This article focuses on the design of frontline work in public agencies involved in the delivery of activation programmes and services. More specifically, it raises the following questions: should we think of activation work as an administrative function or as a form of professional service provision? And does the design of activation work matter in terms of the effectiveness of activation services? In answering these questions, the article provides a meta-analysis of two strands of literature. First, we analyse the available literature reporting on studies of activation frontline work and its organisation and management in public agencies responsible for delivering activation programmes. Secondly, we look at those studies of the effectiveness of activation that focus on the impact of characteristics of frontline work and its organisation and management on activation policy outcomes. We conclude that although the desirability of a professional design of activation work meets relatively wide support among scholars, the feasibility of this professionalisation project is highly contested. In addition, the debate on the nature of the activation profession has only just started. Finally, evaluation studies show that activation work characteristics do affect the outcomes of activation programmes. Against this background, we conclude that a more prominent place of activation work on the research agenda of social policy scholars is recommendable.

The introduction of market mechanisms is a crucial part of the new modes of governance emerging EU-wide in order to modernize the public sector. This article focuses on the introduction of marketization in the provision of activation services. The article draws on the Dutch experience, where activation services have been provided by private for-profit companies for several years now. In the first part, the emergence of new modes of governance is put in the context of welfare-state reforms aimed at making the welfare state more activating. Then, the marketization of activation services in the Netherlands is discussed as part of a wider institutional-reform process. Next, an assessment is made, based on several empirical sources, of the alleged advantages of the introduction of market mechanisms in the provision of social services. In the conclusion we argue that the effects of marketization strongly depend on the wider institutional and social-policy context in which it is embedded.

No abstract

This article explores the nature of innovative employer-oriented activation policies, which aim to influence employers' willingness to hire or possibly train and guide the unemployed. These policies may focus on responsibilities with regards to activation, which offer services to employers or provide incentives to influence employers' involvement. Employers may take up a role as client or as co-producer during policy implementation. Qualitative empirical data from two Dutch cities show that employers have diverse motives to become involved: to hire new workers, to lower costs or to enact social responsibility. Actual practice shows mixed results in terms of labour market participation and employer satisfaction. It appears that the active involvement of employers as co-producers increases their willingness to be more flexible concerning their demands and leads to greater satisfaction with outcomes. The consequences of this model for the governance of activation policy are discussed.

No abstract