Assuming Accountability in the absence of control: The role of stewardship management

Stewardship, or trust-based, management has received increasing attention from scholars and practitioners in response to the challenges posed by control-based management. However, knowledge remains lacking regarding the impact of stewardship management on the alignment between practice and policy. This article addresses this gap by using ethnographic methods to examine how a shift towards stewardship-based management influences Street-level behaviour and affects the extent to which practice aligns with policy goals. The findings indicate that when stewardship management facilitates Street-level accountability practices, it can enhance policy‒practice alignment.