Advancing the theory and practice of public sector reform through the analysis of social mechanisms

Longo

2020

HEPL

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This paper argues that a certain level of indeterminacy in policy design may be a factor facilitating rather than hindering system-level change in welfare governance arrangements, provided it is combined with the triggering of specific concatenations of social mechanisms shaping the dynamics of the change process. The argument is illustrated by an analysis of a case of systemic change in chronic disease management occurred in the Italian region of Lombardy over 2016–2017, when a radically novel governance of chronic disease for the 10 million population was put in place (a health care system that was later tested to its limits by the COVID-19 pandemic outburst which reached dramatic intensity in this region). This represented a major change in a key area of social and health policy. We claim that such change processes may be studied by means of the conceptual tools of social mechanisms. The analysis of social mechanisms represents a lively research agenda for explaining change in public governance and public policy.

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 75%

Section: Theory: the Analysis Of Social Mechanisms As Conceptual Toolmentioning

confidence: 99%

Explaining system-level change in welfare governance: the role of policy indeterminacy and concatenations of social mechanisms

Longo

2020

HEPL

Self Cite

“…Time horizon: 2021-2027 14. https://ec.europa.eu/info/business-economy-euro/recovery-coronavirus/recovery-andresilience-facility_en 15. https://ec.europa.eu/info/departments/structural-reform-support/supporting-publicadministrations-eu-member-states-deliver-reforms-and-prepare-future_en 16. On the use of social mechanisms analysis for the study of public administration reform, see Ongaro (2019b). 17. https://ec.europa.eu/info/news/commission-decides-set-group-experts-public-administrationand-governance-2021-dec-17_en 18. https://ec.europa.eu/neighbourhood-enlargement/enlargement-policy/glossary/accession-criteria_en 19.…”

Section: Discussion Conclusion and Prospectsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…16On the use of social mechanisms analysis for the study of public administration reform, see Ongaro (2019b).…”

mentioning

confidence: 99%

The long and winding road towards the EU policy of support to Member States public administration reform: History (2000–2021) and prospects

Public Policy and Administration

2022

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This paper provides an account of how the European Union (EU), and notably the European Commission (EC), has become an actor in its own right in the field of the reform of administration and public services management in Europe, by developing an approach to support Member States in their initiatives to improve public administration and public services. We qualify this process – occurred over the period 2000-2021, with a tremendous acceleration in the second decade – as a twofold paradigmatic change: because (i) this is a novel field of action for the EU itself; and because (ii) the very logic driving the EU role shifted dramatically from a logic of conditionality (or compliance with aspects of the acquis) in the early phase to a radically different logic of enabling and facilitating administrative reforms, on the ground, in a later phase and prospectively. We interpret the paradigmatic shift that has occurred through a combination of theoretical perspectives: policy learning; policy entrepreneurship within the Commission; the opening of an opportunity window for policy change to occur; and the consolidation of a new policy sub-system in the field. We deem this change to constitute a step forward in the process of European integration.

“…In fact, in contextual analyses it is possible to detect both variableorientated conceptual frameworks and episodes/events-orientated conceptual frameworks. The latter look for causality often through the analysis of social mechanisms of other frameworks, rather than searching for (causation as) correlation (Capano et al, 2019;Hedstrom & Swedberg, 1998;Ongaro, 2019;Ongaro & Longo, 2020).…”

Section: Contextual Influences As Explanatory Factors For Pa Innovationmentioning

confidence: 99%

Public administration, context and innovation: A framework of analysis

Public Admin & Development

Gong

Jing

2021

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Innovation in public administration (PA) has played a pivotal role in building good governance and has attracted significant attention in the academia. The literature on PA innovation is burgeoning; however, this article argues that there is 'a missing link' in the extant literature in that the impacts of variation in context on PA innovation have not been sufficiently investigated. This article elaborates the analytical perspectives on the influences of various contexts over PA innovation and the mechanisms through which impacts may take place. Both theoretical and methodological complexities and challenges are apparent in disentangling contextual influences from other factors. The article proposes a research agenda for a context-orientated comparative analysis of PA innovation and offers a brief illustration regarding contextual differences between China and the European Union in existing studies. The article calls for further studies in this direction.