Web services create interoperability among information systems and web service orchestration enables the coordination of activities. Both enable public agencies to cooperate more and more in chains to deliver services to their constituents. There are various ways to organize the coordination of cross-agency processes. In general it can be done in either a centralized or a decentralized way. Yet there is much confusion about which type of arrangement best fits public administration. In this

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... we report two case studies; the first one takes a decentralized way to coordinate activities and the other takes a centralized approach. Using interviews we identified the main pros and cons of each approach and compared them with each other. We found that decentralized orchestration takes a shorter lead time, and requires less structural and organizational transformation, however, is less transparent for users. Whereas centralized orchestration makes responsibilities and dependencies clear and avoids duplications of activities, however, it not only needs a longer implementation period to realize its potential benefits but also requires additional communication and creation of new crossagency interfaces.