Unit 4
Administrative Governance: The Challenge of Policy Implementation

Unit 4 aims to develop your understanding of a range of issues related to policy implementation. The unit analyzes a variety of alternative policy instruments and explores the challenge of defining and achieving success in policy implementation. But, throughout the unit, an underlying theme will be the deeply political character of policy implementation. Because implementation has consequences for, among other things, the character and success of public policy, the commentary will stress the ways in which policy implementation is closely related to (and, conceptually, may overlap with) policy formation. Given the relationship between the political function of policy formation and the administrative role of policy implementation, it is not surprising that the readings selected for this unit come from textbooks designed for courses in both public administration and public policy. One of the three reading covers each of the three issues discussed in the commentary below: (1) the challenges of policy implementation, (2) the character of competing policy instruments, and (3) the nature of what has come to be known as alternative service delivery (ASD).

Learning Objectives

When you have completed Unit 4, you should be able to achieve the following learning objectives:

1. Contrast the various policy instruments that are available for policy implementation
2. Discuss the factors shaping the possibility of successful policy implementation
3. Explain and discuss the core ideas underpinning the current enthusiasm for ASD
4. List and comment on the service delivery mechanisms associated with ASD