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Emerging modes of digitalisation in the delivery of welfare‐to‐work: Implications for street‐level discretion

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journal contribution
posted on 2023-12-14, 04:55 authored by Sarah Ball, Michael McGann, Phuc NguyenPhuc Nguyen, Mark Considine

Countries are increasingly looking to ‘digitalise’ how public services are delivered, with welfare-to-work and public employment services being key sites of reform. It is hoped that digitalisation can achieve efficient, effective, and targeted services for those in need and there is now a growing body of research on both the opportunities and pitfalls associated with this transition to digital welfare states. However, as a concept, ‘digitalisation’ remains ambiguously defined, hindering understanding of the distinct ways that discrete technological innovations are reshaping citizens' access to social protection and the role of street-level discretion in welfare administration. Drawing on interviews with expert informants from three countries pioneering digital reforms, this study aims to better understand what digitalisation entails for the delivery of activation. We identify three discrete modes of ‘digitalisation’ in welfare-to-work programmes: virtual engagement (remote activation), transactional automation (self-activation), and digital triaging (targeted activation). Far from digitalisation heralding the automation and curtailment of frontline discretion, the different modes reshape frontline delivery and citizens' access to social protection in specific ways.

Funding

Australian Research Council (ARC) Linkage Grant (LP190100686), in partnership with the National Employment Services Association (NESA) and Westgate Community Initiatives Group (WCIG).

History

Publication Date

2023-12-01

Journal

Social Policy and Administration

Volume

57

Issue

7

Pagination

1166-1180

Publisher

Wiley

ISSN

0144-5596

Rights Statement

© 2023 The Authors. Social Policy & Administration published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd. This is an open access article under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs License, which permits use and distribution in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited, the use is non-commercial and no modifications or adaptations are made.

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