Reforming strategic policy support provided by a central department in the context of a decentralized administration: the case of social security in Belgium
The social security in Belgium is organized according a decentralized framework. Beside the central department, 16 public autonomous and specialized institutions are active for specific branches of sectors of the social security. In Belgium, responsibility for proper execution of the policy cycle lies to large extent with the ministers involved and more particularly with their personal staff in the so-called ministerial cabinet. Because of the lack of a clear division of tasks, the responsibilities, devoted to the administrative bodies, for supporting the political cabinets into the policy cycle created a conflict relation between the central department and the autonomous institutions. This article tries to explain how the central department made an end to this situation of competition and developed a new vision of policy support, where partnerships, joint projects and transversal approach are the masterpieces
