Exploring the ‘How’ in Policy Diffusion: National Intermediary Organizations’ Roles in Facilitating the Spread of Performance-Based Funding Policies in the States

Numerous studies have examined “whether” and “why” policies diffuse, or the reasons for the adoption in a given government of a policy that exists in another government. This study explored the “how” of policy diffusion by focusing on college completion policies, especially performance funding. In particular, we examined the roles that intermediaries play in state-level college completion policy diffusion. Data are from 3 states and include observations of policy events, documents, and interviews with 56 participants, including state policy actors and intermediary representatives. This analysis, grounded in conceptual models of policy diffusion, revealed that diffusion occurs at various stages of the policy process, not just adoption. The study also demonstrated the coercive roles that intermediaries can play in promoting policies and revealed how intermediaries facilitate, and sometimes limit, policy learning, which is one of the primary mechanisms by which policies diffuse. By focusing on an underexplored conceptual model of policy diffusion, the national interaction model, this analysis shed light on the role played by intermediaries in state-level college completion policymaking.