Explaining the framework of the participation of street level bureaucrats in the design of policies : a systematic literature review approach

Street-level bureaucrats are the people who,behind the showcase of luxurious government promises,play a decisive role in the way government services are provided and determine the level of satisfaction of citizens or service recipients.The importance of SLBs' participation in the policy-making process is highlighted when we know that citizens' satisfaction with government performance is highly dependent on the performance of street-level bureaucrats.If it is possible to consider an approach for policy-making in which the opinions of bureaucrats are effectively used in the design process,the possibility of deviation of policies during implementation will be reduced.Therefore,in the present study, the researcher reviewed the studies and researches conducted in the past years in order to identify and design a basic framework for the participation of street-level bureaucrats in the policy-making process. In this study,using a systematic literature review, 17 articles were screened.The literature was selected and carefully reviewed.Then, these articles were coded based on metacombination method.Based on the obtained results,it was found that three main axes should be considered in order to involve street-level bureaucrats in government organizations in designing policies.These three axes include the policy formulation process(including feeling the problem,understanding the problem,measuring and evaluating the problem,creating a solution and choosing a solution),the method of participation of bureaucrats (including information,consultation,consensus,collaborative design,decision-making,self-control) and finally The level of participation (including individual,group,coalition and organizational participation). Finally, by using the Delphi method, the opinions of 25 university experts were examined about each of the identified components. Based on each axis, explanations and suggestions are provided at the end.