Enhancing responsiveness and consistency: Comparing the collective use of discretion and discretionary room at inspectorates inEngland and theNetherlands

In: Regulation & governance, Volume 11, Issue 1, p. 81-94

Abstract

AbstractDiscretion used to be considered a feature of individuals, but growing literature shows that it has collective features as well. To develop an understanding of the individual and cooperative work of inspectors in using discretion and the discretionary room granted to them, we compared two inspectorates: theCareQualityCommission (CQC) inEngland and theJointInspectorate forYouth (JIY) in theNetherlands. Our analysis reveals that inspectors engage with colleagues, managers, and stakeholders to include other perspectives, gain mandate, and broaden their repertoire. At theCQC, inspectors use their discretion collectively; on their own initiative, they involve others in balancing and interpreting rules to reach judgments. At theJIY, teamwork is central and regulatory teams are granted collective discretionary room. We argue that collective work permits both responsiveness and consistency. In studying the judgments of inspectors and other street‐level bureaucrats, it is vital to look at collective work and how it combines consistency and responsiveness.