Li, Yanwei and Song, Yunpeng   <br/><br/>
State-led pilot innovation upscaling: A tale of the sanming healthcare reform in China 

 - Local Government Studies 
 - 49(2), Apr, 2023: p.375-396 
<br/><br/> Chinese governments have already applied pilot innovations widely with the aim of resolving various wicked problems efficiently, effectively and legitimately. Through an in-depth study on a pilot healthcare innovation in Sanming city, we identify a three-stage mechanism underlying its upscaling: its success in one setting, its horizontal upscaling in other settings, and its political upscaling nationwide. Moreover, we identify five conditions combined that are important in explaining its political upscaling: the support of central government, the knowledge transfer mechanism, the pilot’s salience, the involvement of a boundary spanner, and consistent institutional frameworks. Furthermore, we propose a state-led pilot innovation upscaling model; this implies that Chinese central government plays a deterministic role in achieving the upscaling of pilot innovations. Our study helps to elucidate mechanisms underlying the upscaling of pilot innovations in the Chinese governance context. – Reproduce <br/><br/>https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/03003930.2021.2009804<br/>