Abstract
This article explores the new interface between the National Assembly for Wales and the civil service in Wales through a consideration of the dynamics of the planning process for Wales' first European Objective One Structural Fund programme. The advent of devolution has instigated significant changes in the focus, operation and management of the civil service in Wales which, nevertheless, remains part of the unified British service. The most important development sees civil servants more closely involved in the machinery of government through a directly elected National Assembly. This article examines some of the tensions faced by civil servants in developing a distinctive Welsh dimension to policy-making and in adjusting to a more accountable and transparent policy environment. It assesses the extent to which administrative and political dynamics have been harnessed in an efficient and effective manner to facilitate the planning and delivery of the Objective One programme. Through this analysis, lessons may be drawn for public policy practitioners elsewhere as to the changed context for operationalising major policies within the fluid context of UK-wide devolution. Finally, some issues are identified that may infuture intensify calls for a separate or differently run Welsh civil service.
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