Experience Of Policy Implementation Research Articles

What factors underlie burden tolerance in South Korea? Policy implementation domain, administrative efficiency, and bureaucratic personality

ABSTRACT Although administrative burden has been studied in relation to social policy, the experience of policy implementation as onerous is relevant to all policy domains, and citizens can experience burden in virtually any encounter with the state. Moreover, perceptions of administrative burden can be influenced by administrative values, such as efficiency. Burden tolerance captures an individual’s belief that the compliance, learning, and psychological costs associated with policy implementation are legitimate and functional, and consequently their willingness to impose these costs on policy targets. We hypothesise that burden tolerance is conditioned by both policy implementation domain and the efficiency of the implementing organisation. Additionally, we link bureaucratic personality, or the tendency to view rules as intrinsically desirable and legitimate, to burden tolerance. We test our hypotheses using a representative sample of South Korean citizens and a survey experiment. Our results suggest that, first and contrary to our expectations, policy domain does not affect burden tolerance. Second, knowledge about inefficiency negatively affects tolerance. Third, bureaucratic personality is positively related to tolerance. We also discuss the contextual aspects of administrative burden, and particularly how the East Asian and Korean policy context may have implications for the generalisability of the administrative burden concept.

Testing the contextual Interaction theory in a UHC pilot district in South Africa

BackgroundWorld-wide, there is growing universal health coverage (UHC) enthusiasm. The South African government began piloting policies aimed at achieving UHC in 2012. These UHC policies have been and are being rolled out in the ten selected pilot districts. Our study explored policy implementation experiences of 71 actors involved in UHC policy implementation, in one South African pilot district using the Contextual Interaction Theory (CIT) lens.MethodOur study applied a two-actor deductive theory of implementation, Contextual Interaction Theory (CIT) to analyse 71 key informant interviews from one National Health Insurance (NHI) pilot district in South Africa. The theory uses motivation, information, power, resources and the interaction of these to explain implementation experiences and outcomes. The research question centred on the utility of CIT tenets in explaining the observed implementation experiences of actors and outcomes particularly policy- practice gaps.ResultsAll CIT central tenets (information, motivation, power, resources and interactions) were alluded to by actors in their policy implementation experiences, a lack or presence of these tenets were explained as either a facilitator or barrier to policy implementation. This theory was found as very useful in explaining policy implementation experiences of both policy makers and facilitators.ConclusionA central tenet that was present in this context but not fully captured by CIT was leadership. Leadership interactions were revealed as critical for policy implementation, hence we propose the inclusion of leadership interactions to the current CIT central tenets, to become motivation, information, power, resources, leadership and interactions of all these.

Taking the bite out of administrative burdens: How beneficiaries of a Mexican social program ease administrative burdens in street‐level interactions

AbstractDespite taking the citizen experience of policy implementation as starting point for analysis, the literature on administrative burdens has mostly portrayed citizens as passive victims of burdens. Based on a literature review, three hypotheses are formulated regarding citizens' capacity to ease the impact of administrative burdens through behavioral adjustment, use of social and human capital, and strategic behavior. Evidence for these strategies is found in a case study of beneficiaries' behavior in a Mexican social program, where even the most vulnerable citizens have resources to reduce the impact of administrative burdens, even if the actual causes of those burdens remain out of reach. The findings contribute to understanding (a) variance in people's experience of administrative burdens, (b) the impact of prolonged street‐level interactions on people's ability to ease administrative burdens, (c) the importance of studying informal street‐level interactions, and (d) the relevance of studying state‐citizen interactions in developmental contexts.

“Hostages to Compliance”: Towards a Reasonableness Test for Administrative Burdens

Abstract Administrative burden on its most basic level refers to “an individual’s experience of policy implementation as onerous”. The concept of administrative burdens raises complex questions of both theory and practice for public administrators and scholars. Ambitious agendas have been laid out for investigating the origins, mechanisms, and impacts of administrative burdens, and for building practical knowledge about how to minimize administrative burdens without sacrificing program effectiveness and efficiency. Those same authors, and others, have advanced the concept theoretically as well. This article builds on those efforts to address a normative question at the concept’s core—namely, the question of what makes an administrative burden acceptable or excessive, reasonable or unreasonable. Our inquiry begins with the recognition that administrative burdens sometimes perform important functions and principles and methods are needed for determining when a specific type or degree of burden crosses the threshold from reasonableness to unreasonableness. Toward that end, we propose a five-part test, similar to those employed by the Supreme Court, for bureaucrats to use when assessing the justifications for bureaucratic procedures and requirements that involve administrative burden.

