Exploring the evidence base for integrated children's services

7. Annex A - Terminology

Holistic government/governance: Integration and co-ordination at all levels and in relation to all aspects of policy-related activity - policy-making, regulation, service provision and scrutiny; mutually reinforcing means and objectives

Joined up: Deliberate and co-ordinated planning and working which takes account of different policies and varying agency practice and values. This can refer to thinking or to practice or policy development

Joint Working: Professionals from more than one agency working directly together on a project.

Multi-agency/cross-agency working: More than one agency working together; services are provided by agencies acting in concert and drawing on pooled resources or a pooled budget, e.g. Youth offending teams.

Multi-professional/multi-disciplinary working: Working together of staff with different professional backgrounds and training

Inter-agency working: More than one agency working together in a planned and formal way

Cross-boundary working: Agencies working together on areas that extend beyond the scope of any one agency

Cross-cutting: Cross-cutting issues are those that are not the "property" of a single organisation or agency. Examples include: social inclusion, improving health, urban regeneration

Integration: Agencies working together within a single, often new, organisational structure

Networks: Informal contact and communication between individuals and agencies

Collaborative working/collaboration: Agencies working together in a wide variety of different ways to pursue a common goal while also pursuing their own organisational goals

Co-operation: Informal relationships between organisations designed to ensure that organisations can pursue their own goals more effectively

Co-ordination: More formal mechanisms to ensure that organisations take account of each other's strategies and activities in their own planning

Definition of terms taken from Percy-Smith, J. (2005) What works in strategic partnerships for children? Pg 24-25 Essex: Barnardos