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This review frames the state of agencification studies to explore the development and results achieved to date (Q1: what has been done?) and identify future directions (Q2: what could be done?) of the studies.

A systematic approach is carried out to summarize how agencification is adopted, variability of implementation, and its effects, from literature published in the past 48 years (1973–2020). Eligibility criteria include a combination of literature quality (number of citation) and source reputation (journal impact factor). From this, 84 articles and 9 books were included in the review.

The review finds various country-specific adoptions of agencification and some similarities and differences of agencification practice across various administrative settings. Studies on the effects of agencification is limited and offer mixed results. Meanwhile, little attempt was made to reveal how micro-processes are happening in the everyday practice of agencification. The paper outlines a set of research agenda and possible alternative approaches for future studies.

This review provides an avenue for scholars and practitioners to pay more attention to the “street level” of agencification. Future studies may challenge New Public Management's view of agencification by proposing new perspectives based on a direct observation.

This study contributes to the growing amount of agencification studies by synthesizing theoretical and empirical works across countries covering developed and developing economies in local, regional, and national levels of government.

The paper proposes that public sector organizations facing institutionalized reform pressure may not only integrate the reform into their operation when it fits but also pace the integration while undergoing organizational cultural transformations to fit with the reform. The newly cultivated cultural characteristics, nonetheless, need to be compatible externally with the ideational basis of the reform and internally with existing values and beliefs embodied by the organizations.

Building on a neo-institutionalist perspective, the paper develops a model which considers the possibilities and conditions that local cultural change in the reforming organizations may facilitate reform integration. To test the model's analytical potential, the paper analyzed reform responses of semi-autonomous agencies from Denmark, the Netherlands and Sweden under the New Public Management (NPM) reform. Ordinary least square (OLS) regression models were performed on the survey data collected from agency heads (or representative) during the peak of the reform trend. Analyzing this sample of later adopters whose government generally enjoyed high degrees of capacity and autonomy provided a preliminary test to the model's potential.

Significant statistical relations were found between the adoption of operation-level NPM practices and the extent that an agency's cultural characteristics fit with both the ideational basis of NPM and the exiting value-belief mix the agency embodied. Agency characteristics of “proactive responsiveness” and “goal-oriented cooperation” were found significantly related to adoption of NPM practices, showing the possibility of cultivating local cultural changes in reforming organizations.

While compatible with neo-institutionalist emphasis on local continuity, the paper describes an alternative scenario of reform integration for public managers.

The purpose of this paper is to explore the practices of financial autonomy and control the emerging issue of agencification in the higher education sector.

The practices are investigated using case studies from seven semi-autonomous state universities in Indonesia. The data were collected through semi-structured interviews with 17 respondents including university officials, policymakers, and experts. The interview results were analysed using an inductive-deductive approach.

This research highlights an unstable balance between financial autonomy and control practices in the universities. Autonomy supports agencification mainly by simplifying financial procedures and control is seen by university managers to be overemphasised compared to in the other state universities. Despite successes in introducing a business-like atmosphere within bureaucratic universities, questions about balancing financial autonomy and control remain.

The small number of cases implies limited generalisability. The two characteristics used, size and parent ministries do not represent all university variabilities.

Agencification has become a key reform practice for state universities. Rather than using a “one size fits all” approach, the government needs a repertoire of models for these institutions.

This study provides empirical evidence of agencification in the higher education sector with an emphasis on the financial dimension of autonomy and control in a developing country setting.

This paper aims to show that the Spanish central administration, as a representative of the Napoleonic tradition, has undergone considerable managerial changes in non‐autonomous and semi‐autonomous agencies characterised by their direct involvement in service delivery in spite of the failure of macro‐changes and radical reforms of public administration.

This paper provides case studies of “paths” of changes in three organisations.

Through “layering” and “diffusion” of institutions as social mechanisms included in the historical new institutionalism account for innovation, specific organisations like the tax agency, social security and property registry have become more managerial in a state dominated by public law.

More in‐depth case studies would make possible generalisation of how small changes can produce similar impacts or results than reform efforts at the macro‐level.

The use of historical neo‐institutionalism and the exam of mechanisms as “layering” and “diffusion” for explaining change is presented.

This article aims to empirically investigate the influence of socio-cultural and political factors and actors on the perceived autonomy and control of state agencies in Pakistan. Taking an institutional perspective, which envisages a diverse course of agency reforms, owed to varied national cultures, historical paths and traditional mindsets, the authors argue that the institutional theory provides an explanation to the autonomy and control status of the agencies.

Data were collected from 39 senior public officials and governing board members in federal agencies by conducting in-depth semi-structured interviews. Thematic analysis was performed using NVivo-12 for data analysis.

The results disclose that the agencies operate within an overriding politico-administrative culture of intervention and supremacy of the central government. There is a close relationship between the political actors and actors' implementing agents, the bureaucrats. Although the disaggregated public agencies are created under the agency model, a culture of political influence and control still prevails within them. Among the socio-cultural factors, corruption is reported as a critical influencing factor for agency autonomy.

