Straddling multiple streams: focusing events, policy entrepreneurs and problem brokers in the governance of English fire and rescue services

ABSTRACT

Empirical studies that use the multiple streams approach often examine cases of reactive policymaking in response to “focusing events”, rather than proactive policymakers who seek to broker or construct problems that their preferred solution might address. Drawing on publicly-available debates about reforms to fire and rescue services in seven areas of England, we show how individuals within small policy subsystems may construct problems to try and convince others to support their preferred policy solution. By straddling all three streams and acting as endogenous policy entrepreneurs, policymakers and problem brokers simultaneously, we highlight how these actors can exert substantial influence over policymaking processes – although consensus within the political stream about the existence of a genuine problem is still a key factor in facilitating change. These insights allow us to introduce a more obvious power dimension and greater predictive capacity into the multiple streams approach.

KEYWORDS:

• Multiple streams
• focusing events
• policy entrepreneurs
• problem brokers
• fire and rescue services
• police forces
• England

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s). Acknowledgements: We would like to thank Pete Murphy and Rob Ackrill at Nottingham Trent University for their advice on earlier drafts of this manuscript, as well as the two anonymous referees for their their comments and suggestions.

Correction Statement

This article has been republished with minor change. This change do not impact the academic content of the article.

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Peter Eckersley

Peter Eckersley is a Senior Research Fellow in Public Policy and Management at Nottingham Trent University, UK, and a Research Associate at the Leibniz Institute for Research on Society and Space in Erkner, Germany. He focuses on central-local government relations, public policy, climate change, public services, sustainability and public accountability.

Katarzyna Lakoma

Katarzyna Lakoma is a Research Associate in the Centre for Economics, Policy and Public Management at Nottingham Trent University She has been undertaking a PhD in the area of public management since January 2018, examining the impact of governance changes on accountability in the context of English Fire and Rescue Services.