When things fall apart: local responses to the reintroduction of user-fees for maternal health services in rural Malawi

Despite the strong global focus on improving maternal health during past decades, there is still a long way to go to ensure equitable access to services and quality of care for women and girls around the world. To understand widely acknowledged inequities and policy-to-practice gaps in maternal health, we must critically analyse the workings of power in policy and health systems. This paper analyses power dynamics at play in the implementation of maternal health policies in rural Malawi, a country with one of the world’s highest burdens of maternal mortality. Specifically, we analyse Malawi’s recent experience with the temporary reintroduction of user-fees for maternity services as a response to the suspension of donor funding, a shift in political leadership and priorities, and unstable service contracts between the government and its implementing partner, the Christian Health Association of Malawi. Based on ethnographic research conducted in 2015/16, the article describes the perceptions and experiences of policy implementation among various local actors (health workers, village heads and women). The way in which maternity services “fall apart” and are “fixed” is the result of dynamic interactions between policy and webs of accountability. Policies meet with a cascade of dynamic responses, which ultimately result in the exclusion of the most vulnerable rural women from maternity care services, against the aims of global and national safe motherhood policies.

The Ecological Footprint – new developments in policy and practice, by AndreaCollins and AndrewFlynn. Published by Edward Elgar Publishing, Cheltenham, UK, 2015, pp. 233, ISBN: 9780857936950, ₤75.

Living as humans necessarily means we will have some impact on the environment around us. But as human populations grow and our affluence and technological capabilities increase, we collectively consume more and more natural resources. The concept of ‘Ecological Footprint’ is one of the most recognised environmental indicators to measure this growing human consumption. Since the early 1970s, human resource demand has exceeded the planet's ability to renew natural resources. In the interests of continued human well-being and survival, the Ecological Footprint provides a clear warning that our current consumption trajectory cannot be maintained in the long term. The Ecological Footprint – new developments in policy and practice by Andrea Collins and Andrew Flynn is a story about why the Ecological Footprint (EF) has been such a successful environmental indicator. Not only can the EF communicate complex concepts very clearly (the finiteness of resources, the equitable distribution of resources and the link between local and global resource consumption), it also has resonance for a wide range of people – from policymakers, the public, NGOs, academics, the media and politicians alike. What makes this book stand apart is its analysis of how effective the EF concept has been for changing practices and policy. The analysis is built on the authors’ rich personal experience of policy implementation and learnings from key players all over the world. The lessons presented in the book show that environmental indicators do not inform a rational, linear decision-making process – no matter how accurate or reliable the indicator is nor how powerful and clear their message. The reality of policymaking is that it is messy: there are conflicting interests and perspectives at play; policymaking is influenced by power relationships; and implementation is context sensitive and inherently political. Indeed, choosing an environmental indicator in the first place is influenced by this same complex reality. It is the authors’ detailed experience of the EF policy development process in the Welsh Cardiff Council which exemplifies this fascinating policy reality. Here, an inclusive process was used that involved policymakers, NGOs and university staff. Many expert-led processes may result in the marginalisation of environmental indicators before policy change can be achieved. The detailed case study (together with comparisons from elsewhere) shows the importance of building relationships and trust between different stakeholders through joint deliberation and participatory decision-making that is sensitive to local context. The authors highlight the importance of preparatory work and collective knowledge building. What this book further reveals is the importance of the human side of the EF, not just the numbers. The authors’ analysis of governance is critical. In their own case study in Wales, they demonstrate, for instance, the importance of collaborations between ‘experts’ and decision-makers, including decision-makers at multiple levels and including decision-makers across portfolios (especially beyond the environmental portfolio). All this is critical for negotiating the complexity associated with policy change. They also identify cases when the Ecological Footprint did not lead to policy change and why. There is a lot to learn here for anyone wanting to increase their effectiveness as a practitioner of sustainability, whether it is using the EF or not. While the EF continues to be measured, its influence on decision-making remains uncertain. In this book, Collins and Flynn documented much of the past experiences with the Ecological Footprint concept around the world and describe the lessons from these experiences. They make a valuable contribution to our understanding of policy and practice that is both thought provoking and fascinating. This is a wonderful book for anyone who would like to move past ‘knowing more’ to ‘changing more’ – be they policymakers or community practitioners.

