The Determinants of Public Administrators’ Participation in Policy Formulation

There are few who would question that within their everyday discretionary choices and decision making, public servants can develop into consequential and dynamic actors in the policy process. Participation in policy formulation is a particularly meaningful stage within which administrators can make a noticeable impact in shaping public policy. Whether they do so or not often comes down to an individual choice. Yet, while there is a great deal of anecdotal evidence regarding public servants’ involvement in policy formulation, there is relatively less empirical research in the area. In particular, there is little known about the conditions under which some public administrators are more likely than others to seek to become involved in policy formulation. This study explores the effects that stakeholders’ expectations, self-expectations, administrative discretion, and tenure have on administrators’ predispositions to seek opportunities to participate in the formulation of public policy issues they find important.