Managing Transitions Policy

Canberrans relying on our responsive human service system, also rely on us to manage changes to that system effectively and seamlessly. For a dynamic and responsive system, service changes are a given and occur for a range of reasons.

Service transition can be from one organisation to another organisation. They could occur within an organisation as it adapts to a new service model or in servicing a new client cohort, or even a new service altogether. Sometimes, a service transition occurs where there is significant disruption like a pandemic or organisational insolvency.

Human service reform has prompted the government and non-government sector to develop guidance and template for how to manage different service transitions. For the sector see the Service Transition Planning Template and for Government see the Transition Planning Template.

The Human Service System Transition Policy [PDF 635KB] [Word 727KB] provides guidance on common service transition challenges and decisions; gives clear steps to manage different transition activities; is supported by a range of tools; and provides an approach monitoring the experience of transitions.

This Policy can be applied by government and non-government organisations.

The Framework was developed by both the government and non-government sector.

  • Early 2024 Directorates apply the policy
  • Late 2023 Commissioning Senior Officers Group – endorsed.
  • Mid 2023 Draft policy circulated/released for feedback.
  • Late 2022 Service Transition Working Group survey on transition experiences and supports.

Goal

The goal of this policy is to support effective transitions within the ACT human services system, where disruption to the Canberra community is minimised and sustainability of service delivery is supported during the transition period.

Objectives

The objectives of each transition are:

  • ensuring transition arrangements and service changes are communicated to clients, service funders, service provider organisations, and staff in frontline delivery and operating system roles
  • maintaining service continuity, availability, and accessibility
  • ensuring tailored transition approaches to properly manage workforce and operational issues
  • effective monitoring and evaluation arrangements to inform service funder and service providers on the user’s and community’s transition experience.

Principles

To guide behaviours and actions of government and non-government organisations through the transition period, the shared principles of commissioning should be applied.

Principle

What the principle means to transitions

Purpose driven

We spend time building a shared understanding of transitions and their risks and impact at a system, program, or service level

Relationship focused

We prioritise positive and trustful relationships, recognising that these relationships determine the effectiveness of a transition. The relationship with service users is prioritised throughout the transition

Recognise complexity

We take time to understand the complexities and interdependencies, and consider them together

Inclusive collaboration

We broaden out the transitions conversations to support inclusive planning with clients, workers, peak organisations, providers, and government

Communicative

We are transparent, provide early insights to inform inclusive planning, adapt transition plans in response to feedback, and maintain strong communication with all affected stakeholders throughout a transition period

Deliberative

We support development of a shared understanding by clients, workers, peak organisations, providers, and government of information relevant to planning the transition process, and we advocate for shared decision making when planning for and implementing transitions

Contextual and Flexible

Each transition plan and each transition, responds to the unique circumstances, complexity, cultural practices, safety, and context of the particular transition

Value time and resources

We will not rush transitions, aiming to start planning early in the commissioning cycle and being flexible in development and implementation of transition plans

Shared commitment

We are committed to minimising disruption for the Canberra community during the transition period.

We are committed to supporting sustainability of service delivery during the transition period.

We are committed to transitions arising from collaborative design that indicates change is necessary to meet the needs of the Canberra community.

The Human Services System Transition Policy (the Policy) is the first of the 4 components of the Framework.

The scope of this Policy is supporting effective transitions for the Canberra community where service changes arise from commissioning or human services reform activities.

The Policy guides decision making and expectation management within existing partnerships and during the formation of new partnerships between government and non-government organisations.

A transition occurs when existing arrangements will be discontinued or will materially change for any reason. Transitions are often characterised as a “transition out”, when an existing arrangement to deliver a service by an organisation is ceasing for any reason, such as the need for the services has changed or the organisation will no longer be delivering the service; and a “transition in” when a new arrangement to deliver a service is about to start. Transitions occur to ensure the ACT human service system can adapt to best meet the existing and emerging needs of the Canberra community.

The comprehensive discovery work undertaken to inform this Policy identified 6 common challenges faced during transitions. While no two transitions are the same, some common challenges and considerations were identified.

