Because it draws on a broader pool of ideas and approaches, effective collaboration can produce outcomes that could not be achieved otherwise. Since 2013, the Government's  commissioning and contestability agenda has shone a new spotlight on how collaboration can improve customer, delivery and community outcomes.

Collaboration is a critical element in any engagement or project that requires multiple skill sets and capabilities to deliver an outcome. It is required within organisations and teams; within the sector when working across agency boundaries; and between governments and the not-for-profit and private sectors.

Collaboration supports commercial partnerships as well as those that aim for a  policy outcome or to deliver a service. Collaboration supports greater efficiency and effectiveness in the NSW public sector, by identifying and using critical strengths and capabilities rather than duplicating effort.

The service partnership model outlined in the NSW Government Commissioning and Contestability Policy proposes that agencies engage and collaborate with cross-sectoral delivery partners during the different stages of delivering services.

Collaborating throughout the service delivery cycle

• Public Service Commission
  • Creating a Collaborative Culture
• NSW Treasury
  • Commissioning and Contestability Unit

• Creating and deploying service delivery models