Showing papers by "Lars Tummers published in 2019"

The Benefits of Teleworking in the Public Sector: Reality or Rhetoric?

Abstract: Many public organizations implement teleworking: an organizational innovation expected to improve the working conditions of public servants. However, it is unclear to what extent teleworking is ben...

The organization of post-disaster psychosocial support in the Netherlands : a meta-synthesis

Abstract: Background: Despite numerous calls for a more evidence-based provision of post-disaster psychosocial support, systematic analyses of post-disaster service delivery are scarce. Objective: The aim of this review was to evaluate the organization of post-disaster psychosocial support in different disaster settings and to identify determinants. Methods: We conducted a meta-synthesis of scientific literature and evaluations of post-disaster psychosocial support after 12 Dutch disasters and major crises between 1992 and 2014. We applied systematic search and snowballing methods and included 80 evaluations, as well as grey and scientific documents. Results: Many documents focus on the prevalence of mental health problems. Only a few documents primarily assess the organization of post-disaster psychosocial support and its determinants. The material illustrates how, over the course of two decades, the organizational context of post-disaster psychosocial support in the Netherlands has been influenced by changes in legislation, policy frameworks, evidence-based guidelines, and the instalment of formal expertise structures to support national and local governments and public services. Recurring organizational issues in response to events are linked to interrelated evaluation themes such as planning, training, registration, provision of information and social acknowledgement. For each evaluation theme, we identify factors helping or hindering the psychosocial support organization during the preparedness, acute and recovery phases. Conclusions: The meta-synthesis illustrates that psychosocial service delivery has grown from a monodisciplinary to a multidisciplinary field over time. Suboptimal interprofessional collaboration poses a recurring threat to service quality. Despite the development of the knowledge base, post-disaster psychosocial support in the Netherlands lacks a systematic and critical appraisal of its functioning. Further professionalization is coupled with the strengthening of evaluation and learning routines.

Do consistent government policies lead to greater meaningfulness and legitimacy on the front line

Abstract: textWe investigate the impact of policy consistency on frontline workers’ perceptions of policy meaningfulness and legitimacy. The results from an experiment involving 779 teachers indicate that policy consistency does have a positive effect on legitimacy and to a lesser extent on meaningfulness. However, the extent depends on policy content and the degree of autonomy. Overall, our findings emphasize the potential positive impact of policy consistency. Although this, to some extent, conflicts with the nature of political decision- and policy-making (i.e., democratically elected governments have been mandated to change policy), our study suggests that policy consistency could be a valuable strategy for governments to strengthen successful policy implementation. This adds a new perspective to the continuing debate within policy implementation and street-level bureaucracy research on how to account for the complex, messy and sometimes contradictory implementation of public policies.

Behavioral Public Administration

Abstract: Behavioral public administration is an interdisciplinary research field that studies public administration topics by connecting insights from public administration with psychology and the behavioral sciences more broadly. Behavioral public administration scholars study important public problems such as discrimination, corruption, and burnout. Behavioral public administration has various potential uses. First, behavioral public administration tests and extends theories and concepts from psychology in political-administrative settings. Second, it tests and extends the microfoundations of public administration theories and concepts. Third, behavioral public administration scholars develop new theories and concepts. Fourth, behavioral public administration can help in tackling practical public problems. There are various future research suggestions for behavioral public administration. The field could move beyond one shot single studies and aim to build cumulative knowledge. This can be done among else via large scale collaborations and via replications. In addition, it is also beneficial if behavioral public administration scholars broaden their methodological toolkit to answer different kinds of research questions.