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Policy coordination and integration in local government : perspectives on barriers

(2023) POLICY AND POLITICS. 51(3). p.530-549
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Abstract
The topic of policy integration has become an important component of several distinct lines of policy research. However, the concept of policy integration is notoriously difficult to specify and observe. This article provides valuable insights that explore the subjectivity of responses by political and administrative officials at the local level charged with policy integration. In response to its central question: 'How do local politicians and civil servants perceive politico-administrative barriers facing policy coordination and integration?' the study reveals political and managerial perceptions of key politicians and civil servants in local governments about the barriers to achieving policy integration. By contrast with other studies involving politico-administrative relations, it draws on a broader institutional context, inclusive of the complex and dynamic environment and local level environment. Its findings show that significant barriers to coordination and integration continue to limit the policy coordination and integration needed to address complex societal challenges. Using Q methodology, three perspectives emerge which provide crucial insights into the main barriers preventing integration. These findings adeptly depict the complex relationship between vertical, hierarchical relationships between politicians and bureaucrats, and the requirement for a more horizontal, consensual relationship in order to meet crosscutting societal challenges. In this way, the article offers a significant contribution to the scholarship on policy integration.
Keywords
Management, Monitoring, Policy and Law, Public Administration, Sociology and Political Science, policy integration, policy coordination, politico-administrative, relations, barriers, Q methodology, local government, POLITICS, ADMINISTRATORS, LEADERSHIP, DICHOTOMY, REGIMES

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MLA
De Wulf, Nicolai, et al. “Policy Coordination and Integration in Local Government : Perspectives on Barriers.” POLICY AND POLITICS, vol. 51, no. 3, 2023, pp. 530–49, doi:10.1332/030557321x16844319692777.
APA
De Wulf, N., Voets, J., & Molenveld, A. (2023). Policy coordination and integration in local government : perspectives on barriers. POLICY AND POLITICS, 51(3), 530–549. https://doi.org/10.1332/030557321x16844319692777
Chicago author-date
De Wulf, Nicolai, Joris Voets, and Astrid Molenveld. 2023. “Policy Coordination and Integration in Local Government : Perspectives on Barriers.” POLICY AND POLITICS 51 (3): 530–49. https://doi.org/10.1332/030557321x16844319692777.
Chicago author-date (all authors)
De Wulf, Nicolai, Joris Voets, and Astrid Molenveld. 2023. “Policy Coordination and Integration in Local Government : Perspectives on Barriers.” POLICY AND POLITICS 51 (3): 530–549. doi:10.1332/030557321x16844319692777.
Vancouver
1.
De Wulf N, Voets J, Molenveld A. Policy coordination and integration in local government : perspectives on barriers. POLICY AND POLITICS. 2023;51(3):530–49.
IEEE
[1]
N. De Wulf, J. Voets, and A. Molenveld, “Policy coordination and integration in local government : perspectives on barriers,” POLICY AND POLITICS, vol. 51, no. 3, pp. 530–549, 2023.
@article{01H3YNPA3F54ZXZG0KV5KVTE7V,
  abstract     = {{The topic of policy integration has become an important component of several distinct lines of policy research. However, the concept of policy integration is notoriously difficult to specify and observe. This article provides valuable insights that explore the subjectivity of responses by political and administrative officials at the local level charged with policy integration. In response to its central question: 'How do local politicians and civil servants perceive politico-administrative barriers facing policy coordination and integration?' the study reveals political and managerial perceptions of key politicians and civil servants in local governments about the barriers to achieving policy integration. By contrast with other studies involving politico-administrative relations, it draws on a broader institutional context, inclusive of the complex and dynamic environment and local level environment. Its findings show that significant barriers to coordination and integration continue to limit the policy coordination and integration needed to address complex societal challenges. Using Q methodology, three perspectives emerge which provide crucial insights into the main barriers preventing integration. These findings adeptly depict the complex relationship between vertical, hierarchical relationships between politicians and bureaucrats, and the requirement for a more horizontal, consensual relationship in order to meet crosscutting societal challenges. In this way, the article offers a significant contribution to the scholarship on policy integration.}},
  author       = {{De Wulf, Nicolai and Voets, Joris and Molenveld, Astrid}},
  issn         = {{0305-5736}},
  journal      = {{POLICY AND POLITICS}},
  keywords     = {{Management, Monitoring, Policy and Law,Public Administration,Sociology and Political Science,policy integration,policy coordination,politico-administrative,relations,barriers,Q methodology,local government,POLITICS,ADMINISTRATORS,LEADERSHIP,DICHOTOMY,REGIMES}},
  language     = {{eng}},
  number       = {{3}},
  pages        = {{530--549}},
  title        = {{Policy coordination and integration in local government : perspectives on barriers}},
  url          = {{http://doi.org/10.1332/030557321x16844319692777}},
  volume       = {{51}},
  year         = {{2023}},
}

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