Policy mobility, advocacy and problem–potential bridging practices: A review of Scottish city council tax incremental financing business cases

Abstract

Globalisation has enormously expanded the availability of urban policy information and prompted the need for policy mobility studies. In contrast to objective evidence and rational forms of place-based adoption, policy mobility studies direct attention to the plethora of actors involved in policy mobility and the contested pathways through which policy is adopted, adapted and mutated. Supportive scholars call for consideration of relational and territorial influences, supply- and demand-side dimensions and the interaction between actor and structural interpretations. Given distended forms of adoption, supply-side perspectives acknowledge how influential intermediary actors may exaggerate evidence and codify best practice to effect desired outcomes. Here recognition is given to the limits of ‘city’ or ‘local’-based autonomy and the importance of considering inter-government relations as part of demand-side perspectives. In particular, significance is attributed to local government advocacy and problem–potential bridging practices. Grounded evidence is presented via the analysis of two Scottish city council tax increment financing business cases constructed to gain Scottish Government approval.