Successful Policy Implementation: The Route to Building Self-Confident Government
| Published date | 01 June 2003 |
| Date | 01 June 2003 |
| Author | Stephen Giacchino,Andrew Kakabadse |
| DOI | 10.1177/0020852303069002002 |
| Subject Matter | Journal Article |
Successful policy implementation: the route to building
self-confident government
Stephen Giacchino and Andrew Kakabadse
Abstract
This article addresses self-confident government from the viewpoint of the need for
improved policy implementation practices. It draws upon the findings of recent
research undertaken in Malta with the purpose of identifying what factors influenced
the successful implementation of a major policy decision and the manner in which
these factors affected success. Based upon data collected through both documentary
research and interviews with the key players involved in the implementation of the
policy under review, 18 factors of success were identified. Although they all played a
different and important role in enabling the government to deliver on its promise,
central to the issue of success was the manner in which Government organized itself to
deliver this policy initiative. The three decisive factors in this regard were: (1) the
decision taken to locate political responsibility for the initiative in the Office of the
Prime Minister; (2) the presence of a strong project management/team dynamic; and
(3) the type and level of commitment shown to the policy initiative which, in itself,
was heavily moderated by the former two factors. The article discusses the
implications of these three critical factors on the successful outcome of the policy
initiative and makes recommendations for their application to future policy initiatives
and for the organization of self-confident government.
Introduction
This article addresses self-confident government from the viewpoint of the need
for improved policy implementation practices. Using the findings of a case study
of successful policy implementation in Malta, it identifies a number of factors that
are considered important for developing the competence of government to deliver
on its promises. It then discusses three factors that were considered pivotal to
the successful outcome of this policy initiative and proposes responses for their
application to future policy implementation initiatives and for the development of
a competent and self-confident government.
Stephen Giacchino is Chief Executive Officer, Management Efficiency Unit, Office of the
Prime Minister, Malta; and Andrew Kakabadse is Professor, International Management
Development, Cranfield School of Management, UK. CDU: 35.06(100).
International Review of Administrative Sciences [0020–8523(200306)69:2]
Copyright © 2003 IIAS. SAGE Publications (London, Thousand Oaks, CA and New
Delhi), Vol.69 (2003), 139–160; 033509
02_IRAS69/2 articles 22/5/03 12:00 pm Page 139
Defining success
Before discussing the factors or elements influencing the successful implementa-
tion of a policy decision, it is pertinent to pause and define what is meant by
‘success’ or ‘successful policy implementation’ — terms that are used inter-
changeably in this article to mean the same thing.
In the context of the research on which this article is based, success (or a case of
successful policy implementation) had been defined to mean a policy imple-
mentation initiative in which the strategic action adopted by the administrative
arm of government was considered to have delivered the intended policy decision
and to have achieved the intended outcomes. To qualify as an example of success,
the policy decision under review must, therefore, have been delivered in a manner
that addressed its terms of reference as well as achieved the expected functionality
to the identified stakeholder(s). This definition may be criticized from the point of
view that few policies ever manage to achieve comprehensively the original
objectives and the intended outcomes. This is exactly why this definition was
adopted. This seemingly inflexible approach to defining success was considered
important so as to focus the research on those few (or that single) initiative(s) that
can be considered to be truly representative of best practice in government. These
practices would be something worth aspiring to, while concurrently providing a
baseline against which to plan, manage and measure future policy implementation
initiatives.
It is also important to define what is meant by ‘success factors’, a term which
may be mistakenly confused with ‘success criteria’. Given that the distinction
between the two is widely described in the literature on project management,
the terminology from this body of knowledge was borrowed and adapted for the
purposes of this study.
The Association of Project Managers (APM) Pathways’ Glossary of Terms
defines ‘success criteria’ as
[the] qualitative and quantitative measures by which the success of a project is judged.
If the value achieved for the measure during or after the project exceeds a predefined
hurdle rate, the project can be judged to be a success against that criterion. (Turner,
2002: 324)
According to this definition, the criteria for the interpretation of successful policy
implementation in this study were, therefore, (1) the degree by which the terms of
reference defined for a policy initiative were satisfactorily addressed; and (2) the
degree by which the policy initiative delivered the expected ‘functionality’ to the
identified stakeholder(s). Under both scenarios, a 100 percent compliance rate
was required.
However, Turner (2001: 2) defines ‘success factors’ as
[the] elements of the work of the project, or the management process, that can be
controlled by the project manager or the project team so as to increase the chance of
achieving a successful outcome. They are the levers that the project manager can pull to
140 International Review of Administrative Sciences 69(2)
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