A policy ethnography study of a Singapore regional health system on its governance adaptations and associated challenges as a project organisation to implement Healthier Singapore

Abstract

Objectives: Project organisations reflect a modern and non-bureaucratic form of organising public-sector activities, which promises innovation, entrepreneurship, and order and control to bring about change. This study seeks to investigate the project organisation Singapore Health Services (SingHealth) Region Health System (RHS)'s approach to implementing the Healthier Singapore (HSG) strategy, including models of governance and perceptions of RHS leads, identify the challenges facing the RHS, and to draw insights into the conditions necessary for using project organisation as a policy tool in policy implementation. Study design: We adopted a policy ethnography approach to answering the research question. Methods: The approach involved: (1) non-participant observation with fieldnotes taken during meetings, events, programme activities, and conferences concerning SingHealth and HSG implementation; (2) analysis of 52 organisational documents; and (3) interviews with 21 senior SingHealth leaders from the RHS Executive Committee, involved in envisioning and overseeing the production of RHS projects to align with the HSG strategy (March to September 2022). Results: Evidence demonstrates the presence of multiple governance and interactive governance in HSG implementation, including legitimising the RHS as the project organisation; engaging the private corporations; incorporating the citizens; and working with non-governmental organisations. However, the RHS faced many challenges, ranging from governance, workforce, financing, IT infrastructure and care models, problem definition, primary care and legacy issues, knowledge management, and being pandemic-informed in its delivery. Conclusion: The RHS will need to address these challenges through the necessary constitutive, directive, and operational actions, and interactive governance to enhance its institutional capacity to implement the HSG Strategy.

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