Disaggregation, autonomy and re-regulation, contractualism

Investigating the ‘NPM-ness’ of agencies in Italy and Flanders

“…The same conclusion can be drawn for the Italian case, as our data suggest. This finding -the quasi-absence of agencies that have high levels of managerial autonomy, 360 Public Management Review low levels of policy autonomy and that are nearly exclusively controlled on resultssupports the findings by earlier empirical research that the 'NPM-like agency is rare in reality' (Pollitt et al 2004;Laegreid et al 2006;Fedele et al 2007). The question is then: how can we explain these differences in autonomy and control between agencies?…”

“…Moreover, the managerial approach that is manifest in the agencies corresponds surprisingly well with traditional bureaucratic-ministerial style in Italy. Other authors (Fedele et al 2007) argue that, since the beginning of the 1990s, the administrative paradigm has found challengers and it has become no more hegemonic, since it has been challenged by a rival, managerial paradigm. According to Fedele et al (2007) the 'modern' Italian agencies are varied, with a limited spread of the use of the tripod model and limitations to the existence of really 'contractual' relations between agencies and parent ministries.…”

“…Other authors (Fedele et al 2007) argue that, since the beginning of the 1990s, the administrative paradigm has found challengers and it has become no more hegemonic, since it has been challenged by a rival, managerial paradigm. According to Fedele et al (2007) the 'modern' Italian agencies are varied, with a limited spread of the use of the tripod model and limitations to the existence of really 'contractual' relations between agencies and parent ministries. Similarly, the large scale NPM-like reform of the Flemish public sector was not implemented before the beginning of the 2000s.…”

“…A recent multiple case study of agencies in four countries, for four policy domains 1 by Pollitt et al (2004; see also Pollitt 2005) shows that the level of performance management varies significantly, mainly due to task and national system characteristics, as well as due to ministerial steering capacity and the level of sophistication of performance measurement systems. An embedded multiple case study of Italian agencies by Fedele et al (2007) shows that the tripod model of structural disaggregation, managerial autonomy and result steering is rare in the Italian context. Statistical descriptive analyses on survey data about the level of managerial autonomy and control of agencies in Norway shows that many agencies have substantial degrees of autonomy, but also that there are 'significant variations in the degree of autonomy [between agencies] along different dimensions (managerial and policy autonomy)' (Laegreid et al 2006: 263).…”

Ten years after: The rise and fall of managerial autonomy in Pompeii

“…agencies and bodies with various degrees of autonomy over intermediate and operational levels -was one of the main innovations introduced in order to translate NPM ideas into practice (Christensen and Laegreid, 2006;Verhoest et al, 2004;Fedele et al, 2007;Hyndman et al, 2013). Within the cultural sector, scholars have studied the creation of independent trusts for managing museums (Roodhouse, 2000;Zan, 2006), the transfer of authority over cultural services from government agencies to non-profit organizations (Cavenago et al, 2002), the Critical Perspectives on Accounting xxx (2013) In September 1997, an ad hoc law (Law no.…”