Andrea Migone

Charles Lindblom is alive and well and living in punctuated equilibrium land

Abstract Incrementalism enjoyed an almost uninterrupted 40 year run as the dominant model of policy change from the publication of Lindblom and Dahls first mention of the subject in 1953. In the mid-1990s, however, the elements of a new orthodoxy of policy dynamics began to appear in the form of various models of ‘punctuated equilibrium’, most notably in the works of Peter Hall, Frank Baumgartner and Bryan Jones. It is important to note, that the new orthodoxy did not replace the old, but rather supplemented it through the addition of notions of ‘atypical’ or ‘paradigmatic’ change to the pattern of marginal or incremental change put forward by Lindblom and his colleagues in the 1950s and 1960s. Contemporary models thus owe a great debt to incrementalism, attempting to incorporate its strengths while overcoming its weaknesses. This article discusses this evolution in theories of policy dynamics and the research agenda currently found in this area of policy studies.

The distribution of analytical techniques in policy advisory systems: Policy formulation and the tools of policy appraisal

The literature on policy analysis and policy advice has not generally explored differences in the analytical tasks and techniques practiced within government or between government-based and non-government-based analysts. A more complete picture of the roles played by policy analysts in policy appraisal is needed if the nature of contemporary policy work and formulation activities is to be better understood. This article addresses both these gaps in the literature. Using data from a set of original surveys conducted in 2006–2013 into the provision of policy advice and policy work at the national and sub-national levels in Canada, it explores the use of analytical techniques across departments and functional units of government and compares and assesses these uses with the techniques practiced by analysts in the private sector as well as among professional policy analysts located in non-governmental organizations. The data show that the nature and frequency of use of the analytical techniques used in policy formulation differs between these different sets of actors and also varies within venues of government by department and agency type. Nevertheless, some general patterns in the use of policy appraisal tools can be discerned, with all groups employing process-related tools more frequently than “substantive” content-related technical tools, reinforcing the procedural orientation of much contemporary policy work identified in earlier studies.

Policy advice through the market: The role of external consultants in contemporary policy advisory systems

Abstract The use of external policy consultants in government has been an increasing focus of concern among governments in the U.S., the UK, Canada and Australia, among others. Concern has arisen over the costs incurred by governments in this area and over the possible rise of a ‘consultocracy’ with the corresponding diminishment of democratic practices and public direction of policy and administrative development that could entail. However, current understanding of the origins and significance of the use of policy consultants in modern government is; poor with some seeing this development as part of a shift in the overall nature of state-societal relations to the ‘service’ or ‘franchise’ state and away from the ‘positive’ or ‘regulatory’ state, while others see it as a less significant activity linked to the normal development of policy advice systems in modern government. This article surveys the existing literature on the phenomena, in general, and identifies several methodological and data-ralated issues germane to the study and understanding of the activities of this set of external policy advisory system actors.

Explaining local variation in agri-food biotechnology policies: ‘green’ genomics regulation in comparative perspective

This paper develops a comparative framework for biotechnology policy analysis based on work by Paarlberg, Haga and Willard, and Isaac and applies this framework to help understand the evolution and differences in the regulatory regimes related to agri-food genomic innovations found in six countries: Italy, Spain, Australia, New Zealand, Canada and the US. Applying this framework to the six cases shows that these governments have fostered different types of regulatory regimes over the last quarter century that are closely connected with the manner in which governments have pursued either promotional or precautionary orientations towards new technologies; and second whether regulatory policy-making has been driven by state or public actors and interests. The implications of these findings for the study of biotechnology, and especially genomics-related matters, regulation and policy-making are then discussed. Copyright , Beech Tree Publishing.

Assessing contract policy work: overseeing Canadian policy consultants

Most of the interest in assessment of policy consulting in recent years has been related to financial and budgetary matters. This narrow focus has not dealt adequately with other important issues such as the impact of increased external consulting on the range and quality of advice and services provided to government. As such, important dimensions of this kind of contracting behaviour have been missed. This paper supplements new government contract data with the findings of a 2012–13 survey of approximately 160 Canadian federal government policy managers to investigate the oversight of contracts for policy work in Canada. Inefficiencies generated by a generalized lack of shared data and knowledge gained through the employment of external consultants is a major characteristic of this activity, which existing financially-based control systems fail to manage effectively.

