Holistic Governance Strategies for Long-Term Care System in Taiwan Government’s Organizational Reform
Ta-Shu Chiang, Kai-Lin Liang *
Abstract
‘Reinventing the government’ is an important governance issue in Taiwan. The Executive Yuan will be restructured in 2012 with three main goals: downsizing the government, enhancing organizational adaptability, and boosting governance effectiveness. Taiwan is a fast aging society. Its government has proposed many social welfare policies for the elderly. A well-known one is the ‘long-term care system’ that has been implemented by the Executive Yuan. However, departmentalism has been a major problem for the long-term care system in the past two decades. “Fragmented government” and “wicked problems” have become main issues in this system. The proposed Department of Health and Social Welfare is a crucial government ministry that is expected to solve existing problems and offer better services to the elderly.
Holistic governance is a new theory in contemporary public administration that offers a critical perspective in this study. “Coordination” and “integration” are core concepts of this theory. By holistic governance, we emphasize strategies of coordination, including toleration of a specific set of institutions, separation and contingency. Finally, we propose five strategies of integration, such as integrating information systems, developing cross-boundary projects, holding regular conferences among central and local governments, changing organizational culture and managing conflicts, and offering opportunities for learning.
Keywords:long-term care system, organization reform, department of health and social welfare, holistic governance
* Ta-Shu Chiang, professor at the Department of Public Policy and Administration, National Chi Nan University.
Kai-Lin Liang, Ph. D. student at the Department of Public Policy and Administration, National Chi Nan University.