventet, basert på deres strukturelle forutsetninger, og tre kommuner hadde lavere NEET-andel enn forventet. Kommunene sammenlignes for å undersøke om det er systematiske forskjeller og likheter når det gjelder samarbeidet mellom tjenester til unge i utsatte situasjoner. Funnene viser at kommunene med lavere NEET-andel enn forventet hadde en høyere grad av integrerte tjenester. Kommunene håndterte differensiering i samarbeid på ulike måter. I kommunene med høy NEET-andel hadde differensieringen ført til fragmenterte tjenester, mens kommunene med lav NEET-andel jobbet for å gjøre differensieringen produktiv. Strategiene som ble brukt inkluderte mer omfattende og tettere samarbeid, tydeligere kommunikasjon og mer organisert kunnskapsdeling på tvers av tjenester.

KEYWORDS:

• NEET
• Interagency collaboration
• Complex problems
• Integrated services
• Differentiation in collaboration

NØKKELORD:

• NEET
• tverretatlig samarbeid
• komplekse problemer
• integrerte tjenester
• differensiering i samarbeid

Acknowledgements

This research article is part of the project ‘Organizing for Outcomes (O4O): Links between service integration and transitions to employment for citizens with complex service needs’. This project is based on a study design developed by Renate Minas and Thomas Korpi, Stockholm University. Their generosity is greatly appreciated.

I thank the project group and the project’s stakeholder panel for valuable discussions in the early phase of the article, and a special thank you to Tone Alm Andreassen and Therese Saltkjel for their valuable comments on earlier drafts. I also wish to express my thanks to the informants who have shared their thoughts and ideas with us. Finally, I would like to thank the journal’s anonymous reviewers for very valuable suggestions for the improvement of the first version of this article.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Additional information

Funding

The research project of which this study is a part was supported by the Research Council of Norway [grant number 301943].

Notes on contributors

Marthine Thøgersen

Marthine Thøgersen is a PhD Candidate at the Centre for the Study of Professions at Oslo Metropolitan University. In her PhD project, she is researching the organisation of service provision and interagency collaboration concerning youth not in employment, education, or training (NEETs) in Norway. Marthine is a social worker and holds a master’s degree in Collaborative Management in Health and Social Services.