Lay summary
Collaborative partnership working across local health systems is fundamental to New Zealand health service delivery and improvement. Locality Network partnerships are an exemplar of local partnership working and under the new health system reforms will act as the key vehicle driving the integration of health care providers across the care continuum. They will replace the current arrangements for delivering integration at local level: District Alliance (District Health Board – Primary Health Organisation) partnership working. This research aims to understand how local health systems transition from current alliance to locality based partnerships over the period of the project (2021 – 2023), how locality network working may translate into improved outcomes for New Zealanders and what organisational factors may promote their success. It will use a combination of interviews with key stakeholders and analysis of routinely collected health system measures to answer these questions.