Revisiting joint working

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Abstract
Purpose: This article aims to consider recent changes to policy and practice in relation to joint working by returning to the authors' original article published in 2003 to ask what has happened in the intervening years.Design/methodology/approach: The original article was based on research commissioned by the NHS shortly after New Labour came into office, at a time of increasing interest in the role of joint working in the provision of public services. The authors were commissioned to conduct a systematic review of the existing research literature about joint working in adult services between health and social services in order to identify broad lessons, which could inform future activity in this area. Here, they undertake an informal review of the progress made.Findings: Having reviewed the original research, the authors move on to consider the reforms implemented by New Labour to better support joint working and the recent policies of the Coalition government. They argue that whilst the focus of government policy remains largely the same, some subtle changes have emerged. Finally, they consider more recent reviews of the evidence base which suggest that, whilst some progress may have been made, certain difficulties remain, specifically with regards the evaluation of the outcomes of joint working.Originality/value: Having been approached by the Editor of JICA, the authors submit this paper for the 20th anniversary issue of the journal because of the impact and continuing relevance of their original article.