Abstract
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.
Notes
1The Ministry was reorganized and changed its name later in the fall of 2005 to the Ministry of Labour and Social Inclusion.