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Contemporary public policies are increasingly implemented through complex arrangements that involve multiple organisations and levels, including public agencies, private organizations, civil society actors, and communities. However, the design of institutions and their capacity are often studied in isolation. Research on implementation tends to treat the mechanisms by which policies are implemented as mere administrative details, while studies on capacity focus primarily on skills and resources, without thoroughly examining the institutional conditions that enable or hinder their effectiveness.
This panel brings these perspectives together by investigating the relationship between the institutional design of implementation arrangements and policy and administrative capacity. It starts from the premise that implementation arrangements are not neutral containers. Through formal and informal rules, they distribute authority, responsibilities and resources, establish coordination and accountability mechanisms, and shape interactions among actors. These institutional properties make particular configurations of analytical, managerial and political capacity more or less consequential. Conversely, existing administrative capabilities - including organizational resources, professional expertise, coordination routines and delivery infrastructures - condition which arrangements can function effectively and be sustained over time.
The panel chairs invite both theoretical and empirical contributions that examine how the alignment, or mismatch, between institutional design and available capacities influences implementation processes, outputs, and outcomes. Papers may explore the capacity requirements of various arrangements, such as hierarchical, market-based, collaborative, networked, or hybrid models. They should consider how these capacities are embedded at the individual, organisational, and systemic levels, and analyse how different configurations affect factors such as coordination, adaptation, accountability, legitimacy, implementation gaps, and the creation or destruction of public value. Contributions may also investigate how implementation arrangements and capacities evolve in response to crises, complex policy challenges, and public-sector reforms.
We welcome papers from various policy sectors, levels of government, theoretical traditions, and methodological approaches, including qualitative, quantitative, and mixed-method designs. Contributions comparing different countries and administrative systems are especially encouraged. We particularly invite research from outside Europe and from the Global South, not merely as applications of established frameworks or examples of general capacity deficits, but as valuable sources for theory-building.