Abstract
The concept of ‘ street-level bureaucracy ’ was coined by Michael Lipsky (1980) as the
common denominator for what would become a scholarly theme. Since then his stress
on the relative autonomy of professionals has been complemented by the insight that
they are working in a micro-network of relations, in varying contexts. The conception
of ‘ governance ’ adds a particular aspect to this: the multi-dimensional character of a
policy system as a nested sequence of decisions. Combining these views casts a
different perspective on the ways street-level bureaucrats are held accountable.
In this article some axiomatic assumptions are drawn from the existing literature
on the theme of street-level bureaucracy and on the conception of governance. Acknowledging
variety, and arguing for contextualized research, this results in a rethinking
of the issue of accountability at the street level.
Original language | English |
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Pages (from-to) | 279-299 |
Number of pages | 21 |
Journal | Public administration |
Volume | 85 |
Issue number | 2 |
DOIs | |
Publication status | Published - 2007 |