policy design

What happens when design meets power?

policypressblogLeave a comment

Jenny LewisJenny M Lewis

Article title: ‘When design meets power: Design thinking, public sector innovation and the politics of policymaking’ (by Jenny M Lewis, Michael McGann and Emma Blomkamp) in the special issue: ‘Improving public policy and administration: exploring the potential of design’.

Governments around the world have been experimenting with ‘design thinking’ approaches to test new policy solutions. In our recent article in Policy & Politics, we argue that policymakers need to learn how to incorporate the insights and practices from design thinking into policy. But designers also need to learn how to deal with the politics of the policy process. If both of these things happen, there should be significant benefits for policy design and all those affected by it.   Continue reading →

Diagnosing and assessing public policies: tips from the institutional analysis and development framework

policypressblogLeave a comment

Heikkila_AnderssonTanya Heikkila and
Krister Andersson

This blog is based on our recent article on policy design and the added value of the institutional analysis and development (IAD) framework in the 2018 special issue on Practical Lessons from Policy Theories.

Policy design is hard work. Policymakers often struggle to reach agreement on whether or how to create or adapt policies in response to issues that involve complex or multi-faceted problems (or solutions), or where deep-seated value disagreements over problems or solutions exist.  This raises the question: How can policymakers or analysts navigate and design effective policies around complex collective problems?  Continue reading →