Background:Policymaking environments are multi-centric by necessity and design. Alcohol premises licensing is governed by Scottish legislation, which also allows for local autonomy.Aims and objectives:To describe the obstacles faced by local public health actors in seeking to influence the alcohol premises licensing system in Scotland as an example of local advocacy efforts in multi-centric policymaking.Methods:Snowball sampling identified and recruited 12 public health actors who were actively seeking to influence alcohol premises licensing, along with a national key informant. In-depth interviews (n=13) discussed challenges experienced and perceptions of best strategies for success. Interviews (69m average) were audio-recorded, transcribed, and analysed using an inductive framework approach.Findings:Most interviewees operated in local premises licensing arenas, influencing national legislation only through intermediaries. Challenges to engagement included: unfamiliar conventions, stakeholders and decision-making cultures, resources, data gaps, and licensing boards’ prioritisation of economic growth. Their preferred solution was a strengthening of national legislation to constrain local autonomy, but they adapted their strategies to the challenges faced.Discussion and conclusion:The adoption of a particular objective in national government (a public health objective for alcohol licensing) may not remove the need for effective local advocacy in a multi-centric system. Local policymakers have their own conventions, processes and views on evidence, and successful advocacy may involve diverse strategies and relationship building over time. Practitioners advocating policy change may benefit from a better understanding of prior research on how to bring about such change; scholars of such processes could better engage with this audience.

中文翻译：

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国家目标，地方政策制定：公共卫生努力将国家立法转化为苏格兰酒精许可的地方政策

背景：根据需要和设计，决策环境是多中心的。酒精场所许可受苏格兰立法管辖，该立法也允许地方自治。目的和目标：描述当地公共卫生行为者在寻求影响苏格兰的酒精场所许可制度时所面临的障碍，作为当地多方宣传努力的一个例子以决策为中心。方法：雪球抽样确定并招募了 12 名积极寻求影响酒精场所许可的公共卫生参与者，以及一名国家关键线人。深入访谈 (n=13) 讨论了所经历的挑战以及对成功最佳策略的看法。采访（平均 6900 万）被录音、转录，并使用归纳框架方法进行分析。调查结果：大多数受访者在当地经营场所许可领域，仅通过中介影响国家立法。参与的挑战包括：不熟悉的公约、利益相关者和决策文化、资源、数据差距以及许可委员会对经济增长的优先考虑。他们首选的解决方案是加强国家立法以限制地方自治，但他们调整了战略以适应面临的挑战。讨论和结论：在国家政府中采用特定目标（酒精许可的公共卫生目标）可能不会消除需要在多中心系统中进行有效的地方宣传。地方政策制定者对证据有自己的惯例、流程和观点，随着时间的推移，成功的宣传可能涉及不同的策略和建立关系。倡导政策变革的从业者可能会受益于更好地了解先前关于如何实现这种变革的研究；研究此类过程的学者可以更好地与这些受众互动。