Charles Conteh (Brock University)
The main objective of the proposed paper is to address the following question: How do federal and multitiered systems adapt their institutional infrastructure and processes to accommodate the imperatives of policy design and implementation that reconcile the perennial tensions between integration and differentiation? To answer this question, the discussion will draw insights from the concept of multilevel governance (MLG) as a lens for understanding the mechanisms by which intergovernmental framework agreements are designed and implemented in otherwise fractious political environments. The discussion will be premised on the assertion that traditional constructs of federalism, emphasizing high-level political forums among the orders of government, no longer offer meaningful understanding of the practical workings of multitiered systems dealing with the growing complexity and speed of policy problems. The paper will shift the focus of analysis from the political to the administrative, shedding light on how public managers quietly pursue transboundary collective action even in the face of often contentious intergovernmental political posturing. Empirically, the paper will examine the case of Canada’s multi-year intergovernmental Agricultural Policy Framework (APF) agreements jointly designed by the country’s federal, provincial, and territorial governments and delivered in partnership with a constellation of nonstate actors. The paper will conclude with some inferences from the case study about the political, institutional, organizational and jurisdictional mechanisms of policy development and program design and delivery in multitiered polities. More importantly, it will highlight some theoretical, conceptual and practical implications for public administration in federal systems navigating increasing complexity.