IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/wly/jpamgt/v9y1990i2p219-248.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Innovation in public sector human services programs: The implications of innovation by “groping along”

Author

Listed:
  • Olivia Golden

    (Lecturer in Public Policy at the John F. Kennedy School of Government, Harvard University)

Abstract

This paper examines innovation in seventeen human services programs cited by the 1986 Ford Foundation Awards Program for Innovations in State and Local Government. The sample is particularly useful for distinguishing between two models for successful innovation: a policy planning model and Behn's model of “groping along.” The cases suggest that the “groping along” model best fits the way that innovation came about in these programs. Innovative ideas typically developed through practice; programs began operating very quickly; and programs, once operating, were repeatedly modified in response to operational experience. Translating the groping-along model into specific prescriptions for managers requires us to reconsider the role of analysis. The case examples suggest that analysis may be most valuable in helping managers learn from experience.

Suggested Citation

  • Olivia Golden, 1990. "Innovation in public sector human services programs: The implications of innovation by “groping along”," Journal of Policy Analysis and Management, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 9(2), pages 219-248.
    • Handle: RePEc:wly:jpamgt:v:9:y:1990:i:2:p:219-248
    DOI: 10.2307/3325413
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://hdl.handle.net/10.2307/3325413
    File Function: Link to full text; subscription required
    Download Restriction: no
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.2307/3325413?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Robert T. Nakamura, 1987. "The Textbook Policy Process And Implementation Research," Review of Policy Research, Policy Studies Organization, vol. 7(1), pages 142-154, September.
    2. Sabatier, Paul A., 1986. "Top-Down and Bottom-Up Approaches to Implementation Research: a Critical Analysis and Suggested Synthesis," Journal of Public Policy, Cambridge University Press, vol. 6(1), pages 21-48, January.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Citations

    Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.
    as


    Cited by:

    1. Sandford Borins, 2000. "What border? Public management innovation in the United States and Canada," Journal of Policy Analysis and Management, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 19(1), pages 46-74.
    2. Janet A. Weiss, 1994. "Comment: Public management research-the interdependence of problems and theory," Journal of Policy Analysis and Management, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 13(2), pages 278-285.
    3. Benoy Jacob & Eric Welch & Terence Simms, 2009. "Emergent Management Strategies in a Public Agency: A Case Study of Alternative Fuel Vehicles," Public Organization Review, Springer, vol. 9(3), pages 213-234, September.
    4. Kelman, Steven J. & Myers, Jeff, 2009. "Successfully Executing Ambitious Strategies in Government: An Empirical Analysis," Scholarly Articles 4481609, Harvard Kennedy School of Government.
    5. Charbel EL AMMAR & Constantin Marius PROFIROIU, 2020. "Innovation In Public Administration Reform: A Strategic Reform Through Npm, Ict, And E-Governance. A Comparative Analysis Between Lebanon And Romania," REVISTA ADMINISTRATIE SI MANAGEMENT PUBLIC, Faculty of Administration and Public Management, Academy of Economic Studies, Bucharest, Romania, vol. 2020(35), pages 75-89, December.

