Research Limitations

Although there are many positive aspects of this research design, the research is not beyond weaknesses that might affect the quality of the results.

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Limited amounts of time and financial resources for conducting fieldwork and develop the theoretical framework was the most constraining aspect of this research design.

However, given the importance of public administration in government and politics, I have endeavoured to make full use of the available tools and resources to complete the study in an acceptable time frame.

It is widely recognized that a universally acknowledged methodological approach to the study of public administration is yet to develop (Kotchengura, 2008, pp. 19-20).

Identification of a theoretical basis and the selection of appropriate methodological tools was thus an essential task. Attendance, participation and involvement in numerous public administration related research seminars, workshops, and conferences and personal contacts with members of the academic community served as a source of inspiration for the continuation of these activities. This research may be viewed as the extension of a broader governance and administrative science research agenda.

There were no other significant challenges to generating research outcomes. However, some difficulties regarding data generation were encountered. Not all the targeted units/individuals were found to be cooperative. Considerable legwork, phone calls, visits, lobbying and generally ‘putting myself about’ (Murray & Lawrence, 2000, p. 60), required considerable, energy, money and effort to ensure an appropriate and reasonably targeted number of respondents was represented in the sample size.

It was understood that interviewing elites might potentially present some challenges, inasmuch as it might have been a challenge to speak to them in a way they understood and with which they felt comfortable. It was also expected that interviewees might be suspicious, given that I was “a stranger to them” (Oppenheim, 2000, p. 141). These

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concerns proved to be unfounded, however. Indeed, no situations were encountered which could be labelled ‘unmanageable’.

Alreck & Settle (1995) speak of “many bias factors that may originate from data collection, interviewing and interpreting data” (p. 80). Many things came out during interviews and discussions which did not fall within the purview of the interview questions and schedule. Sometimes these were additional facts related to the phenomenon understudy and sometimes they were not. Judging from the balance of both positive and negative comments by respondents, it seems that the researcher’s efforts to neutralize the worse biases were relatively successful.

Another constraint consisted in different, often contradictory understandings of the terms ‘public administration reform’, ‘public sector reform’, ‘administrative reform’

and ‘civil service reform’ in countries. For example, administrative reform in Bangladesh is perceived as a reform of national and local level administrations. For pragmatic reasons the analysis focuses mainly on the local level; although attention to the national level was paid whenever it was deemed appropriate.

‘Writing well’ was one of the most difficult tasks to carry out (Moley et. al, 2002, p. 18;

Brause, 2000; Woods & Catarzara, 1988). Writing the dissertation was a troublesome exercise which had to ensure that the “findings speak for themselves” (Golden-Biddle &

Locke, 1997, P. 4). Operationally, writing this qualitative research was a complex process of rewriting in order to “be able to do justice to the fullness and ambiguity of experience of the real contexts” (Manen, 1997, p. 349).

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1.9 Research Distinctiveness

The Bangladeshi state, along with other national and international actors, was vigorously involved in efforts to strengthen governmental operations. Despite this, the results of reforms so far remain below expectation. The overview of available literature has shown that no in-depth and thorough academic studies have been done regarding the administrative reform of public institutions in Bangladesh responsible for the delivery of services. Although some studies are extremely detailed, they are largely descriptive in nature. Explanations for the failure of various reform initiatives are generally made without thorough empirical investigation. It is impossible to understand the social, political, administrative, and economic context of these reform efforts and the barriers to their success without examining the efforts made by governmental bodies, civil society and external actors.

Previous literature broadly relies on historical documentary analysis and is often based on personal experiences and observations. The current research, however, has employed the ‘triangulation’ method: interviews, data surveys and document analysis, which should make its conclusions better founded on a stronger methodological base than previous studies. Alongside examining documents and speeches, and the context of the reform programmes, the study has generated data through a wide-ranging programme of unstructured interviews. Triangulation provides qualitative research with a greater likelihood of overcoming the likely biases or weaknesses of single method approaches (Hayhoe 1998, p. 129).

Public administrations deal with considerable pressure both from within and without the country to improve service delivery. Despite the importance of the issue for Bangladeshi society, little detailed research has been carried out on the contemporary

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system of public administration. This study, details the role of administrative reform in building the institutional capacity of public administration for service delivery in Bangladesh. It examines the implementation of the MDGs of achieving universal primary education through an empirical investigation of the issue at the local level, or local administration of Upazila in the country. It is one of the first comprehensive studies of administrative reforms seeking to improve institutional capacity for the provision of primary education service delivery at local level in the country.

In terms of achieving distinctive solutions to the problem in hand, this research, with the help of triangulation methods, demonstrates new insights into the complex structural factors at play in Bangladesh, such as historical legacy, a poorly institutionalized state with weak policy development capacity, the carelessness of local context in formulating and executing reform efforts and the existence of entrenched administrative groups.

Taken together these factors render the prospects for wider reform unlikely.

Such efforts, which have been frequently undertaken since independence from Pakistan in 1971, have been mostly on a piecemeal basis. This has led to unexpected negative outcomes regarding public administration capacity building. This study seeks to pave the way for further research to develop a more appropriate framework for governments in developing countries to improve the service delivery capacity of public institution at local level. Apart from academic interest this work also has certain practical significance, in particular, for those who design and manage administrative reforms in post–colonial societies.

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