Dr Anne Marie McGauran and Dr Jeanne Moore

NESF Policy Analysts

Measuring Implementation of

Irish Policies

Structure of Presentation

•Aim of Presentation

•About the NESF

•Focus on Policy Implementation

•Current Projects:

•Home Care Packages •Child Literacy

Launch of Mental Health and Social Inclusion Report November 2007

Aim of Presentation

• This seminar will outline the NESF’s new work focus on implementation of Irish public policy.

• We hope to discuss methodologies and issues which will be important to consider in the NESF work as it develops.

• This is in the context of the NESF’s new work mandate to focus on policy implementation, to gain better information on the factors which lead to successful delivery of policies, so that quality outcomes can be gained from them.

Role of the NESF

Membership

The NESDO Family

Policy Implementation

• Why the interest in Irish policy implementation?

• Many strategies and policies have been introduced in Ireland in recent decades, but implementation can be piecemeal and incremental.

Lots of strategy, not so much implementation...

History• 1970s – discovery of the ‘black box’ – i.e. what

is happening in the ‘black box’ between policy design and policy delivery? (Quinn Patton, 1978)

• It is crucial to delve into this black box, to find out why policy implementation is not achieving the results hoped for; or if it is, then how.

• Studies have led to various theories on what issues affect policy implementation.

Top Down and Bottom Up

• ‘Top-down’ theories highlight factors which could lead to successful implementation such as– clear objectives, – clear lines of authority, – good communication between various groups, and – sufficient resources.

• But... there is also negotiation between those directing policy and those implementing it. This led to the development of several ‘bottom-up’ theories. These focus on:– organisational conflict, and – Bargaining.

Hybrid

• ‘Hybrid’ theories– combine elements of both the top-down and

bottom-up theories;– stress that implementation is constrained by the

world outside policy making; as well as – the institutional context in which implementers

act (so organisational culture and practices very important).

– This leads to an evolution of policy during the implementation phase.

Current work in Ireland

• Dept of Taoiseach has commissioned a range of studies looking at implementation:– OECD review of the Irish Public Service,– ORP (Organisational Review Process),– NESF work.

OECD review - key issues for implementation

– Management• project management, • co-ordination and networking, • leadership.

– Accountability• accountability systems, incentives, sanctions,• performance measures.

– Resources• budgeting (allocation & prioritisation),• staffing (including management, capacity and training).

– Engagement• engagement of different groups in delivery,• Communication.

– Innovation and best practice– Politics and politicians

Organisational Review Process

• Looking at the capacity of three government departments to deliver their goals. Considering issues such as strategy & management.

• Due to publish the reviews this Autumn.

• Both this and the OECD review could be considered more ‘top-down’ in approach.

• Now, before moving onto the NESF work...

How would you measureimplementation?

• We need you!

• Take 5 minutes to

tell us what you think

NESF Projects on implementation

• Two new NESF projects on implementation:

– Home Care Support Scheme (also known as Home Care Packages),

– Child Literacy and Social Inclusion.

• We aim to consider both ‘top-down’ and ‘bottom-up’ issues, using work by Dr Maureen Gaffney on organisational culture.

Home Care Packages

• This project examines the Home Care Support Scheme as a case-study of policy implementation, from the perspective of an outcomes (or performance) oriented approach to policy formulation and delivery.

• It will:– Identify the characteristics of an ideal outcomes/performance oriented

approach;– Compare the development and formulation of the Home Care Support

Scheme to this ideal; and– Examine on-the-ground delivery of the Scheme to see the degree of

policy implementation that occurred, regional and local variations in this, and factors that might explain this.

• This focus on performance could be considered a ‘top-down’ approach to implementation.

A performance approach=?

Performance/outcomes approach to implementation

• Performance management is ‘‘a management cycle under which programme performance objectives and targets are determined, managers have flexibility to achieve them, actual performance is measured and reported, and this information feeds into decisions about programme funding, design, operations and rewards or penalties” (Curristine, 2005:131). Involving:– Good strategy planning

– Linking performance to budgets

– Measuring and evaluating performance

– Good accountability and incentive systems

– Co-ordination with existing policies & practices

• Taking this ‘ideal’ template of performance management, we will compare it to how the home care package scheme has been planned, budgeted for, measured, held to account and co-ordinated

Why Child Literacy and Social Inclusion?

• A goal of the review of the National Poverty Strategy in 2001 was to ‘halve the proportion of pupils presenting with serious reading difficulties in schools designated as disadvantaged by 2006’ (Kennedy, 2007: 202).

• This target has not been met but has been is set out again in the National Action Plan for Social Inclusion 2007-2016 to reduce the proportion of pupils with serious literacy difficulties in primary schools serving disadvantaged communities from the current 27%-30% to less than 15% by 2016.

• Twenty years of literacy policies and initiatives and there is little improvement.

• So it is not for the want of policy initiatives....

Child Literacy and Social Inclusion

• The overall objective of the project is to examine- both from the bottom up and the top down- the process of implementation of policies that seek to address child literacy and social inclusion.

• The aim is to identify best practice in the implementation of child literacy and social inclusion policies, as outlined in Delivering Equality of Opportunity in Schools (DEIS) and elsewhere; as well as identify challenges to effective implementation in and outside of schools, particularly in the home and the local community.

Child Literacy and Social Inclusion

•To examine policy design, implementation and the context and process of delivery. Focusing, in part, on the ‘softer’ aspects of implementation, the ‘non-rational’ aspects, to do with organisational culture (Gaffney’s paper). •Frames of organisational culture:

Observable artefacts; espoused valued and shared tacit assumptions. •Coping with Change:

–Creating the motivation to change–Learning new concepts and new meanings for old concepts–Internalising new concepts and meanings.

•How? Five case studies of schools and community projects.

Delivery, Context and Process of Implementation:

• How is the policy being ‘translated’ as it works its way down to the ground? Is it being implemented in the same way across schools?

• How is the policy perceived by stakeholders? Is there agreement as to the problem? Is there even agreement as to what the problem is?

• How is implementation success and failure rewarded and sanctioned?

• What is the organisational culture in schools and how does it shape policy delivery?

• What are the shared tacit assumptions - about people and their motivations, about the management process, about the school, the Department, about how the work gets done, about how success is achieved, about the culture itself?

Just beginning...

• We do not have all the answers!

• We hope we are:– Throwing a spotlight on the process and

context of implementation– Building methodological skills and knowledge– Identifying the factors that contribute to more

effective policy delivery with quality outcomes

Benefits and Drawbacks

1. From what you have heard, what do you think of our approach? What are the benefits and drawbacks?

2. What other methods and approaches should we consider?

Contact Details

• Thank you for your attention!

• For further information, please contact:

• Dr Jeanne Moore, Dr Anne-Marie McGauran• NESF Secretariat• www.nesf.ie• info@nesf.ie • 01 814 6361