Decentring Policy Networks: A Theoretical Agenda

Abstract

This introduction starts by specifying the theoretical and analytical framework underpinning the range of essays in this special issue. It then provides an overview of the existing literature on policy networks and network governance in order to identify what a decentred approach might contribute. What follows is an account of decentred theory, a discussion of the potential alternatives it can offer to existing accounts and how these might be achieved through reconstructing networks by appealing to notions of situated agency and tradition; it concludes by considering the potential methodologies to be employed, with particular emphasis on ethnography. INTRODUCTIONPolicy networks consist of governmental and societal actors whose interactions with one another give rise to policies. They are actors linked through informal practices as well as (or even instead of) formal institutions. Typically, they operate through interdependent relationships, with a view to trying to secure their individual goals by collaborating with each other. Policy networks have long been a topic of study in the social sciences. More recently, they have been central to the literature on governance, which is often described as rule by and through networks. The essays in this special issue explore both the use and limitations of a decentred theory of policy networks and network governance. To decentre is to focus on the social construction of a practice through the ability of individuals to create and act on meanings. It is to unpack a practice in terms of the disparate and contingent beliefs and actions of individuals. A decentred governance approach involves challenging the idea that inexorable, impersonal forces are driving a shift from hierarchies to networks. Instead, it suggests that networks are constructed differently by many actors against the background of diverse traditions.Adopting decentred theory, the contributors to this special issue attempt:

Living with the consequences of policy decisions: reactions to student lifestyles in the neighbourhood

“…The approach adopted in this study responds to Bevir's call for a 'bottom up' approach (e.g. Bevir & Richards, 2009) rooted in the experiences of those trying to make sense of the winds of change experienced on the ground. It has offered 'an analysis of change [ ] rooted in the beliefs and actions of situated agents' (Bevir and Richards, 2009, p. 11).…”

The role of actor associations in understanding the implementation of Lean thinking in healthcare

“…Whilst significant resources have been committed to these programmes and along with the introduction of change agents and information technology for the development of clinical pathways and support services, our understanding of their implementation is still limited (Savitz et al, 2000). Recent literature on the implementation of change programmes in the NHS highlights the importance of networks in effecting and affecting the outcomes of these programmes (Papadopoulos and Merali, 2008;) and calls for more theoretical and empirical work to examine the role of networks in this context (Bevir and Richards, 2009;Greenhalgh et al, 2004;Rhodes, 2007). This paper responds to that call by using Actor-Network Theory (ANT) as a lens for exploring the dynamics of network emergence that give rise to the outcomes of a process improvement intervention drawing on Lean thinking in the complex organisational setting of a UK NHS Trust.…”

Culture Change in a Professional Sports Team: Shaping Environmental Contexts and Regulating Power: A commentary

“…When individuals engage in sporting work, they also engage in a process of remaking the associated cultural practices at particular points in time and through access to particular forms of social suggestion. In contrast to the heavily top-down and exogenous processes of change outlined in many management domains [4], this cultural change does not occur through some faithful and mechanical reproduction of what is being suggested socially. Rather, it occurs through individuals' engagement with, construal of, and construction of those practices, albeit mediated by social and cultural norms.…”