Gatekeeping and silos: Exploring Managers' Discretion and Actions Taken to avoid Gatekeeping in Blueprint 2020

Abstract

This thesis defines and explores gatekeeping within the Canadian public service in the context of the Blueprint 2020 public service renewal initiative. The author defines gatekeeping as “the personal decision of an employee in deciding what information and work goes up and down the hierarchy and what does not” and uses this definition to explore the role managers play in dividing and suppressing information (gatekeeping) that should flow through the manager, both to lower-level employees and higher-ranking executives.