Excerpts from Abstract:
Providing the best start for our youngest generation is a growing priority internationally. Integrated Service Delivery (ISD) offers an approach to address complex system challenges and improve access to early childhood public services for young children and their families. The purpose of this paper is to use the Integrative Framework for Collaborative Governance to reflect on the elements of collaboration that may have influenced the establishment and implementation of an early childhood ISD approach in Nova Scotia (Canada). The provision of adequate resources for partnership development, clarification of roles and formal agreements to enable commitment and the importance of building collaborative capacity among partners was found to be critical to develop a shared vision for ISD for early childhood. The Integrative Framework for Collaborative Governance provided a useful lens to consider some of the interactive components of ISD in the early childhood initiative and further, more in-depth study is warranted to determine which components are necessary for collaborative success.