by Sarah Brown, Journals Manager
The idea of innovation has become one of the most persistent and sought-after today. While too conceptually elusive to pin down to a single statement, innovation can be broadly understood as a process whereby new elements and approaches are introduced to existing ones, in an attempt to solve problems, add value, and contribute to knowledge. Being a problem-solving, value-oriented process, it is no surprise that the concept of innovation is increasingly finding footholds in different theoretical spaces within policy and political sciences, from collaborative arrangements, democratic practices, policy design and experimentation, to behavioural and cognitive theories. Within the public sector, innovation can be understood as the creation of new policies, services, advisory, governance and political arrangements, often leading to the development of novel shared views of what is acceptable and expected by the public as beneficiaries.
Intuitively, policy learning has a family resemblance to policy innovation. It seems almost self-evident that they should be considered together in the explanation of policy dynamics. Yet the two literatures have developed independently of each other. Studies which put them in conversation are few.
Our motivation then is simple.
We are interested in the connections that are being made between them and identifying frontiers for future work. The articles in our new Special Issue each address some aspect of what policy learning means for policy innovation and vice versa. We approach these two phenomena as being in conversation with one another and essentially co-directional. Policy learning studies are shot through with lessons on innovation – what it is, its enablers and barriers. And, innovations carry implications for learning – where understandings may change in nature and strength as a result of new practices or policies.
In our introductory article, we review how innovation shows up in studies of policy learning using the three key dimensions of policy innovation outlined by Sørensen (2016) – political leadership, competition, and collaboration – to structure our discussion. We provide a brief taster of six articles in this volume and their key contributions, before we draw attention to three main findings and suggest pathways for future research.
For a sneak preview of the Special Issue, you can read the articles now on Early View. They’re free to view until October 31!
1; Policy Learning and Policy Innovation: Interactions and Intersection
Claire A. Dunlop, UK
Not yet published; will be available from September 1st, 2024
2; Types of learning and varieties of innovation: How does policy learning enable policy innovation? Goyal, N., & Howlett, M. (2024). Types of learning and varieties of innovation: how does policy learning enable policy innovation?. Policy & Politics (published online ahead of print 2024)
3; Why policy failure is a prerequisite for innovation in the public sector
Trein, P., & Vagionaki, T. (2024). Why policy failure is a prerequisite for innovation in the public sector. Policy & Politics (published online ahead of print 2024)
4; Policy and organisational learning in judicial reform: evidence from an Italian Court of Appeal
Kamkhaji, J. C., & Vecchi, G. (2024). Policy and organisational learning in judicial reform: evidence from Italy. Policy & Politics (published online ahead of print 2024)
5; How do governments learn from ad hoc groups during crises? From SARS to COVID-19
Nair, S., & Garg, A. (2024). How do governments learn from ad hoc groups during crises? From SARS to COVID-19. Policy & Politics (published online ahead of print 2024) [Open Access]
6; The relative effects of diversity on collective learning in local collaborative networks in Belgium
Carlier, N., Aubin, D., & Moyson, S. (2024). The relative effects of diversity on collective learning in local collaborative networks in Belgium. Policy & Politics (published online ahead of print 2024)
7; Policy Beliefs, Belief Uncertainty, and Policy Learning Through the Lens of the Advocacy Coalition Framework
Nowlin, M. C. (2024). Policy beliefs, belief uncertainty, and policy learning through the lens of the Advocacy Coalition Framework. Policy & Politics (published online ahead of print 2024).
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