Multilevel policy implementation: exploring organisational coordination – the case of the German Swimming Federation’s national training framework implementation

Abstract

ABSTRACTNational governing bodies of sport depend on the collaboration of their member organisations. However, regional entities and local sports clubs possess high degrees of autonomy, and their goals may differ from the national objectives. This paper examines the nature of multilevel policy implementation, aiming to foster an understanding of the underlying coordination mechanisms across organisational levels. For this purpose, a conceptual framework based on Willke’s distinction of regulative media (i.e. power, money, knowledge) is introduced. The paper investigates multilevel policy implementation by using a single case study, comprising data from organisational documents and semi-structured interviews. Findings indicate that not only local sports clubs, but also regional governing bodies, play a crucial role as intermediaries in the implementation context. The paper shows that pressure (i.e. authority without power), although a common code of practice, does not foster policy implementation. Lack of congruence between the numerous decentralised funding authorities’ objectives handicaps the multilevel synchronisation of implementation efforts. Moreover, the absence of binding communication channels across organisational levels is identified as prejudicial for a knowledge-based regulation of multilevel policy implementation. Furthermore, the analysis uncovers the complexity of policy implementation, identifying manifold interrelations of the regulative media.