The Local Integration of Employment Services: Assessing Network Effectiveness of Local Job Centres in Flanders

Abstract

In the Flemish region of Belgium, as in many other countries, the network paradigm is the emerging model for the establishment of local job centres. Based on a one-stop service model, similar basic work-focused services which were previously offered by separate organisations are now integrated and locally embedded. What is the added value of the local establishment of public service delivery based on the network paradigm? This question is answered by using a set of evaluation criteria which we derive from Provan and Milward's framework for evaluating the effectiveness of local, public service networks for health care and welfare. The objective of this research is twofold: (a) a methodological assessment of Provan and Milward's framework; and (b) the empirical evaluation of job centres' effectiveness. Our empirical analysis is based on a mixed method approach, combining registration and organisational data analyses with qualitative findings as reported by stakeholders. We conclude that the network effectiveness of the job centres in Flanders for the year 2006 is not unanimously positive.

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