Policy implementation in multilevel environments: Economic development in Northern Ontario

Recent research on policy implementation has focused on policy intervention across multiple jurisdictions with large numbers of actors, loci and layers. The present study seeks to contribute to this endeavour by weaving together theoretical insights drawn from conventional policy implementation, organization theory and governance. The effectiveness of the integrated framework is verified by examining the economic development efforts of the Canadian government in Northern Ontario over the past two decades, focusing on how the federal government's main economic development agency engages with its provincial and local counterparts, as well as with organized community and private-sector groups within the region.