National policy piloting as steering at a distance: The perspective of local implementers

• 成果类型: Article
• 署名作者: Ettelt, Stefanie; Williams, Lorraine; Mays, Nicholas
• 署名单位: University of London; London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine
• 刊物名称: GOVERNANCE-AN INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF POLICY ADMINISTRATION AND INSTITUTIONS
• ISSN/ISSBN: 0952-1895
• DOI: 10.1111/gove.12589
• 发表日期: 2022
• 关键词: government; governance; HEALTH; experimentation

摘要

This article contributes to the literature on tools of governance by examining the role of national policy pilots from the perspective of local implementers, using interviews with directors of adult social services in elected local government in England. Previous research in the same settings has shown that local actors often find the experience of participating in national policy pilots frustrating. This article attempts to explain why local authorities volunteer for such schemes. Drawing on the literature on the varieties of experimentalism and Anglo-Governmentality, the article explores the ambiguous role of piloting in multilevel governance and reflects on its implications for policy implementation and local service development. Findings suggest that participating in national pilots provides local authorities with access to ideas and resources, and with a mandate for change, which motivates them to voluntarily subjugate themselves to being steered at a distance as they align themselves with central government's policy goals.