Authority of inspectorates is key for the acceptance of their decisions by the public and regulatees. This authority is increasingly under pressure because of mediatization and societal polarization around value conflicts, such as between safety or sustainability and economic development. Enforcement increasingly politicizes, but inspectorates still mainly derive their authority from technical-rational reputations. In these turbulent times, inspectorates need to increase their public authority. This project uses Bureaucratic Reputation theory, which recognizes that performative, moral and procedural dimensions of reputation matter for inspectorates beyond their technical reputations. We investigate how inspectorates can not only develop reputations for expertise, but also for effectiveness, empathy, and justice. We will investigate (1) how authoritative reputations develop in politicized and mediatized environments; (2) how coercive and persuasive regulatory strategies influence reputations; (3) why individual citizens change their views due to communication by inspectorates and (4) how different reputations affect compliance. Empirical knowledge in this area is still limited, and this project allows us to conduct methodologically advanced studies required to establish an evidence-base. Our team combines advanced skills in experimental and qualitative research methods with a strong track record in societal impact and collaboration with inspectorates. Our consortium includes 5 regulatory agencies, and connects to OECD and NSOB to increase international and societal impact. An extensive dissemination work package furthers the use of our findings in practice. The programme will facilitate strategic reflection on the legitimacy of inspectorates; will contribute to regulatory strategies supporting authoritative reputations, and will generate practical knowledge to support professional practices for reputation building, e.g. communication policies.
