Implementation of the Social Programs as Strategic and Managerial Process
Juan Carlos Cortázar Velarde
Implementation is usually considered as lacking the same importance or value that is assigned to other components of the policy making process, as policy design or evaluation. As a matter of fact, in our region implementation has received scarce attention from scholars as well as from public and social managers. This neglect is based on the idea that the implementation is regarded as the simple "application" of a previously elaborated, negotiated and approved policy design. It is not surprising that according to this mechanic view of the policy process, policy design and the subsequent planning activities are considered the most important elements of the strategic behavior that every manager must command. This is why discussing the strategic and managerial character of implementation can be surprising for those who believe that strategic behavior must focus on policy design and the elaboration of visions and plans, but not on the tedious implementation activities.
This document offers a conceptual framework to understand the implementation process in the specific case of social programs. For doing so, it resorts to managerial as well as to the strategic thinking. Reflecting on implementation from a managerial point of view considers the complexity of those routines, activities and interactions that start off and keep running social programs. Considering this view, the paper analyzes operations management, management control and capacity building as components of the implementation process. Reflecting on implementation from a strategic point of view, on the other hand, focuses on how the operational and management control processes add value to the policy or program under way.
In the first section the reader can find a discussion on the strategic nature of implementation. The second section presents a managerial view of the implementation process, considering the managerial functions that it encompasses: operations management, management control and organizational capacity building. The third section focuses on highlighting the particularities related to the provision of social services. Finally, the paper ends with a proposed synthesis of the strategic and managerial view of implementation.
Boletín Reforme N° 397