Classifying biotechnology-related policy, regulatory and innovation regimes: A framework for the comparative analysis of genomics policy-making

Abstract An important part of the study of the policy response of government in the area of a novel technology, such as genomics, lies in identifying the technological trajectory followed in the sector and how it intersects or impacts upon existing policy, regulatory and innovation regimes. Part of the challenge in studying the impacts and outcomes of such trajectories, therefore, is their multilayered nature. This has led to the proliferation of different models or frameworks for the analysis of many sectors, each one tackling a specific level and obscuring the linkages between levels and units of analysis. Research into innovations, however, benefits from an understanding of the overall policy and regulatory regimes present in a sector while an understanding of regulatory behaviour is in turn linked to the overall policy framework set up to govern a sector. As such, analyses of both regulation and innovation in a sector such as genomics can profit from an integrated, multi-level approach grounded in the overall nature of the policy regime present in the sphere of activity under examination. We offer such an approach by synthesizing four existing models of policy, regulatory and innovation behaviour that fit the three levels of analysis – the policy regime, regulatory regime and the innovation regime – in the sphere of biotechnology.

Addressing emergent charisma in Roman military leaders: Triumphal practices in the Republican period

Starting from the premise that charisma is to be understood as both a social and political process, it is argued that in Republican Rome it represented a moment of political and personal consecration for military leaders. Within this context some of the practices associated with the triumph had the function of dampening emergent charisma. They helped to maintain as foremost the institutions of the Republic in the face of extremely successful military leaders who had the potential to radically alter them. Their capacity was at its peak during the classical Republican period, but progressively diminished during the late stages of the Roman Republic.

Policy formulation, policy advice and policy appraisal: the distribution of analytical tools

At its heart, policy analysis is what Gill and Saunders (1992, pp. 6‒7) have characterized as ‘a method for structuring information and providing opportunities for the development of alternative choices for the policymaker’. An important part of the process of policy formulation, policy analysis involves policy appraisal: providing information or advice to policymakers concerning the relative advantages and disadvantages of alternative policy choices (Mushkin 1977; Wildavsky 1979; Sidney 2007; Howlett et al. 2009). Such advice comes from a variety of different actors operating in a wide range of venues both internal and external to government. And policy workers operating in these venues employ many different types of analytical techniques or ‘policy formulation tools’ in this effort (Mayer et al. 2004; Colebatch et al. 2011). These tools generally are designed to help evaluate current or past practices and aid decision making by clarifying or eliminating some of the many possible alternative courses of action mooted in the course of policy formulation. They play a significant role in structuring policymaking activity and in determining the content of policy outputs and thus policy outcomes (Sidney 2007) and are a worthy subject of investigation in their own right. Unfortunately, although many works have made recommendations and suggestions for how formulation should be conducted (Vining and Weimer 2010; Dunn 2004), very few works have studied how it is actually practiced, on the ground (Colebatch 2005 and 2006; Colebatch and Radin 2006; Noordegraaf 2011). This lack of knowledge is generally true of many of the tasks and activities involved in policy formulation (DeLeon 1992;

The 'Lumpiness' Thesis Revisited: The Venues of Policy Work and the Distribution of Analytical Techniques in Canada

This paper contributes to the understanding of analytical practices and tools employed by policy analysts involved in policy formulation and appraisal by examining data drawn from 15 surveys of federal, provincial and territorial government policy analysts in Canada conducted in 2009-2010, two surveys of NGO analysts conducted in 2010-2011 and two surveys of external policy consultants conducted in 2012-2013. Data from these surveys allow the exploration of several facets of the use of analytical tools ranging from more precise description of the frequency of use of specific kinds of tools and techniques in government as well as their distribution between permanent government officials and external policy analysts. As the paper shows, the frequency of use of major types of analytical techniques used in policy formulation is not the same between the three types of actors and also varies within government by Department and issue type. Nevertheless some general patterns in the use of policy appraisal tools in government can be discerned, with all groups employing process-related tools more frequently than ‘substantive’ tools related to the technical analysis of policy proposals.

Beyond the Individual in Controversial Science-Based Technology Attitude Formation and Regulation: The State Construction of Policy Alternatives in Asia

The success of regulation and other forms of state and private sector activity in areas of new technologies are dependent on a number of factors, one of which is the reaction of public opinion to the innovation concerned. Existing theories of public acceptance of controversial science-based products bases largely on European and North American case studies are divided among those which focus on public and consumer knowledge of the science involved – the ‘deficit model’ and those which stress either the need for trust in regulatory and private sector actors involved in new product development and regulation, or the significance of individual cultural norms on attitude formation. This paper examines two cases of the introduction of controversial science in Asia – wastewater re-cycling in Singapore and nanotechnology regulation in the China, in order to assess the influence of these factors in each case. Based on this comparative research, it is argued that models of public acceptance of controversial science-based products must also take into account the state’s ability to define the range of public debate as a key overall parameter of public attitude formation.