The rhetoric and reality of SME-friendly procurement

Small- and medium-sized enterprise-friendly policies are central to public procurement. The extent to which these policies have been put into practice has gone largely untested. To address this gap, a survey of SMEs’ reported experiences of policy implementation was conducted. Ireland served as the research context. Policy implementation was found to be limited. Company size was a significant predictor of SMEs’ experiences, with micro-enterprises more negative than small or medium-sized enterprises. The authors explain the policy–practice divide and make recommendations for improvement.

Middle managers’ experience of policy implementation and mediation in the context of the Scottish quality enhancement framework

This paper analyses how middle managers perform and experience their role in enacting policy in Scottish higher education institutions. The policy focus is the quality enhancement framework (QEF) for learning and teaching in higher education, which was launched in 2003. The data-set was collected between 2008 and 2010, during the evaluation of the QEF by means of focus groups with middle managers at nine Scottish institutions. The metaphor of a policy implementation staircase helps to situate middle managers’ position in enactment, and analyse their experience of the role. Despite the values of collegiality and ownership upheld by the QEF, middle managers’ accounts of their practices reveal that their position at the interface between university management and core academic activities continues to be a delicate one, marked by contradictory allegiances to institutional strategies and the concerns of academic colleagues. While emphasising middle managers’ pivotal role in the implementation of the QEF policy, the data paradoxically suggest that the systemic positioning of middle managers is more influential in shaping their role of mediation than the values of collegiality and ownership promoted by this enhancement approach to quality specific to Scotland.

Shifting Administrative Burden to the State: The Case of Medicaid Take‐Up

Administrative burden is an individual's experience of policy implementation as onerous. Such burdens may be created because of a desire to limit payments to ineligible claimants, but they also serve to limit take‐up of benefits by eligible claimants. For citizens, this burden may occur through learning about a program; complying with rules and discretionary bureaucratic behavior to participate; and the psychological costs of participating in an unpopular program. Using a mixed‐method approach, the authors explain process changes that reduced individual burden and demonstrate how this resulted in increased take‐up in Medicaid in the state of Wisconsin. The findings inform the planned expansion of Medicaid under the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act. A key design principle for Medicaid and other means‐tested programs is that it is possible to increase program take‐up while maintaining program integrity by shifting administrative burdens from the citizen to the state.

National Policy on Physical Activity: The Development of a Policy Audit Tool

Physical inactivity is a leading risk factor for noncommunicable disease worldwide. Increasing physical activity requires large scale actions and relevant, supportive national policy across multiple sectors. The policy audit tool (PAT) was developed to provide a standardized instrument to assess national policy approaches to physical activity. A draft tool, based on earlier work, was developed and pilot-tested in 7 countries. After several rounds of revisions, the final PAT comprises 27 items and collects information on 1) government structure, 2) development and content of identified key policies across multiple sectors, 3) the experience of policy implementation at both the national and local level, and 4) a summary of the PAT completion process. PAT provides a standardized instrument for assessing progress of national policy on physical activity. Engaging a diverse international group of countries in the development helped ensure PAT has applicability across a wide range of countries and contexts. Experiences from the development of the PAT suggests that undertaking an audit of health enhancing physical activity (HEPA) policy can stimulate greater awareness of current policy opportunities and gaps, promote critical debate across sectors, and provide a catalyst for collaboration on policy level actions. The final tool is available online.

The Effect of Administrative Burden on Bureaucratic Perception of Policies: Evidence from Election Administration

This article argues that administrative burden—that is, an individual's experience of policy implementation as onerous—is an important consideration for administrators and influences their views on policy and governance options. The authors test this proposition in the policy area of election administration using a mixed‐method assessment of local election officials. They find that the perceived administrative burden of policies is associated with a preference to shift responsibilities to others, perceptions of greater flaws and lesser merit in policies that have created the burden (to the point that such judgments are demonstrably wrong), and opposition to related policy innovations.