Factors Influencing Collaboration Among Public Organizations in Bhutan

Abstract

Collaboration has been a longstanding issue in Bhutan's public sector since its inception in the 1960s. Common themes such as red-tapism, fragmented organizations, and duplication of efforts have been widely reported by media, public sector organizations, civil society organizations (CSOs), and international organizations. Limited guidelines on implementation and a lack of applied research exacerbate the difficulty of realizing collaboration.

This study aims to understand the key factors that influence interagency collaboration in Bhutan. To this end, a quantitative design was used to test the perceptions of respondents using a 17-item survey questionnaire. The questionnaire measured constructs of relevant concepts in interagency literature under three independent variables (organizational characteristics, perceived environmental pressures, and employees' attitudes towards collaboration) and a dependent variable (extent of interagency activity).

Spearman's correlation test results indicate a slight negative link (r = -0.24) between organizational characteristics and the extent of interagency activity, while perceived environmental pressures (r = 0.31) and employees' attitudes towards collaboration (r = 0.27) show a slight positive link with the extent of interagency activity.

The study recommends drawing interagency guidelines from local research and identifies future research opportunities in the field.