Policy implementation in the era of accelerating projectification: Synthesizing Matland’s conflict–ambiguity model and research on temporary organizations

Abstract

It has become increasingly common to use the project as a form of organization when implementing public policies. Previous research has identified political, administrative and organizational motives behind this trend towards more project-based organizations within the public administration. The problem is that project-based organization carries inherent problems and special challenges when these projects are supposed to be implemented in permanent agencies and organizations. The purpose of this paper is to identify problems and challenges that public administrations face when ‘the project organization’ is used as a structural form of organization in implementing different kinds of public policies. The article takes its starting point in the policy implementation research and especially in Matland’s conflict-ambiguity model. This research tradition is complemented by a review of research on temporary organizations, which draws attention to some inherent and significant characteristics of project organizations, that is the concepts of entity, relationship and time. Our analysis shows that the use of project organization puts special demands on the players involved, and if these are not taken into account, there is a high risk that projects designed to bring about social change will not produce the effects that policymakers and citizens expect.

Complex Interventions and Interorganisational Relationships: Examining Core Implementation Components of Assertive Community Treatment

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Tailored workplace education for immigrants in Rural Sweden: working with resources and deficits

“…They rely on ESF funding to cover salaries of project members in all five municipalities, and project leaders at regional level. While this follows a growing trend of the so-called projectification of the public sector (Fred 2018;Jensen, Johansson, and Löfström 2018) in both rural and urban areas, it may affect rural areas most strongly since they are economically more vulnerable due to their small populations and correspondingly small tax bases. For these municipalities, financial support from external sources enables some kinds of integration efforts.…”

Project Governance in an Embedded State

“…However, the practices and mechanisms for interaction between project organisations and permanent structures are thus essential not only for the effectiveness but also for the democratic qualities of public policy-making. Although previous research suggests that many projects fail to create value and support learning beyond their own context (e.g., Godenhjelm, 2016;Jensen, Johansson, & Löfström, 2017;, we have limited knowledge of the interactions between projects and permanent organisations and the extent to which they actually facilitate problem-solving and long-term policy development. Particularly the significance of government institutions and agencies in these embedded processes is a rather neglected issue in both contemporary project management literature and in the extensive governance debate.…”