A dogma of our times—the separation of policy‐making and implementation

This article examines the doctrine that underlies the development of the new public management, that policy‐making should be separated from implementation. It shows that past research demonstrates the need for a critical appraisal of this doctrine and that the separation is based on a set of assumptions which do not apply to all services. The article analyses the problems that arise and suggests the need to treat separation as an approach that should be applied with caution.