Towards a new era in the governance of integrated activation: A systematic review of the literature on the governance of welfare benefits and employment-related services in Europe (2010–21)

Abstract

This article presents the results of a systematic literature review of research articles (N = 72) to study the governance logic of integrated activation policies and the problems relating to reintegrating welfare benefits with services. The inductive study of the problems indicated in the literature demonstrates both the vertical and horizontal aspects of the governance of integrated activation at the street level: challenges are tied to the top-down activation policy; requirements and strategies of delivering benefits and services; collaboration and coordination in delivery chains; and risks and inequality that streel-level bureaucrats are trying to deal with in their work. The results point primarily to flaws in the vertical governance of activation, such as frontline work problems and collaborative practices between different actors and agencies. Moreover, some problems relating to collaboration and coordination, pointed towards the challenges in horizontal governance of activation. The article, however, demonstrates how the governance of integrated activation requires a coupling of these different streams of governance and understanding governance as a complex network of interdependencies and causal connections between institutions, organisations, and co-production with end users.