Australian Journal of Public Administration最新文献

This research analyses the influence of religion—as an institutional logic—on the work of frontline workers (FLWs) in hybrid public policy implementation contexts. We conducted semi-structured interviews and used vignettes with 37 therapeutic communities (TCs) in the state of São Paulo, Brazil, which provide care for individuals with problematic drug use. Through our analysis, we discovered variations in how FLWs from faith-based and secular organisations categorise their clients and provide them with alternative services. These differences were evident in their perceptions of problematic drug use, desired outcomes for clients, and the methods they utilise to achieve these goals. In practice, faith-based TCs prioritise behavioural categories and emphasise support from family and work as treatment alternatives, whereas secular TCs employ professional language and offer alternatives based on psychological and medical support. This study enhances the understanding of religion as an institutional logic and underscores the significance of analysing institutional logics to comprehend the actions of FLWs in cases of hybridity, particularly the role of faith-based organisations in service delivery.

Points for practitioners

The ‘policy–implementation’ framework emerged in the 1970s to provide an academic and professional description of decisions and actions in public affairs, compatible with more open democracies with broader and more social agendas. It saw policies as designed and approved by governments with public services responsible for their implementation. This hierarchical simplicity was later softened by the introduction of the street-level agenda and discussions of governance, but, in the administrative imaginary, policy and implementation continue to flow outwards and downwards. Whilst this may remain a plausible description of some public service settings, there are a growing number of others in which the everyday experience is radically different. Amongst these are services that require cross-sector actions in complex and vulnerable settings and where policy is neither implemented nor translated but fragmented and rebuilt on a case-by-case basis. Is it sufficient to treat such cases as outliers, or is it time to rethink the curve? Could a public action framework provide a better option? The empirical focus of the article is on the policy–implementation framework for probation services for young people in São Paulo, Brazil, but similar challenges can be found in other areas in developing and developed countries.

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The strategic state was conceptualised 30 years ago in response to neoliberal reforms of government and the rise of New Public Management that began in Western democracies in the 1980s. The concept was widely used by the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development in assessing the performance of governments through the 2000s. This research note describes how the concept has evolved, lessons learned from the application of the concept over the last 20 years, and some new developments that affirm the continuing relevance of the concept but also make its practical application more challenging.

Points for practitioners

Behavioural insights and the use of nudge have attracted a lot of interest among governments across the globe since the introduction of the UK's Behavioural Insights Unit in 2010. One of the key challenges since these early days has been the concern that behavioural policy design, in particular the use of nudges, could be misused to manipulate citizens. When the Robodebt Royal Commission released its report in 2023, these concerns were renewed in Australia. It revealed that the Department of Human Services had used behavioural insights to inform the design of letters informing citizens of a debt in such a way as to minimise the impact on call centres while shifting that impact onto citizens. Did this use finally reveal what many had feared? Could government not be trusted with behavioural insights? This article will first explore the ethical concerns that have surrounded the implementation of nudges and behavioural policy. Following this, the paper will go beyond the debate over the ethics of implementing behavioural policies and argue instead that a focus on the theoretical opportunities and risks of nudge and behavioural policy fails to capture the significant risks inherent in implementation. When all proposed protections—the use of ethical frameworks, publication and testing, and in-depth research—remain optional in practice, a commitment to ‘ideology-free’ evidence can obscure more than it enlightens. The paper concludes by pointing to critical steps the Australian public sector can take to ensure future accountability and transparency for policy design, for nudges but also beyond.

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Market mechanisms have emerged as a dominant approach in the provision of public welfare services, most notably in sectors such as disability care, aged care, and health care. While this shift promises potential benefits such as improved efficiency, enhanced service quality, and increased consumer support, it also presents significant challenges around equity, access, and the potential for market failure in the absence of effective regulation and governance. Stewardship of quasi-markets from the national to the local level is essential for the success of such programs, and the effectiveness of that stewardship relies in part on good-quality data for decision-making. This research note provides a critical examination of the National Disability Insurance Scheme's (NDIS) data management in Australia and its implications for local market stewardship. This analysis highlights the considerable barriers local market stewards encounter in using NDIS market data for stewardship activities due to the pervasive issues of incomplete datasets and a lack of granular, comprehensive data. These obstacles constrain effective local decision-making, obscure market predictability, and may hinder service improvement initiatives at the grassroots level. The study acknowledges ongoing improvements in NDIS data management while emphasising the need for rapid progress to ensure meaningful choice and control for all NDIS participants.

