Understanding the Programme Theories Underlying National Strategies to Improve the Working Environment in Small Businesses

Little is known about how knowledge of the particular features of small businesses can be transformed into national occupational safety and health programmes that can successfully prevent accidents and occupational diseases. This paper describes a theoretical framework for an analysis of occupational safety and health programmes aimed at small businesses, based on ‘programme theory’ — the fundamental rationale and driver(s) underlying what makes a programme work. It describes the existing programmes in New Zealand and an in-depth analysis of three specific types of programme — general (the Workplace Safety Discount scheme), sector (FarmSafe) and local (the Waitakere City Council Cleaner Production: Boat Building Project) — each representing a particular strategy for reaching out to small businesses. In doing so, the rationales and mechanisms underlying each programme were sought and described in order to make them transparent. The programme theory for each was further examined through analysis of ...