Can Administrative Capacity Address Wicked Problems? Evidence From the Frontlines of the American Opioid Crisis

Abstract

What is the link between administrative capacity and wicked problems? Previous literature links capacity to standardized performance outputs, but little is known on the link between capacity and highly complex policy settings. This study examines health outcomes of the opioid crisis—a wicked problem with interdependencies across different drugs with multiple legal and illegal pathways for abuse and dependence. If capacity matters for wicked problems, administrative action should decompose the larger wicked problem into smaller, more achievable solutions. The findings suggest that administrative capacity may allow public organizations to simultaneously manage drug outcomes across the legal and illegal market.

Working Within a System of Administrative Burden: How Street-Level Bureaucrats’ Role Perceptions Shape Access to the Promise of Higher Education

“…Finally, we predict that administrative capacity will moderate the relationship between role perception and program access (McCrea, 2020). This expectation is grounded in previous studies that have found that "bureaucrats are constrained in what their agency considers efficient and what the program rules require .…”

Results‐based management of wicked problems? Indicators and comparative evidence from Latin America

“…It also reflects the vast literature on traditional management challenges in the Latin American context, which highlights problems of corruption and a lack of transparency across policy fields (de Viteri Vázquez & Bjørnskov, 2020; López & Moreno, 2010; Rotberg, 2019; Schwartz, 2021). Moreover, the results of this demonstration case may suggest extending wicked problem scholars' focus on collaborative governance approaches (Duit & Galaz, 2008; Head, 2019) to rigorous analysis of policy capacity in addressing wicked environmental problems (McCrea, 2020; Wu et al, 2018).…”

Public Value Is Unknowable; Public Authority Makes Every Government Decision a Wicked Problem

“…Step 1, description, may be frustrated by social complexity (Conklin, 2005), diversity (Head, 2008), or inflexible analysts who impose preconceived frameworks (Coyne, 2005). Step 2, prediction, may be thwarted by ambiguity and interdependency (Termeer et al, 2015) and interconnectivity (McCrea, 2020). Step 3, evaluation, is prevented by the lack of any consensus about the social good (Pesch & Vermaas, 2020; Rittel & Webber, 1973).…”