CHANGE AND IMPLEMENTATION IN A SOCIAL SERVICES DEPARTMENT

Abstract

This work is an examination of contemporary public policy implementation. It seeks to isolate those features which need to be incorporated into implementation theory to assist in the analysis of the implementation of public policy The "new right" ideology requires that a particular organisational form be adopted by public implementing agencies. This form must reflect the need to introduce competition, the precepts of the "new managerialism" and to view the user of the public services as a "customer". These three elements will have a bearing on the process of the implementation. In particular, the need to regard the user of the services as a consumer implies that these users have an active part to play in the implementation process. The primary aim of the dissertation is to examine the nature and extent of the users involvement. A secondary aim seeks to develop and test a model of policy implementation which can incorporate the so called "top down" and "bottom up" perspectives of policy implementation. The model incorporates features which facilitate the analysis of contemporary policy implementation. These features include: the need to recognise the large amount of conflict and bargaining which is characteristic of multi - agency implementations, the dynamic and interactive nature of the process and the inclusion of the consumer as part of the process. The research uses the implementation of N.H.S. and Community Care Act (1990) in a shire county in order to examine these issues.