Policy translation through localisation : implementing national policy in the UK

Abstract

This paper builds on policy implementation studies, which seek to explain how policies undergo some form of ‘translation’ from general policy guidelines to implementation in practice at the local level. The paper makes two contributions to the policy implementation literature. First, it draws on the concept of ‘local universality’ to suggest that the translation of policy by central actors is not simply transmitted but is iteratively transformed through multiple distributed agencies including local actors, infrastructure, data sets and organisational practices. Second, empirical findings show how structural policy design features influence implementation and (re)shape policy content by incorporating knowledge from practice.