Coordination practices in Federal Government: the case of integration policy in Austria

IntroductionSome of the most pressing challenges for public administrations occur when their organisational structures and processes are confronted with "wicked" problems (Rittel and Webber, 1973), "which are complex and [. ] characterised by competing or conflicting options for solutions" (Bason, 2010, p. 10), or which cannot be identified at all as the problem itself is subject to controversies (Roberts, 2000; Scholten, 2011). As such, they are generally considered complex, open-ended and intractable and involve a multitude of actors whose responsibility is dispersed across organisational boundaries (APSC, 2007; Head, 2008). Bearing in mind these general characteristics, integration policy - i.e. policy directed at the integration or settlement of migrants - can be considered a "wicked" problem (Scholten, 2011): There are different approaches as to what integration policy should primarily deal with (economic, socio-cultural or political-legal aspects); solutions are therefore anything but clear; the problem is socially complex and mirrors major societal transformations, and most importantly, there is a myriad of stakeholders involved. This is particularly evident in the case of Austria, where integration policy is considered a "politically cross-sectoral issue" (ECI, 2012, p. 11), which typically concerns the responsibilities of various actors (e.g. different ministries) on various levels (e.g. federal, provincial, local). This stems both from the constitutional framework and the consequent division of responsibilities in Austria (Janko, 2011) as well as from the multiplicity of aspects that are considered crucial to the successful integration of migrants into society, e.g. language acquisition1, education, employment, and the commitment to common values as the foundation for social cohesion (BMI, 2010). Building upon these observations, this paper sets out to examine the development of the recently established integration governance model in Austria. Particular attention will be given to the institutional framework and the respective processes of policy formulation, rather than to policy outcomes. This stems from three considerations: Firstly, there already exists rich literature on integration policymaking and outcomes, particularly EU and government funded projects like IMISCOE2, PROSINT3, SOM4, WIKAN5 as well as the work by Penninx (2007) and other migration and integration scholars (e.g. Biffl, 2014; Fassmann and Reeger, 2008; Kraler, 2011; Zincone, Penninx, and Borkert, 2011). Regardless of the recent increase in integration research there is still a lack of scholarly investigation into "how immigration and integration policies are created, operationalized and implemented" (Borkert and Penninx, 2011, p. 10), which is precisely the focus of our paper.Secondly, currently available literature (e.g. IMISCOE, PROSINT, SOM) does not take into account the most recent changes of the migration and integration policy system in Austria. While the major reforms entering into force in July 2011 constitute the end of contemporary analyses, they will serve as the starting point for our paper. In fact, we will focus on the major changes introduced during the XXIV legislative period in Austria (2008 - 2013). Finally, we chose a process rather than outcome-oriented focus because we acknowledge the relatively short timeframe since the introduction of the integration governance model in 2010/11 and the limited number of policy initiatives that could be implemented in this short period of time.Placing the policy process rather than outcomes at the centre of investigation provides another advantage. It allows us to concentrate on the emergence and institutionalisation of coordination practices in federal integration policymaking in Austria. Not only can we investigate the establishment of an integration governance model but also the coordinative procedures associated with this new model. This is a particularly promising frame as coordination has been identified as a strategy to address wicked problems (Head, 2008; Roberts, 2000) and there is indeed a multitude of actors, who started to coordinate their joint actions in Austrian integration policy practice. …