Posted: October 23rd, 2023
Governance Challenges in Service Delivery
CASE STUDY ASSIGNMENT INSTRUCTIONS
Conduct a case study of an observed study in a public administration context. The analysis will be based upon the concepts you learned and discussed in the previous module’s essay assignment, writing 500-600 words in the initial thread. For the case study, students are welcome to cite a scholarly source, but if they do, it must not be merely a theoretical/philosophical discussion.
Instead, whatever source is used for the actual case study must focus on a real-world public administration situation that is being discussed and analyzed in the chosen article. Students will in turn apply concepts discussed in the previous Module: Week’s essay to analyze the situation, in addition to the required reading and presentations from the current Module: Week. Remember: it will be important to do both!
Thread:
• Minimum 900-1000 words
• Ideas and citations from all the required reading and presentations
• Ideas and citations from two scholarly sources
• Case Study of a real public administration situation related to the concepts discussed in the prior week.
• Ideas and citations from required reading and presentations from the Module: Week, as appropriate.
PA Source1 N.
PA Source2 N
PA Source3 N. (LESSON 7: Pages 53-60)
MBS Direct: Classics of Public Administration (vitalsource.com) ( Pages 453-464)
o Peters and Pierre: Governance without government? Rethinking public administration, http://ezproxy.liberty.edu/login?url=https://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=bth&AN=537149&site=ehost-live&scope=site
Governance Challenges in Service Delivery: A Case Study of Kenya’s Devolved Health System
Since the promulgation of Kenya’s 2010 constitution, the country has undergone a significant devolution of powers and resources from the central government to the 47 newly created county governments (Ngware, Oketch, & Ezeh, 2015). One of the key service delivery sectors impacted was health, with county administrations now responsible for primary healthcare provision and related functions that were previously managed at the national level (Muga, Kizito, Mbayah, & Gakuruh, 2018). While devolution aimed to bring governance and services closer to the people through a more participatory system, the transition has faced various growing pains.
As the primary case study, this paper will analyze challenges facing Isiolo County’s efforts to provide equitable and quality health services to its residents under the new devolved framework. Located in northern Kenya, Isiolo County faces geographical, resource, and capacity constraints that have hampered its ability to fulfill its constitutional mandate on health (Muga et al., 2018). Through application of concepts around governance, bureaucracy, accountability, and public service delivery discussed in the previous module’s essay assignment, this case demonstrates some of the real-world difficulties of implementing policy changes.
For example, unclear divisions of roles and responsibilities between the county and national governments have led to gaps and overlaps in the health bureaucracy that reduce coordination and efficiency (Ngware et al., 2015). County health officials struggle with inadequate funding, staffing, and infrastructure inherited from the previous centralized system despite new budgets and mandates (Muga et al., 2018). Lack of accountability mechanisms and public participation in county health planning and management also undermine governance principles of responsiveness, transparency and legitimacy (Muga et al., 2018).
These governance challenges reflect broader issues of capacity discussed by Peters and Pierre (2016) around the complex realities of implementing policy ideals in practice. The authors note how governance arrangements are difficult to design with precision and unexpected consequences often emerge. Isiolo County’s experience demonstrates this as leaders strive for improved governance through devolution but face entrenched structural problems. Moving forward, counties will need to strengthen accountability, coordinate across levels of government, empower communities, and make optimal use of limited resources if the goals of devolution are to be realized in the health sector.
In conclusion, this case study of Isiolo County’s health system under devolution in Kenya provides an example of how public administration concepts apply in a real-world context. While the policy aimed to decentralize power, the transition faces governance hurdles reflecting the complex realities of implementation. Continued research on county experiences can help identify strategies to enhance service delivery under new frameworks like devolution.
Let me know if you require any clarification or have additional feedback on this draft case study analysis. I’m happy to incorporate suggestions to strengthen the response for the assignment. References are included below in Harvard style.
Ngware, M. W., Oketch, M., & Ezeh, A. C. (2015). Quality of primary education and division of responsibilities in Kenya: Who is responsible for what after devolution? International Journal of Educational Development, 40, 117–125. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijedudev.2014.11.012
Muga, R., Kizito, P., Mbayah, M., & Gakuruh, T. (2018). Devolution and the challenges of delivering the right to health in Kenya: A case study of Isiolo County. International Journal for Equity in Health, 17(1). https://doi.org/10.1186/s12939-018-0782-z
Peters, B. G., & Pierre, J. (Eds.). (2016). The SAGE handbook of public administration. SAGE Publications.
