POLICY IMPLEMENTATION

Overview of the Chapter

Reviews typical implementation problems
encountered in the policy process
Methods to make implementation processes
more adaptive and effective
Need to consider implementation in the all
phases of policy process


The basics of policy implementation
What is policy implementation?
is a dynamic and non-linear process
Political
Agencies and divisions within agencies compete for
resources and control over implementation activities
Tensions may arise between the public,private and
non-profit organizations as they vie for influence and
funds to implement government programs
Also seen as a form of network governance

Actors in policy implementation


Bureaucracy

Implementation is an expensive ,multi- year
effort and continued funding for programs is not
gauranteed
authoritative decision makers both political and
administrative in nature remain a very
significant force in the implementation stage
Traget group whose behavior is intended to be
altered play direct or indirect role in the
implementation
Political and economic resources of the target
group play an important role in implementation

Regulators often have to make compromises with
the powerful target groups
Often powerful groups resources are utilised to
make the implementation simpler and less
expensive
This is formally done in Sweden,Uruguay and
Austria
In the above mentioned countries ,regulator-
regulatee negotiations are done for the
development of administrative standards

Changing level of public support for a policy
can also affect implementation
Many policies witness decline in support after
decision has been made . As a result it gives
the decision makers greater opportunity to
vary the original intent of a decision should
they so desire
Analytical tools for understanding
policy implementation
There are two vantage points from which to view
the gap between policy intentions and outcomes
The first sees the implentation from the view
point of policy-makers trying to control outcomes
at the grassroots.This top-down view can be
described as a correspondence theory .Theorists
adopting this perspective look for deficiencies in
the way policies are communicated,and standard
of implementation enforced,from policy makers
to field- level implementers
The second, bottom-up analysts in contrast
begin with the assumption that street- level
bureaucrats often face an impossible task.
Policy ambiguity,limited resources and time
pressures may make it impossible to
implement policies as intended.To the extent
that outcomes are deemed less than
satisfactory from a policy makerss point of
view
Bottom-up approach would look for the
reasons in resouce gaps, in the incentives
embedded in the institutional environment
faced by street-level bureaucrats, and in
understanding of their work and roles

Contextual factors when assessing
obstacles to effective implementation
Context matters greatly when assessing these
potential obstacles to effective implementation and
when drawing appropriate implications for action
Four contextual factors to consider:
1. The first is the degree of political and policy
stability.The environment for policy
implementation is enabling if there is relatively
strong political support for the program outputs
that are to be produced .
2. The second is the degree to which the external political and
economic environment in which policy-makers are working is
changing slowly or more rapidly.
3. The third contextual factor concerns the openness of the
policy process. For instance ,in highly pluralistic country with
a strong NGO sector and free press,policy making will
inevitably be shaped by a broader range of actors .the
conflicts among different actors may be resolvesd in earlier
stages of agenda setting,formulation and adoption.
But in close system ,the actors who were not included in the
earlier stages may try to sabotage the implementation of
policies with which they disagree
4. The degree of public sector decentralization is
an another important factor
The central level actors should set minimum
standards , provide technical assistance and
capacity building where local capacities vary
significantly