crises alter the environment for street‐level policy entrepreneurship (SLPE), wherein street‐
level bureaucrats engage in policy formulation processes to secure future policy outcomes.
Nevertheless, like street‐level implementation in general, SLPE is studied during ordinary
times but rarely during crises. Focusing on community‐health workers in Brazil during the
Covid‐19 crisis uncovered a defensive motivation for SLPE, which aimed to legitimize …