The 6 common challenges and considerations which were identified as arising during typical service transitions in the ACT are:

Challenge

Effectiveness Impact

Communication

Continuing effective partnership communication when planning and implementing a transition

Poor communication can erode the relationship and trust between partners, which can affect adjustments to service delivery

Timing

Ensuring adequate time to plan and implement a transition

Inadequate time to plan and implement a transition can make the service transition reactive, lead to significant disruption to clients, and compromise workforce supply and capacity

Planning

Developing relevant and actionable transition plans that can be confirmed once the necessity for a particular transition is determined

Setting clear expectations for service continuity and responsiveness during the transition period

Deficient supports for transition planning can extend the transition period and pose significant disruption to clients and staff

Ambiguous expectations for service providers during the transition period could compromise sustainability of provider organisations, erode the relationship and trust between partners, and lead to significant disruption in service delivery

Funding

Providing financial support for a transition arising from initial commissioning cycles

Insufficient funding to support service providers during a transition period limits capacity to continue delivering services at the scale and quality required

Implementing

Undertaking an orderly transition that progresses according to plan

Failing to agree and carry out an orderly transition plan can affect the sustainability of provider organisations, erode relationships and trust between partners, and disrupt service delivery

Monitoring

Regularly monitoring and then evaluating the transition experience from government, service provider and client perspectives

The lack of effective monitoring can lead to inaccurate assessment of capability and capacity risks through the transition, cause cumulative service disruptions for clients, and jeopardise opportunities for continuous improvement in service delivery

This Policy guidance for these 6 common challenges is also applied to different transition scenarios at a system, program, and service level.

Transitions generally occur during a set period, known as the service transition period, and are typically anticipated and planned through contractual terms between the government and a non-government organisation.

A transition would be regarded as effective when disruption to the Canberra community or client experience is minimised and sustainability of service delivery and the service system is supported. During the transition period, an effective transition would feature:

  • high quality communication, so that clients understand any changes that are happening which allows them to voice their needs, influence how transitions occur, and to adapt effectively to the new circumstances.
  • planning informs implementation of transition activity.
  • service continuity, whereby relevant services remain available and accessible to the Canberra community, and service quality is maintained.
  • an emphasis on supporting workforce and operational sustainability, so that risks and emerging issues are managed through tailored approaches that suit the specific circumstances.
  • committed service providers, that respond to community need during the transition.

Designing and executing good transition plans is important because:

  • people affected by the changes – clients, members of the community, workers and operational systems staff – will be supported to understand what is changing and how it will affect them.
  • clients will continue to feel able to access and receive the services they need, regardless of which organisation is providing it.
  • service providers will be adequately prepared to make organisational changes that comply with legislative and regulatory obligations of the organisation.

Transitions can occur at a system, program, and service level.

  • At a system level, transitions occur when interconnected parts change to meet the wellbeing and health needs of the Canberra community. This can mean multiple service providers (both new and existing in the market) shift to multiple new program or service delivery models which have been collaboratively designed to deliver social impact to priority populations groups.  For example, a system is reoriented towards investment in early support rather than crisis services.
  • At a program level, transitions occur when the program model or the target population changes. Such a shift can affect many service providers, or a single service provider may need to deal with the transition of multiple services.  For example, a program expands the age range of eligible service users.
  • At a service level, transitions occur where a service shifts to a new service provider, or where a service provider adapts to a new service delivery model or to meet new community needs, or where policy priorities or the service changes to ensure service continuity during a period of service disruption.  For example, a procurement outcome identifies a different service model or service provider represents best value for money for the ACT community.

Regardless of which type of transition is involved, ensuring the best possible outcome for the community, and minimising negative impact on existing clients should be at the centre of transition planning and implementation.  Commissioning processes should include early consideration of the system and program transitions that will be necessary to achieve the reform that is being designed.

Any type of transition can have wider impacts across the human services system. These impacts might be felt by other parts of the service system and by other funders of the human services system.  Such potential impacts should be considered in transition planning.

A system is a set of interconnected activities that act from common principles for a common purpose. In the ACT, the human services system is a set of diverse interconnected programs supporting services that meet the wellbeing and health needs of the Canberra community.

When transitions occur at the system level, interconnected parts are changing to meet the wellbeing and health needs of the Canberra community. This could mean many that service providers, existing, new, or both, are shifting to new service delivery models which have been designed to deliver social impact to priority populations groups. System transitions are large in scale and require significant planning before implementation.

