STREET‐LEVEL BUREAUCRACY AND PUBLIC ACCOUNTABILITY

TLDR

Street‑level bureaucracy, coined by Lipsky, refers to frontline public workers who exercise autonomy within micro‑networks, and the concept of governance adds a multi‑dimensional policy system perspective that reshapes how these bureaucrats are held accountable. The article aims to draw axiomatic assumptions from the street‑level bureaucracy and governance literature. It derives these assumptions by synthesizing existing theoretical frameworks. By acknowledging contextual variety, the study rethinks street‑level accountability.

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.