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May 2009
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Resurrecting implementation studies
In both private and public spheres it is sometimes taken for granted that if the rules, regulations and policies are articulated then the goals of the project will be achieved. However, it is evident that in both the private as well as the public sector, projects are often delayed for reasons including the unclear or ambiguous articulation of the project itself, labour issues, or sometimes the even more mundane, the tardy delivery of material and supplies. This conference focused on the issues and challenges of “Implementation” in a number of sectors. The aim was to probe the case for the resurrection of implementation studies in the practice of Public Sector Management, to identify the problems that traditionally plagued the processes of implementation, to clarify their theoretical foundations and to propose some solutions for overcoming some the barriers and obstacles involved. Thirty persons represented different sectors and the challenges in implementation in these sectors were discussed over the two days. Speakers from a number of countries including Jamaica, Guyana, Barbados, Grenada and even the Cameroons, focused on the following areas: disability, tourism, leadership, poverty eradication, public sector challenges, education, health, decentralization and international relations. Unfortunately, though, many offered an academic viewpoint of the challenges of implementation and the conference failed to attract public officers who were more in touch with the reality of the challenges. One major advantage of the conference, apart from the comparative experiences on which it touched, was its guest speaker, Professor Deborah Stone. Deborah Stone is a Research Professor of Government at Dartmouth College and a founding editor of The American Prospect. She is the author of three previous books, including Policy Paradox: The Art of Political Decision-Making, which has been translated into five languages and won the Aaron Wildavsky Award from the American Political Science Association for its enduring contribution to policy studies. It was therefore fitting that if the person whose book “implementation” is the ‘classic’ in the field could not have been at least in person with us for this conference (Professor Aaron Wildavsky unfortunately passed on some years ago), then someone who carries on his tradition could have been there. It was a profound experience for students to meet her. By the end of 2009, papers from the various presenters as well as partners who were unable to be present will be compiled in an edited collection. Hopefully, when the book is published, governments both in the region and elsewhere would be guided by not only the challenges raised but the solutions offered to overcome these implementation challenges in the various sectors. The conference closed to a lovely cocktail which was sponsored by the Office of the Campus Principal, Prof Clement Sankat, and to the sound of steel pan, speakers from other countries were bade farewell.
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During the recent announcement of the downturn in the world economy, nearly all the conversations were directed to the economic aspects: the stock markets, interconnectivities, energy and OPEC and the role of governments. Academics and street pundits began with a discussion on neoliberal policies, and this time suggested that the challenges were not the fault of developing countries but had its origins within the more developed ones, such as the USA. They suggested that the problem had to do with the relaxation of regulations, something which had almost disappeared under the new paradigm, New Public Management. But the challenge was not only based on the absence of regulations, sometimes even when regulations exist or are improperly administered, the outcomes are not the expected ones. The more critical aspect then, what is sometimes seen as the missing link, is “implementation.”