This policy recognises that systems are more than the sum of their constituent parts and that system transition planning and implementation must also focus on the breadth and depth of change involved.

Common approaches to system transitions include:

Direct

Where the old system ceases when the new system begins

Parallel

Where both systems run together for a period to ensure that they maintain service delivery while ensuring minimal disruption to clients before the existing system operations are wound up

Gradual or phased

Where system changes are introduced gradually: used particularly where a direct or parallel approach would create significant disruption to clients and service delivery across organisations

Modular

Where the transitions take place location by location or organisation by organisation

Programs are formally designed clusters of activities for a target population or a target issue where service providers and government share a common goal. Many programs interconnect to deliver part of the system.

By assessing community needs and resources collaboratively through commissioning, government and non-government organisations can identify a sustainable way to address community needs by establishing a new program or by adjusting an existing program model. Program models used in the human service system include:

  • the social-ecological model, which provides a framework for program design.
  • the logic model, which is a graphical depiction of logical relationships between the resources, activities, outputs, and outcomes of a program.
  • the social action model, whose objectives are to recognise the change around a community to preserve or improve standards, understand the social action process/model is a conceptualisation of how directed change takes place, and understand how the social action model can be implemented as a successful community problem solving tool.
  • and program evaluation, which involves the ongoing systematic assessment of community-based programs and their impact.

When transitions occur at a program level, the program model, target population or target issue changes. The changes are informed by up-to-date evidence of impact, need and priority. This shift to a new program model or target population can affect many service providers, or, within a service provider, see the transition of multiple services.

Program transitions can be confined in scale compared to system transitions yet still require significant planning before implementation.  Responsibility for program transitions is shared and includes roles for Government as the program owner or steward, incoming and outgoing service providers, as well as peak bodies or other key stakeholders.

Approaches to implementing transitions at a program level include:

Pilot

A program trial with a single service provider, or to a target population group, to determine how successful a program model might be once implemented

Scale up

Where a program is expanded, adapted, and sustained in different ways over time for greater wellbeing and health impact

Scale down

Where the need for a program has declined or been substantially resolved and resources can be redirected to different priorities

Integration

Where new ways of program delivery or new program supports are required to more effectively respond to complexity or changing need

A service is a targeted set of actions that delivers a benefit to an individual, family, or community.

Multiple services can interconnect to deliver a program, while multiple programs interconnect to deliver part of the system. In the ACT, the human service system has hundreds of targeted services that meet specific wellbeing and health needs of target population groups in the Canberra community.

Service transitions differ from continuous improvement activities in that they occur at a particular time, and typically involve both the service provider and service funder working together to manage an effective transition. Continuous improvements, undertaken in the context of a quality framework, or because of contract management and variations, are important activities that enable services to adapt to changing landscapes or needs in an ongoing way. Continuous improvement may reduce the need for or extent of a service transition.

When transitions occur at a service level, a service shifts to a new service provider, or a service provider adapts to a new service delivery model, to meet new community needs or policy priorities or to provide service continuity during a period of service disruption.

Service transitions are usually smaller in scale than program or system transitions yet will require planning before implementation.

There are many reasons why a service transition may be needed, but the 5 main ones are:

Service model  

As an existing service provider, adapting to a new operating framework that describes the service to be provided, the infrastructure to support the service, management, and governance model to operate and maintain the infrastructure. This can also define the interactions between the service provider, clients, and the commissioner.

To meet new client needs or demand

As an existing service provider, adapting a service delivery model and existing service processes, practices, and infrastructure to manage rapid expansion, contraction, or new client needs

Another organisation

Shifting service delivery from one service provider to another service provider, potentially as an outcome of a competitive process

Realignment

Where an existing service provider has experienced scope or service creep which has taken it out of alignment with existing or future agreements

Service disruption

Working with existing service providers to maintain service continuity where the organisation faces challenges or disruptions

There are many variables to consider when planning a service transition, so transition plans will vary based on the circumstances. However, this is not a reason for commissioners or service providers to delay commencing planning for transitions.

Page updated: 04 Apr 2024