Assessing inter-organisational processes towards Singapore’s social service delivery : a qualitative case study on Jurong East Town

Abstract

Inter-organisational collaboration in Singapore’s social service sector has been widely favoured. Yet, existing research lacks in comprehensively assessing the impacts of inter-organisational processes in influencing social service delivery within the Singapore’s social service context. This paper thus examines the dynamics of existing inter-organisational processes; and assess the level of effectiveness in providing quality social service delivery. Jurong East Town is selected to evaluate service delivery gaps in social support programmes. Drawing on qualitative interviews conducted with four government and social service organisations and nine low-income families as beneficiaries, the integrated results gathered from employing thematic analysis reveal two casual-pathways describing the effects of inter-organisational processes on service delivery outcomes: power centrality as a driving force and a weakening force. More notably, this paper provides practical recommendations on effective methods towards tackling social service delivery gaps through strengthening inter-organisational partnerships.