'Street level bureaucrats and institutionalising inclusive development in Ecuador' ESRC Knowledge Exchange Studentship

The graduate studentship is embedded within a wider research project led by Professor Sarah A. Radcliffe which
critically examines the transformations in civil society-state dynamics in Ecuador since the introduction of a new
constitution in 2008. The research examines the ways national policies for social inclusion are institutionalised and
transmitted through a highly devolved political-administrative system in Ecuador. The decentralised Buen Vivir state
oversees many changes in governance and public policy. Diverse aspects of these are yet to be explored through
qualitative methods. Questions remain about the scope for public policy to factor in local dynamics of citizenship and
exclusion while achieving site-specific objectives to 'leave no one behind'. These questions have global implications as it
pushes development to designate and analyse complex socio-spatial inequalities. Second, the devolution of
policymaking and implementation to sub-national authorities creates new everyday interactions between street-level
bureaucrats and citizens. These encounters historically occurred across hierarchical difference, reinforcing
marginalization. Buen Vivir in principle re-calibrates these relations, yet civil servants' variable engagement with equity
and anti-discrimination combined with high levels of discretion in designing local programmes highlights the complex
dynamics of citizen experience and statecraft.