Portfolio management is still a growing responsibility and the arrangements are still evolving.

The portfolio secretary should never have direct powers over the agencies and will always rely heavily on persuasion, reinforced by having the confidence of the minister. Whatever arrangements emerge, it is important to establish processes for regular and open communications.

It is also very helpful to involve portfolio agencies in the department’s strategic planning processes. This can clarify relationships and reinforce shared objectives as well as harmonise strategies throughout the portfolio while recognising distinct roles and responsibilities.

For bigger portfolios with many agencies, it is almost certainly worthwhile investing in a unit in the corporate strategy area to have primary responsibility for managing the relationships and undertaking any work on restructuring, reviewing performance and advising on appointments. The unit needs to be led by someone who commands the respect of the agencies and who has expertise in public and private sector governance.

Secretaries and agency heads (and chairs of agency boards) can also usefully cooperate to ensure the processes for appointments to boards and agency head positions are more robust. Together, they can ensure more emphasis on merit in appointments, even if they might not fully constrain political choices.

There will from time to time be conflicts of interest. These need to be acknowledged and processes for managing them agreed. Avoiding such conflicts might usually be the preferred approach, but frequently they just have to be managed: balancing interests is part and parcel of the political process.