Prioritisation: How Governments Build Capacity for Delivery

Governments are increasingly looking for priority-setting mechanisms and delivery structures to effectively navigate complex policy environments but empirical knowledge of how these arrangements operate within the core executive remains limited. This paper analyses the establishment and evolution priority governance model in a european parliamentary system, focusing on the creation of dedicated oversight structures, defining and sequencing priorities and strengthened mechanisms supporting their monitoring, analyzing and implementation across the administration. The study uses an analytical perspective grounded in research on centres of government, delivery units and public policy coordination to assess how these reforms reshape executive capacity. Methodologically, the project combines in-depth interviews (IDI) with officials from central government administrations in selected European countries with systematic content analysis and the review of primary policy documents, allowing the study to capture both formal structures and informal practices through which prioritisation is enacted. The paper draws on original empirical material generated through the design and implementing new processes within the core executive. These include legal acts and procedures for establishing governmental priorities, criteria for assigning priority status to initiatives originating from ministries or the prime minister, mechanisms for monitoring progress and prototype tools for cross-government communication and knowledge sharing. A complementary component consists of an international set of semi-structured IDIs conducted with experienced officials in centres of government, focusing on the conceptualisation, communication, operationalisation, monitoring and implementation of political priorities. Through this material, the paper addresses 3 research questions: 1. How do delivery structures emerge in political systems without a long tradition of central performance units? 2. How does the introduction of priority-setting instruments change existing coordination patterns between the centre of government and ministries? 3. What organisational capacities are required for a centre of government to move from declaratory to operational prioritisation? Preliminary findings indicate that priority-governance reforms lead to a distinctive reconfiguration of executive routines. A shift toward a more selective governmental agenda requires clearer definitions of priorities, more systematic regulatory analysis and a reallocation of roles and responsibilities within the core executive. The analysis also highlights the importance of both internal and external communication practices, as well as the development of stronger analytical capabilities. These elements are often underdeveloped in coordination structures. By situating a detailed case study within a broader comparative framework, the paper contributes to ongoing debates about how governments build the capacity for prioritisation, implementation and more effective executive governance within democratic systems. It demonstrates how delivery-unit logics can be adapted to political systems characterised by fragmented agendas, evolving ministerial autonomy and limited central oversight mechanisms. The findings have implications for both scholarship and practice: they enahance theoretical understandings of centres of government and offer operational insights for administrations seeking to strengthen their ability to steer priorities in complex policy environments.