PUBPOL 201: Midterm 2

What is street-level bureaucracy? Why does street-level bureaucracy matter in the context of public policy and governance?

• people you interact on a day to day basis

• "frontline" status: work on the frontline

• people processing: forward, interfacing with the public

• inherent discretion and power

• irreducible autonomy

• ultimate policymaking

What are the five characteristics that Maynard-Moody and Portillo (2011) identify as note worthy for understanding "the influence street-level bureaucrats hold in American bureaucracy"? Howdo these characteristics shape the role that street-level bureaucrats play and the ways in which street-level bureaucrats interact with clients/citizens?

• discretion is inevitable: rules can't fully account for all specific contexts, involves applying broad policies to individual cases, requiring personal judgment

• work is rule-saturated but not rule-bound: must interpret and adapt rules based on the situation

• direct and personal interaction with the public:

• policy is made at the front lines

• street-level workers act as citizen agents, not just state agents: often prioritize the needs of the individual citizen over strict adherence to rules or hierarchical orders

Why do scholars often say that street-level bureaucrats are the "ultimate" policymakers?

• implement policies on the ground

• discretion allows them to shape outcomes

• judgements reflect value-based choices

What dictates the amount of discretion bureaucrats have? Why might some roles have more than others?

• More specific and rigid rules = Less discretion

• Vague, broad, or conflicting rules = More discretion

• Closer oversight and monitoring

• complex, highly individualized, or sensitive cases

• roles

Managerial Strategies for Shaping Discretion

rules, incentives, supervision, training, coaching, self-regulation (coping mechanisms), professional credentialing requirements for hiring

What is a nonprofit? What makes a nonprofit distinct from a public organization? What makes a nonprofit distinct from a private, for-profit organization?

• formal organization

• exist as private entities

• don't distribute profits

• self-governing (have a board of directors governing the actions)

• voluntary

• provide some kind of public benefit

What makes nonprofits different from government bureaucracies?

• nonprofits = social mission/government = implement policies

• nonprofits = independently governed/government = hierarchal

• nonprofits = rely on donations, grants, membership fees, and contracts/government = tax revenue and appropriations

• nonprofits = mission driven and flexible/governments = policy driven and constrained by formal rules and accountability structures

What management challenges arise with nonprofit organizations?

• unstable and restricted funds

• volunteer and staff management

• mission drift

• lack of resources

• navigating government partnerships

How does the government use nonprofits to solve problems?

• service out through contracts and grants to provide services citizens need

• government may lack understanding of the specific community needs

• chose to contract these services out to nonprofits

Why are nonprofits critical to governance?

• building blocks of democracy

• people come together to solve problems

• laboratories of leadership

• promoters of civic engagement (core of many nonprofits missions; engaging in policies aligned with their interests/goals)

• economic engines: providing a large number of jobs and volunteer labor

What kind of challenges do nonprofits face?

• many strains to meet increasing public need

• policy proposals threaten the work of nonprofits

• losing funding and even their missions/values

• charitable giving is on the decline

• nonprofits can do more to diversify (individuals they work with and even those who oversee the process)

Nonprofits play multiple roles such as...

• Service providers: example, daycare programs

• Innovators: moving into a space that creates innovation which leads to new technologies and methods

• social capital creators: exposing people to networks and communities; gain social capital

• citizen engagement: help people become active in the democratic process; without political agenda; example, helping register people to vote

• political advocates: advocating for a specific political topic

• individual expression: provide us a way to express our values; example, donating blood

Nonprofit workforce trends

• filling vacancies (and volunteer positions) continues to be a huge challenge post-pandemic

• unfilled positions are often the most public facing

• workforce shortages are connected to...challenges with competitive salaries, budget constraints (esp in terms of donations), stress and burnout

How many registered 501(c)(3) organizations are there?

1,935,344

Where do nonprofits get their revenue from to operate? How essential are these revenue streams?

• private fees for services

• government grants/contracts

• individual donations

• foundations

• bequests

• corporation donations