Straddling multiple streams: focusing events, policy entrepreneurs and problem brokers in the governance of English fire and rescue services

Eckersley, P ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-9048-8529 and Lakoma, K ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-2583-3813, 2022. Straddling multiple streams: focusing events, policy entrepreneurs and problem brokers in the governance of English fire and rescue services. Policy Studies, 43 (5), pp. 1001-1020. ISSN 0144-2872

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Abstract

Empirical studies that use the multiple streams approach often examine cases of reactive policymaking in response to 'focusing events', rather than proactive policymakers who seek to broker or construct problems that their preferred solution might address. Drawing on publicly-available debates about reforms to fire and rescue services in seven areas of England, we show how individuals within small policy subsystems may construct problems to try and convince others to support their preferred policy solution. By straddling all three streams and acting as endogenous policy entrepreneurs, policymakers and problem brokers simultaneously, we highlight how these actors can exert substantial influence over policymaking processes-although consensus within the political stream about the existence of a genuine problem is still a key factor in facilitating change. These insights allow us to introduce a more obvious power dimension and greater predictive capacity into the multiple streams approach.

Item Type:	Journal article
Publication Title:	Policy Studies
Creators:	Eckersley, P. and Lakoma, K.
Publisher:	Routledge
Date:	September 2022
Volume:	43
Number:	5
ISSN:	0144-2872
Identifiers:	Number Type 10.1080/01442872.2021.1892620 DOI 1409080 Other
Rights:	© 2021 the author(s). Published by Informa UK Limited, trading as Taylor & Francis Group. This is an Open Access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/), which permits non-commercial re-use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited, and is not altered, transformed, or built upon in any way.
Divisions:	Schools > Nottingham Business School
Record created by:	Linda Sullivan
Date Added:	22 Feb 2021 16:33
Last Modified:	16 Aug 2022 08:47
URI:	https://irep.ntu.ac.uk/id/eprint/42355

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