Drivers of reform implementation in local government: a qualitative comparative analysis

ABSTRACT

By identifying a configuration of factors that impact the degree of reform implementation, this article offers a more accurate view of a local government’s implementation capacity than earlier studies. Fuzzy-set qualitative comparative analysis in 11 local governments was used to test how organizational factors jointly produced the right context for reform implementation. The results indicate that reform implementation capacity is largely dependent on the following organizational factors: municipal scale, politico–administrative relations and the presence of sufficient properly qualified employees.

IMPACT

This article demonstrates that, in order to implement reform in local government, several conditions are required. The combination of a large municipal scale, constructive politico–administrative relations and a sufficient number of qualified employees will considerably increase the chances of success. The article explains why local policy-makers and public managers need to adopt a holistic approach. They are wasting their time if they improve only one factor related to reform implementation. Policy-makers at the central level need to be aware that they either need to tune their reform ambitions to the extent these factors are sufficiently present locally, or they also need to include a strategy to target these factors explicitly to increase the chances for successful reform.

KEYWORDS:

• Belgium
• Flanders
• implementation
• local government
• municipality
• reform
• reform implementation capacity

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Additional information

Funding

This research was supported by funding from the ‘Policy Research Centre Governance Innovation’ (‘Steunpunt Bestuurlijke Vernieuwing’).