How street‐level bureaucrats become policy entrepreneurs: The case of urban renewal

Abstract

Under what conditions will street‐level bureaucrats act as policy entrepreneurs? Drawing on the case of social workers working with disadvantaged populations in the context of urban renewal in Israel, we suggest a framework for addressing this question. The research contributes to the literature of public administration and policy both by analyzing the strategies these entrepreneurs adopt to increase their influence on policy design and by proposing that the combination of perceptions of an acute crisis situation, lack of effective knowledge in the area, and the demand for innovation and activism leads street‐level bureaucrats to adopt innovative strategies aimed at influencing policy.

The Role of Interorganizational Competition in Motivating Street-Level Bureaucrats to Adopt Policy Entrepreneurship Strategies: The Case of Israeli Rabbis in Government Hospitals

“…Our study contributes to more recent literature arguing that motivated street-level bureaucrats may seek to develop or adopt policy innovations using innovative ideas and strategies, making them street-level policy entrepreneurs (Arnold, 2015; Durose, 2007; Evans, 2010; Lavee & Cohen, 2019; Petchey et al, 2008). More specifically, we add to the existing literature by pointing out an additional element involved in promoting policy entrepreneurship.…”

“…Literature further stresses that within their given discretion, street-level bureaucrats may also influence the design of public policy by the leveraging of resources to secure favored policy outcomes, shaping policy through their daily choices (Lipsky, 1980/2010; Maynard-Moody & Musheno, 2003; Riccucci, 2005). Indeed, more recently, it has been argued that motivated street-level bureaucrats may seek to develop or adopt policy innovations while using innovative ideas and strategies as these bureaucrats became street-level policy entrepreneurs (Arnold, 2015; Durose, 2007; Evans, 2010; Lavee & Cohen, 2019; Petchey et al, 2008). As policy entrepreneurs, street-level bureaucrats are familiar with the field, hold close relationships with those who operate within it, identify social needs and windows of opportunity for action (Arnold, 2015), and may influence the public (Riccucci, 2005).…”

“…They are often referred to de facto policymakers in the sense that they informally construct or reconstruct their organizations’ policies, thereby directly influencing the lives of many people (Brodkin, 1990; Hill & Hupe, 2014). More recently, others have argued that motivated street-level bureaucrats may use their discretional latitude to seek to develop or adopt policy innovations using innovative ideas and strategies, turning them into street-level policy entrepreneurs (Arnold, 2015; Durose, 2007; Evans, 2010; Lavee & Cohen, 2019; Petchey et al, 2008), meaning that street-level entrepreneurship is consequential to the traditional street-level discretional latitude.…”

“…More specifically, we add to the existing literature by pointing out an additional element involved in promoting policy entrepreneurship. Thus far, the literature has recognized three situations in which street-level policy entrepreneurs are prompted to act: (a) when they sense an acute crisis for their clients, their organization, and their professional goals (Lavee & Cohen, 2019); (b) when they lack the professional and political knowledge required to influence policy effectively and fulfill their duties successfully (McDonald et al, 2008, see in Lavee & Cohen, 2019); and (c) when the organizational environment encourages them to become actively involved in introducing innovations (Jordan, 2014; see in Lavee & Cohen, 2019).…”

How policy entrepreneurship training affects policy entrepreneurship behavior among street-level bureaucrats – a randomized field experiment

“…Whereas previous work on street-level bureaucrats focused on their involvement in the policy implementation stage (Arnold, 2015), when a policy already exists, recent studies have provided examples of cases in which street-level bureaucrats not only shaped policy by deciding how to implement it, but also tried to change the formulation of the policy (Cohen, in press;Frisch-Aviram et al, 2018). They coined the phrase 'street-level policy entrepreneurship' to describe this phenomenon (Lavee & Cohen, 2019). The main challenge of street-level policy entrepreneurs is that they are ranked low in the organizational hierarchy, and thus, in most cases, they do not possess the formal authority or justification to engage in policy design.…”