The study emphasizes the need to adapt and modify agencification practices in developing countries based on the political, socio-cultural and administrative contextual factors and actors and the varying degrees of influence the practices exercise over the Government machinery.

This study unveils the implications of the new public management (NPM)-led agency model in Pakistan, which was primarily adopted as a part of the structural adjustment program (SAP) under loan conditionality from international donor agencies and explores the indigenous doctrines that govern agencies functioning under ministries.

This research investigates procedures and effective practices on staffing needs and utilization for successful implementation of alternative contracting methods (ACMs) in the United Sates, including design–build (D–B) and construction manager/general contractor (CM/GC) delivery methods.

The review of published empirical studies, a national survey of transportation agencies and case studies of highway agencies form the basis of the conclusions in this research. In addition to the national survey, with 46 of 50 agencies participating, the research presents case studies from five highway agencies in the United States including the following: California, Florida, Georgia, Minnesota and Virginia. These five case studies were selected from agencies that have extensive experience in delivering ACM projects. The case studies involved a thorough procedural review and structured interviews of agency personnel. The agencies then validated the results and conclusions.

The results showed that implementing ACM projects requires different knowledge, skills and management and coordination efforts than traditional design–bid–build (D–B–B) projects. The study found that the key success factors of implementing ACMs are the following: (1) establishment of an ACM champion; (2) active involvement of key staff throughout the ACM project development process; (3) appropriate use of consultants and (4) ACM training and staff development.

The issue on how to attract and retain talented staff and a committed core workforce with appropriate skills and competences for ACM implementation is vital for highway agencies, but it lacks information and guidance. The chief limitation of this research is that the primary data were collected from highway agencies in the United Sates. Any future research should include more data to enhance the validity of this study outside of the public transportation sector.

Developing a sustainable level of core staff plays an important role in implementing an ACM program. The result of this research will help transportation agencies and other public owners to develop effective staffing strategies for successful implementation of ACMs. The findings of this research also address the appropriate use of consultants to supplement core staff with regard to delivery of ACM projects.

This research is the first attempt to examine the staffing needs and utilization for ACM projects.

The purpose of this paper is to identify ways for organizationally complex, community‐based health improvement initiatives to avoid “failures” with regard to client outcomes.

Organizational research on errors, failures and high reliability organizations led Weick and Sutcliffe to articulate five strategies for organizational mindfulness: preoccupation with failure, reluctance to simplify, sensitivity to operations, commitment to resilience, and deference to expertise. Using this framework, one US federally funded health initiative to reduce infant mortality and pre‐term birth and a corresponding locally implemented program are analyzed. Experience with both over a five year period is the basis for this case study.

Mindlessness actions were found to occur at both the federal and local levels, despite the possibility of enacting mindfulness strategies at federal and local levels.

To create health care initiatives and programs in ways that prevent disastrous outcomes, such as infant death and preterm births, can be achieved through application of the mindfulness strategies.

The evidence‐based approach of organizational mindfulness previously has not been applied to health programs. Yet, this analysis demonstrates its usefulness in identifying ways in which these semi‐autonomous organizations could avoid “failures” for their program clients.

This chapter discusses the cross-sectional relationships between national and local government, citizens and hybrid organisations via a historical case study, that of the London Passenger Transport Board (LPTB) during its existence 1933–1948. It finds that the LPTB was a good example of hybridity located in an earlier time period than most research examines, and that the arrangements by which it was governed resulted in some counter-intuitive outcomes which challenge the findings from research located in more recent periods concerning the performance of hybrid organisations. However, it supports other research proposing that the role of elites as well as institutional contexts is a key factor in the creation and operation of semi-autonomous organisations, and it accepts that objectively measuring the performance in order to make meaningful comparison is not only extremely problematic but may even inhibit performance.

The purpose of this paper is to provide an overview of similarities and distinctions between development and educational assistance in the USA as compared with other countries, this paper provides a general review of relevant materials on US foreign aid.

The paper reviews published books and articles as well as US government budget and Congressional reporting materials and Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development statistics.

Beginning with the Marshall Plan following Second World War, the USA has always been a leader in foreign aid. In many ways, US development agencies resemble counterparts in other countries – foreign aid is part of larger network of bilateral relationships, funding requests must compete with requests from other sectors, etc. In other ways, the US stands apart. Because of US Congressional reporting requirements and for philosophical reasons, the US has been reluctant to join other countries in provision of budgetary support. The US coordinates its work with host country governments, but generally organizes its activities in project mode, relying largely on US contractors. The US Agency for International Development and the Department of State are the largest US government development agencies. Still, unlike other donors, development funding and technical assistance is provided by up to 25 agencies with relatively little coordination. US foreign aid has always included a security as well as humanitarian and development dimensions. In recent years, as development assistance is increasingly coordinated with diplomacy and defense, the military dimension has been heightened. Perhaps the most original finding is the notion that public and government support of US foreign aid has required both security and development/humanitarian rationales to remain viable.

The paper brings together information from a range of existing sources, but provides a unique perspective on US foreign aid in education.