How Organizational Implementation of Equity Values Shapes Participant Experiences

• In Event: Bridging Equity Values and Organizational Implementation: Insights from Public Management, Contracting, and Nonprofit Organizations

Abstract

Since its emergence as the fourth pillar of the field, public administration scholars have been increasingly emphasizing equity in the literature (Gooden, 2015). However, scholars continue to call for a clearer definition, universal measurement framework, and a clarification of the link from theory to practice. Understanding how equity translates from theory to practice and from design to implementation is especially salient within the “hollow state”, where elected leaders and public managers determine public priorities while programs are implemented through a complex web of service providers (Milward & Provan, 2000).

Given the complexities of service delivery, the translation of equity values within public-private partnerships is of particular concern. This paper examines how contractors translated equity values in a workforce development and housing program in a populous county in Washington state. Utilizing COVID-19 recovery dollars, the Employment and Housing Program (EHP) was designed to support individuals experiencing homelessness using a network of government and nonprofit contractors. Drawing from an inductive analysis of 85 interviews with frontline staff and program participants, 15 combined hours of field observation and participation in EHP convenings, and program document review, we find that the implementation of equity values varied in meaningful ways—even within a single government program where the authorizing agency and contractors shared a commitment to equity as a value. Thus, our study pursues the following research question:  How and why is the implementation of equity values shaped by service providers? Particular attention is paid to the contracting, organizational, and field level characteristics that influence practitioners’ translation of equity values from program design through implementation and ultimately shape client experiences.  

We introduce 6 propositions interrogating the relationship between input equity, process equity, and participant experiences. We find that process equity is often overlooked in the implementation process and is associated with negative participant experiences. Further, we expand the literature’s current understanding of social equity by underscoring how external organizational factors—organizational form, frontline staff characteristics, field level logics, and contract complexity—moderate the translation of equity from program design to implementation. 

Authors

• Elizabeth Tong, University of Washington
  Presenting Author

• Yulan Kim, University of Washington
  Non-Presenting Co-Author

• Julia Karon, University of Washington
  Non-Presenting Co-Author

• Rachel Fyall, University of Washington
  Non-Presenting Co-Author