When the financial crisis hit the Eurozone, Belgium, along with several other countries, postponed its consolidation policies until after the general elections. What followed was the longest... Show moreWhen the financial crisis hit the Eurozone, Belgium, along with several other countries, postponed its consolidation policies until after the general elections. What followed was the longest caretaker rule that any stable democracy had ever experienced. This article analyses the phenomenon of policy continuity and change during this double crisis. It illustrates how the exogenous economic crisis overrode the endogenous political crisis, showing the extent to which international policy determinants expanded the remit of caretaker policy-making. At the same time, our analysis of the nature of caretaker conventions, the nature of multi-level governance, the permanence of administrative personnel, and the re-invention of parliament offers opportunities to draw lessons and deepen comparative research on policy termination and maintenance in the face of crisis Show less
Het evaluatiemotief is sterk bepalend voor hoe een beleidsevaluatie gebruikt kanworden en verdient dan ook meer aandacht in studies over beleidsevaluatie. In ditartikel hebben we ons gebogen over... Show moreHet evaluatiemotief is sterk bepalend voor hoe een beleidsevaluatie gebruikt kanworden en verdient dan ook meer aandacht in studies over beleidsevaluatie. In ditartikel hebben we ons gebogen over de beweegredenen voor concrete evaluaties,zoals beschreven in vier reeksen van Vlaamse ministeriële beleidsnota’s die samentwintig jaar beleid afdekken. De belangrijkste vaststelling is dat motieven om teevalueren niet onderhevig blijken aan modes, noch worden ze sterk gestuurd doorhervormingen en bijhorend discours. Ondanks de introductie van New Public Managementgeoriënteerde hervormingen in de Vlaamse overheid en de financiële crisis,is de relatieve verdeling van evaluatiemotieven vrijwel ongewijzigd gebleven doorheende tijd. Er blijkt een stabiele behoefte aan ex ante en ex post evaluaties vanuiteen diversiteit aan evaluatiemotieven. De perceptie van een trend naar steeds meerevidence-based policy wordt op basis van de studie dus niet bevestigd. Opvallend isverder het lage aandeel van verantwoording als motief. Show less
De afgelopen jaren zien we een sterke toename van het aantal denktanks in verschillende landen. Ook ons land ontsnapt niet aan deze trend. Los van de denktanks die zich louter op de Europese Unie... Show moreDe afgelopen jaren zien we een sterke toename van het aantal denktanks in verschillende landen. Ook ons land ontsnapt niet aan deze trend. Los van de denktanks die zich louter op de Europese Unie richten, hebben sinds 2000 een tiental nieuwe denktanks het licht gezien in België. In tegenstelling tot andere landen lijkt de rol van deze organisaties in ons politiek systeem echter eerder beperkt. In dit stuk bekijken we het fenomeen ‘denktank’ van naderbij en maken we een balans op van het huidige denktank-landschap. Wat maakt een organisatie tot denktank? Wat zijn de centrale kenmerken van denktanks in België? En waarom zijn ze niet méér aanwezig in het politieke en maatschappelijke debat? - See more at: http://www.sampol.be/samenleving-en-politiek/zoeken-in-sampol/2074#sthash.13B2YEDF.dpuf Show less
Desmedt, E.; Pattyn, Valerie; Van Humbeeck, P. 2016
Qualitative Comparative Analysis (QCA) is an approach that enables systematically comparing qualitative case study data. The fact that QCA borrows certain elements from quantitative methods (such... Show moreQualitative Comparative Analysis (QCA) is an approach that enables systematically comparing qualitative case study data. The fact that QCA borrows certain elements from quantitative methods (such as the use of Boolean algebra and the quantification of conditions and outcomes) may raise questions about the qualitative character of QCA. Based on a discussion of four criteria relating to causal analysis, we argue that QCA belongs to the qualitative research tradition. Where QCA borrows characteristics from the quantitative approach, this is only for the sake of a qualitative objective: to better understand the conditions underlying a particular outcome or phenomenon. Show less
The objective of the article is to identify the conditions that best explain organizational variance in policy evaluation regularity. Relying on the innovative Most Similar Different Outcome/Most... Show moreThe objective of the article is to identify the conditions that best explain organizational variance in policy evaluation regularity. Relying on the innovative Most Similar Different Outcome/Most Different Similar Outcome technique, we examine the explanatory ability of a range of organizational attributes applied to eighteen Flemish public sector organizations (Belgium). The conditions that relate to the source of evaluation demand, in its broadest sense, are of key importance. We refer to the role of the sector minister and other organizations in demanding evaluations, as well as to the media and parliamentary attention and the influence of EU evaluation clauses. Show less
Checklists for evaluation capacity builders include a wide range of building blocks for supporting evaluation activity. Yet, the relative importance of each building block is not clear. The purpose... Show moreChecklists for evaluation capacity builders include a wide range of building blocks for supporting evaluation activity. Yet, the relative importance of each building block is not clear. The purpose of this article is to identify the capacity related factors that are necessary, but not necessarily sufficient, for organisations that wish to institutionalise high quality policy evaluations. To retrieve these factors, we rely on the necessity function in qualitative comparative analysis. We present a study of twenty-seven organisations of the Flemish public sector (Belgium), in which the introduction of policy evaluations is relatively recent. Our case analysis thus sheds an interesting light upon how policy evaluation, and the underlying capacity to evaluate is given shape. Our findings point at evaluation demand as the most necessary prerequisite for fostering evaluation activity, more so than supply related factors. Show less
In this contribution we discuss the potential of the Most Different Similar Outcome/Most Similar Different Outcome technique. The technique enables to cope with the degrees of freedom problem ... Show moreIn this contribution we discuss the potential of the Most Different Similar Outcome/Most Similar Different Outcome technique. The technique enables to cope with the degrees of freedom problem (large number of conditions/ small number of cases). Via a systematic comparison of pairs of cases, the method identifies the conditions of likely most explanatory relevance to understand differences and similarities in outcome. The actual causal power of the conditions and the underlying causal mechanisms can be subsequently explored with other qualitative methods. The technique relies on the same causal assumptions as other configurational comparative methods, as Qualitative Comparative Analysis. Show less