Points for practitioners

Equity is a core social value that is widely debated in its conceptualisation and inclusion into policymaking and service delivery. Policymakers and street-level actors often disagree about or have limited interest in defining (in)equity, leading to a lack of consensus about how to make measurable and long-lasting impact for populations and communities experiencing disadvantage. Within this context, this paper draws on governance concepts such as hierarchy, market dimensions, and network dimensions to analyse key insights from in-depth stakeholder interviews (N = 25) with government and non-government actors in Queensland, Australia. The paper (1) examines the extent barriers to equity are created, reinforced, or reduced by centralised and street-level public governance approaches and (2) determines what (and where) the opportunities are to address these barriers and build a systemic approach to achieve equity. The paper highlights important tensions for actors tackling issues of inequity, including centralised or distant policymakers and government and non-government street-level practitioners operating within disjointed systems for policy, delivery, and funding. Notwithstanding the increasingly prevalent ‘partnership’ narrative, the foundations remain anchored in policy and management practices that have been built on longstanding neo-liberal market mechanisms or the ‘contract state’. A more integrated and adaptive approach that aligns high-level policymaking with street-level practitioners and local communities should be an important pillar in navigating these competing priorities and challenges.

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What is the prevalence of authoritarianism among public servants in the United States, and what are its resulting consequences? Several underlying psychological traits are associated with both authoritarianism and a desire to work in the public sector, such as an aversion to ambiguity and a preference for order and security. Scholarship also suggests that those with high authoritarian attributes may see the world through an ‘us versus them’ prism; in this case, the ‘them’ may be represented by other countries. Therefore, it is hypothesised that those with higher authoritarian attributes are more likely to work in the public sector and that public servants with higher authoritarian attributes are more likely to be sensitive to potential threats to the country. Using six surveys that cover a 20-year period from the American National Elections Study, both hypotheses are supported. Authoritarian attributes  are associated with an increased likelihood of government employment. Additionally, authoritarian public servants tend to support government wiretapping and express greater concern about terrorism. The presence of authoritarianism among public sector employees has implications for a range of governance issues, which makes it important to understand where and to what degree it is prevalent.

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This paper examines 201 leadership development programmes run by government agencies in the United States. It focuses on in-service training provided to civil servants at the federal and state levels. The aim of this paper involves identifying and discussing the main curriculum themes that underpin those training programmes. Based on the analysis and interpretation of these programmes, it proposes directions for future public administration research.

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The rapid expansion of volunteerism, especially during COVID-19, requires efficient organisation of citizen volunteers, thus leading professionals to utilise information and communication technology (ICT) as an enabling tool for interaction and coordination. This study focuses on professionals’ perspectives at the local level regarding governmental steps towards digitalisation and its application in volunteer co-production. The policy implementation approach was used through in-depth interviews with 19 local coordinators in Israel during the COVID-19 crisis. This study found that, while central government invested efforts in training, guidance, and ICT support for professionals, the implementation of digital technologies was not successful at the local level. This highlights the need for digital platforms for volunteer coordination to be be tailored to specific cultural characteristics and local contexts. Neglected but important factors in ICT implementation were identified, including intra-organisational dynamics, the local community, and authority. By addressing these contextual factors and adopting a more inclusive and context-sensitive approach, digital platforms can better support local volunteer coordination efforts.

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This paper explores the utility of hybrid governance as an analytical lens for understanding policy design and delivery in Australian schooling reform. Using the National Assessment Program in Literacy and Numeracy (NAPLAN) as a case study, we argue that its design and delivery processes exemplify hybridity in myriad dimensions. In a federal system in which national schooling reform relies upon negotiation and consensus building amongst a multiplicity of government and non-government stakeholders, we argue that NAPLAN's hybridity serves as a governmental technique for managing and sustaining collaborative governance arrangements. Hybridity also supports the standardised implementation of the assessment across diverse schooling systems and sectors. While NAPLAN's hybridity generates strategic benefits for Australian governments, it also produces risks. A challenge for policymakers is to harness its benefits while ensuring transparent decision-making and clear responsibilities and accountabilities. To address risks and leverage opportunities, we argue there are benefits to having a convening agency with authority to manage and sustain hybrid networks at the national scale.

Points for practitioners