NCJ Number
46248
Date Published
1977
Length
294 pages
Annotation
A REVIEW AND ANALYSIS OF 140 CASE STUDIES OF A STATE OR LOCAL ORGANIZATION'S FIRST EXPERIENCE WITH A NEW TECHNOLOGICAL DEVICE FOR SERVICE DELIVERY FORMED THE BASIS OF A STUDY TO IMPROVE FEDERAL POLICYMAKING.
Abstract
TYPES OF INNOVATIONS WITH WHICH GOVERNMENTS HAVE EXPERIMENTED IN AN EFFORT TO ENHANCE SERVICE EFFECTIVENESS AND EFFICIENCY FALL INTO THREE BROAD CATEGORIES: TECHNOLOGICAL INNOVATIONS, WHICH INVOLVE SOME SPECIFIC MACHINE, MATERIAL, CHEMICAL, COMPUTER SYSTEM, OR ANALYTIC PROCESS; MANAGERIAL INNOVATIONS, WHICH USUALLY CONCERN A SPECIFIC ADMINISTRATIVE MECHANISM OR POLICY THAT IN TURN REQUIRES FURTHER BUREAUCRATIC CHANGES TO BE IMPLEMENTED; AND CLIENT-ORIENTED INNOVATIONS, WHICH SEEK TO INCREASE THE INFLUENCE OF CLIENTS OVER SERVICES OR EVEN TO PLACE CLIENTS IN SERVICE POSITIONS AS WELL AS TO IMPROVE SERVICES. THE STUDY IN QUESTION TOOK AS ITS UNIT OF ANALYSIS A SITE-SPECIFIC EXPERIENCE WITH A TECHNOLOGICAL INNOVATION BY A STATE OR LOCAL GOVERNMENT AGENCY AS RECORDED AND DESCRIBED IN AN EXISTING CASE STUDY. A SUCCESSFUL TECHNOLOGICAL INNOVATION WAS DEFINED FOR THE PURPOSE OF THE STUDY AS EITHER A MERITORIOUS INNOVATION THAT HAD BEEN INCORPORATED OR A NONMERITORIOUS INNOVATION THAT HAD NOT BEEN INCORPORATED. FACTORS CONSIDERED DEALT WITH CHARACTERISTICS OF THE INNOVATIVE DEVICE, BACKGROUND CHARACTERISTICS (E.G., OF THE COMMUNITY AND THE STATE OF THE ORGANIZATION), AND IMPLEMENTATION CHARACTERISTICS (I.E., THOSE OF THE SPECIFIC INNOVATIVE EFFORT); THE MAJOR HYPOTHESIS WAS THAT THE IMPLEMENTATION FACTORS WOULD BE THE MOST IMPORTANT FOR SUCCESSFUL OUTCOMES. COMMON CHARACTERISTICS OF SUCCESSFUL EFFORTS INCLUDED THAT AN INNOVATIVE DEVICE BE A HARDWARE DEVICE AND A TRANSITIVE DEVICE (I.E., ONE AIMED AT CREATING CHANGES IN SERVICE PRACTICES WITH CLIENTS AND NOT MERE ADMINISTRATIVE OR INTERNAL CHANGES). THE MOST IMPORTANT BACKGROUND FACTOR WAS THE PRESENCE OF AN AGENCY WITH A CENTRALIZED DECISIONMAKING STRUCTURE; THE MOST IMPORTANT IMPLEMENTATION FACTOR WAS THE PRESENCE OF CLIENT PARTICIPATION, ALTHOUGH SOME EVIDENCE WAS FOUND THAT PRACTITIONER TRAINING WAS ALSO IMPORTANT. THE ROLE OF FEDERAL POLICIES WAS EXAMINED SEPARATELY BY ANALYZING THE ASSOCIATION BETWEEN SPECIFIC TYPES OF FEDERAL POLICIES AND SUCCESSFUL AND UNSUCCESSFUL OUTCOMES. THE MAIN FINDING WAS THAT NO FEDERAL FACTORS WERE ASSOCIATED WITH SUCCESSFUL INNOVATIVE EFFORTS; IN FACT, THE PROVISION OF TECHNICAL ASSISTACE WAS THE SINGLE MOST NEGATIVE CORRELATE OF INNOVATION INCORPORATION WHERE FEDERAL POLICIES WERE CONCERNED. BACKGROUND, METHODOLOGICAL, ANALYTICAL, AND STATISTICAL INFORMATION IS PROVIDED IN DETAIL. APPENDIXES PROVIDE LISTS OF SOURCES AND STUDIES, A CODING CHECKLIST, SUPPLEMENTARY TABLES, EXAMPLES OF CHECKLIST CODING OF CASE STUDY EVIDENCE, AND MULTISITE CASE STUDY SUMMARIES. REFERENCES AND INDEX ARE INCLUDED. (DAS)