Control and improvement in the evaluation of social programs: Implementation, organizational transformation and global governance to strengthen public policies
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.58493/ecca.2025.4.1.17Keywords:
public policy, street-level bureaucracy, implementation evaluation, sustainable development, organizational transformation, global governanceAbstract
Social welfare programs in Mexico (2018-2025) have become the cornerstone of social policy redistribution. However, their evaluation has remained anchored in short-term results, neglecting the analysis of their implementation process. This article critically examines this problem, connecting three key analytical dimensions: the role of grassroots bureaucracy (Lipsky, 2010) in implementation, the institutional reconfiguration following the dissolution of the National Council for the Evaluation of Social Development Policy (CONEVAL) and its partial absorption by INEGI, and the demands of global governance. Through a critical approach and a qualitative methodology of document analysis and case study, it argues that the lack of implementation evaluation not only limits improvement and generates clientelistic incentives, but also weakens institutional learning, thus compromising sustainability and competitiveness in relation to global standards. This discussion articulates implementation theory with the frameworks of organizational transformation and global governance, proposing that the current evaluation architecture prioritizes an administrative control model over an evolutionary one. Consequently, it concludes by proposing participatory evaluation mechanisms, intergovernmental coordination, and strengthening local capacities to move toward an evolutionary evaluation oriented toward well-being and sustainability, where grassroots bureaucrats are recognized as key agents of change.
Keywords: public policy, grassroots bureaucracy, implementation evaluation, sustainable development, organizational transformation, global governance.
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