The multi-layer problem in implementation research

This article argues that many discussions of implementation deal inadequately with the fact that several layers of government are often involved in policy processes. It thus identifies a multi-layer problem in the literature on implementation, and explores its dimensions. It argues that a failure to deal adequately with the problem leads to two particular pitfalls. One is that the notion of ‘dashed’ expectations on the part of one layer suggests either that there has been a failure of control, or that there have been interventions in the policy process that are seen as illegitimate. The other is that the relationship between layers is a simple and uniform phenomenon that can be expected to have similar characteristics in dissimilar situations. It then offers some proposals to deal with these pitfalls, and looks at what this reframing of the problem means for implementation research.