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Natasja Reslow, 2015. "EU “Mobility” Partnerships: An Initial Assessment of Implementation Dynamics," Politics and Governance, Cogitatio Press, vol. 3(2), pages 117-128.
    2. Wolniewicz-Slomka, Klaudia, 2022. "Projektowanie i implementacja polityki publicznej - przegląd podejść teoretycznych," Studia z Polityki Publicznej / Public Policy Studies, Warsaw School of Economics, vol. 9(3), pages 1-24, November.
    3. Lars Carlsson, 1996. "Nonhierarchical Implementation Analysis," Journal of Theoretical Politics, , vol. 8(4), pages 527-546, October.
    4. Sahide, Muhammad Alif K. & Fisher, Micah R. & Erbaugh, J.T. & Intarini, Dian & Dharmiasih, Wiwik & Makmur, Muliadi & Faturachmat, Fatwa & Verheijen, Bart & Maryudi, Ahmad, 2020. "The boom of social forestry policy and the bust of social forests in Indonesia: Developing and applying an access-exclusion framework to assess policy outcomes," Forest Policy and Economics, Elsevier, vol. 120(C).
    5. Ogada, Maurice Juma, 2012. "Forest Management Decentralization in Kenya: Effects on Household Farm Forestry Decisions in Kakamega," 2012 Conference, August 18-24, 2012, Foz do Iguacu, Brazil 126319, International Association of Agricultural Economists.
    6. Wang, Hsiao-Fan & Sung, Meng-Ping & Hsu, Hsin-Wei, 2016. "Complementarity and substitution of renewable energy in target year energy supply-mix plannin–in the case of Taiwan," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 90(C), pages 172-182.
    7. E R Alexander & A Faludi, 1989. "Planning and Plan Implementation: Notes on Evaluation Criteria," Environment and Planning B, , vol. 16(2), pages 127-140, June.
    8. Yi, Fangxin & Deng, Dong & Zhang, Yanjiang, 2020. "Collaboration of top-down and bottom-up approaches in the post-disaster housing reconstruction: Evaluating the cases in Yushu Qinghai-Tibet Plateau of China from resilience perspective," Land Use Policy, Elsevier, vol. 99(C).
    9. Sovacool, Benjamin K. & Van de Graaf, Thijs, 2018. "Building or stumbling blocks? Assessing the performance of polycentric energy and climate governance networks," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 118(C), pages 317-324.
    10. Landry Signé, 2017. "Public service delivery – What matters for successful implementation and what can policy leaders do?," Research papers & Policy papers 1705, Policy Center for the New South.
    11. Mæhle, Per Magnus & Smeland, Sigbjørn, 2021. "Implementing cancer patient pathways in Scandinavia how structuring might affect the acceptance of a politically imposed reform," Health Policy, Elsevier, vol. 125(10), pages 1340-1350.
    12. Alvaro Pina Stranger & German Varas & Gaëlle Mobuchon, 2023. "Managing Inter-University Digital Collaboration from a Bottom-Up Approach: Lessons from Organizational, Pedagogical, and Technological Dimensions," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 15(18), pages 1-20, September.
    13. Carolus, Johannes Friedrich & Hanley, Nick & Olsen, Søren Bøye & Pedersen, Søren Marcus, 2018. "A Bottom-up Approach to Environmental Cost-Benefit Analysis," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 152(C), pages 282-295.
    14. Mathilde Collinet-Ourthe & David Carassus & Pierre Marin, 2017. "Vers un nouveau pilotage des politiques sociales," Post-Print hal-02142217, HAL.
    15. Mladen Djuric & Marina Dobrota & Jovan Filipovic, 2020. "Complexity-based quality indicators for human and social capital in science and research: the case of Serbian Homeland versus Diaspora," Scientometrics, Springer;Akadémiai Kiadó, vol. 124(1), pages 303-328, July.
    16. Kieslich, Marcus & Salles, Jean-Michel, 2021. "Implementation context and science-policy interfaces: Implications for the economic valuation of ecosystem services," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 179(C).
    17. Hildebrand Sean, 2015. "Coerced Confusion? Local Emergency Policy Implementation After September 11," Journal of Homeland Security and Emergency Management, De Gruyter, vol. 12(2), pages 273-298, June.
    18. Gakou-Kakeu, Josiane & Di Gregorio, Monica & Paavola, Jouni & Sonwa, Denis Jean, 2022. "REDD+ policy implementation and institutional interplay: Evidence from three pilot projects in Cameroon," Forest Policy and Economics, Elsevier, vol. 135(C).
    19. Alvaro Pina Stranger & Germán Varas & Gaelle Mobuchon, 2023. "An Introduction to the Special Issue on Digital and Collaborative Higher Education: The Case of the Erasmus+ OpenU Project," Post-Print hal-04116966, HAL.
    20. Susan Thomas* & Amreeta Dhanoa & Uma D. Palanisamy, 2012. "Shaping the Future of Medicine: The Effect of ‘Selective’ Choices on Tomorrow’s Doctors," Institutions and Economies (formerly known as International Journal of Institutions and Economies), Faculty of Economics and Administration, University of Malaya, vol. 4(2), pages 151-164, July.

    More about this item

    Statistics

    Access and download statistics

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:wly:jpamgt:v:9:y:1990:i:2:p:219-248. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Wiley Content Delivery (email available below). General contact details of provider: http://www3.interscience.wiley.com/journal/34787/home .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.