Geoffrey Dudley

Symposium: Theories of the Policy Process

Over the past decade and a half, a key development in policy studies has been a growing awareness of the vital part played by various discontinuities in the policy process, particularly in explaining the dynamics of major policy change. These discontinuities can take the form of the introduction of new ideas, values and knowledge, but can also represent gaps between the various phases of the policy process, and the institutional differences between separate policy arenas. One of those at the forefront of this fresh perspective is Paul Sabatier who, in his work with Hank Jenkins-Smith, has developed the key concept of the advocacy coalition framework (ACF). This book, in providing concise and authoritative accounts of both new and more established policy process frameworks, gives us an excellent overview and summary of the current state of play. A more intriguing facet of the book, however, is how, implicitly, it makes us more aware of the multidimensional character of the policy process.

IDEAS, BARGAINING AND FLEXIBLE POLICY COMMUNITIES: POLICY CHANGE AND THE CASE OF THE OXFORD TRANSPORT STRATEGY

Critiques of policy networks have highlighted particularly the inability of concepts such as policy communities to explain policy change. The established construction of policy community places it chiefly as a metaphor for a relatively stable network within the policy process, which emphasizes the resource dependencies between key stakeholders. Typically, a process of bargaining brings about accommodation and a state of negotiated order. However, a key problem arises in explaining major policy change where an established policy community persists. One solution here is to appreciate that, over time, dominant ideas and associated policy meanings may shift appreciably within an otherwise durable policy community. Thus, even a seemingly insulated policy community, under certain conditions, may not be immune to idea mutation and new policy meanings. Given the central importance of policy communities, these shifts may induce significant policy change. A case study of this type is provided by the Oxford Transport Strategy (OTS), where a dual process of change took place. On one level of analysis, a challenge to the policy community produced a typical bargaining strategy, with an emphasis on negotiated order. On another level of analysis, however, the terms of the policy debate shifted markedly, and produced a new meaning for the key concept of integrated transport within the policy community. In turn, this process induced significant policy change. The article concludes that, ironically, the survival of a policy community depends on its ability to re-create itself by visualizing a new future.

The Rise of Uber and Regulating the Disruptive Innovator

The ride-hailing company Uber has achieved extremely rapid global expansion by means of outmanoeuvring governments, regulators and competitors. The rise of the company has been based on a deliberate strategy of acting as a market disruptive innovator through a user friendly technology and making use of the ‘sharing economy’. These attributes are not unique, but are distinctively augmented by a relentless expansionary ambition and an ability to maintain the capacity to innovate. Uber has generated great political controversy, but the challenge for governments and regulators is to embrace the benefits of the disruptive innovator, while adopting an approach that takes into account the full range of impacts. For Uber, the challenge is to maintain its expansionary style as a disruptive innovator, while also redefining on its terms the political and public debate. The case study of London provides important insights into the dynamics of these processes.

Creative destruction and the sharing economy. Uber as disruptive innovation

Innovations in urban mobility, such as ride-hailing apps, car clubs, and peer-to-peer car sharing, have developed rapidly in recent years, with many combining technological advances with the concep...

Transplanting ideas in policy networks: Reinventing local government and the case of steel action

The crisis in local government has made it susceptible to the well known principles of Reinventing Government, particularly ideas about partnership and government as catalyst. It is important however, to understand the conditions under which new ideas, such as reinventing local government, can be successfully transplanted into existing policy networks. Hence the article examines the contrasting fortunes of the local authority single issue group Steel Action in the domestic and EU arenas. It concludes that governance as ‘steering’ is perhaps best seen in terms of the dynamics of a learning process with a high degree of uncertainty.

Expertise in decision-making for large infrastructure projects: from UK trunk roads to High Speed Rail 2

ABSTRACT At the decision-making stage, a large-scale infrastructure project is essentially a broad concept, and this means the expert analyses will differ from each other and become contested over time, leading to the emergence of rival narratives. It is only where there is a limited range of expert analyses that the bases for decision-making will remain relatively clear-cut. Over time the contested nature of expertise can significantly inhibit the construction of effective narratives, either for or against the project, and also make decision-making more complex and problematic. Decision makers may also seek greater clarification through the construction of narratives that rise above these disputed areas of expertise, and the scientific evidence becomes less important. This paper examines the changing nature of contested expertise through a comparative analysis of political decision-making between UK trunk roads policy and the case of High Speed Rail 2, through the framework of epistemic communities.