New Books Network Michael Rowe, "Researching Street-Level Bureaucracy: Bringing Out the Interpretive Dimensions" (Routledge, 2024)
Oct 1, 2025
Mike Rowe, a senior lecturer at the University of Liverpool and expert in public sector management, delves into street-level bureaucracy. He discusses the impact of context on frontline discretion and shares insights from his ethnographic research among social welfare officers and police. Highlighting the limitations of technology, Rowe emphasizes the need for human interpretation. He also explores the complexities of insider-versus-outsider dynamics in fieldwork and the varying forms of bureaucracy across different cultures, all while promoting the importance of immersive training.
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Policy Becomes Real At The Street
- Street-level bureaucrats enact policy by interpreting rules during citizen encounters.
- Mike Rowe argues decisions emerge from constrained contexts, not pure individual will.
Discretion Is Contextual, Not Individual
- Discretion is shaped by resources, organizational priorities and available options.
- Rowe stresses understanding contextual constraints rather than blaming individuals.
Lessons From Social Security Work
- Rowe worked as a civil servant in the Department of Social Security processing benefits in Bristol.
- He observed small discretionary acts, like security guards or clerks prioritizing cases, that shaped outcomes.
