This IPSA paper explains the logic that guided Colebatch and Hoppe in composing their "Handbook o... more This IPSA paper explains the logic that guided Colebatch and Hoppe in composing their "Handbook on Policy, Process, and Governing", to be published by Edward Elgar in December 2018.
‘The policy process’ is easy to say, but difficult to clarify. This is not only because of the lack of clarity about what counts as policy, and how it is related to the diversity of activities from which it emerges, but also because of the uncertainty about the extent to which – or the ways in which – these activities can be seen as part of a process. This paper approaches this question from the outside in, as it were, locating the concept of policy within a broader discourse about governing, and exploring the way in which policy is ‘put together’ in practice, how this practice has been analysed by social scientists, in what ways this can be seen as constituting a system, and how presentations of policy as system relate to the work of practitioners and the work of academic observers.
In this article, we intend to take a few steps to mending the disconnect between the academic stu... more In this article, we intend to take a few steps to mending the disconnect between the academic study of policy processes and the many practices of professional and not-so-professional policy work. We argue, first, that the " toolkit " of academically warranted approaches to the policy process used in the representative mode may be ordered in a family tree with three major branches: policy as reasoned authoritative choice, policy as association in policy networks, and policy as problematization and joint meaning making. But, and this is our second argument, such approaches are not just representations to reflect and understand " reality ". They are also mental maps and discursive vehicles for shaping and sometimes changing policy practices. In other words, they also serve performative functions. The purpose of this article is to contribute to policy theorists' and policy workers' awareness of these often tacit and " underground " selective affinities between the representative and performative roles of policy process theorizing.
In this article, we intend to take a few steps to mending the disconnect between the academic stu... more In this article, we intend to take a few steps to mending the disconnect between the academic study of policy processes and the many practices of professional and not-so-professional policy work. We argue, first, that the “toolkit” of academically warranted approaches to the policy process used in the representative mode may be ordered in a family tree with three major branches: policy as reasoned authoritative choice, policy as association in policy networks, and policy as problematization and joint meaning making. But, and this is our second argument, such approaches are not just representations to reflect and understand “reality”. They are also mental maps and discursive vehicles for shaping and sometimes changing policy practices. In other words, they also serve performative functions. The purpose of this article is to contribute to policy theorists’ and policy workers’ awareness of these often tacit and “underground” selective affinities between the representative and performative roles of policy process theorizing. Keywords: governing, policy, policymaking process, policy analysis, policy work, representation, performation
The systematisation of healthcare emerged from a recognition that the quality of care has somethi... more The systematisation of healthcare emerged from a recognition that the quality of care has something to do with how it is organised, and with how organi- sational questions are addressed in a policy context. Care is specialised in order to achieve the highest levels of skill, but this produces discontinuities of care. Because there are many different specialised medical workers involved in the delivery of healthcare, and the treatment of any given patient involves bringing a number of these specialists to bear in a particular sequence, the organisational logic of specialisation and autonomy confl icts with the logic of patient focus and integration. But for the healthcare manager, this specifi c question of discontinuity of care is located in broader problems: costs of care are rising, largely owing to an ageing population, escalating ◗ technology and rises in the price of skilled labour increases in expenditure are not accompanied by commensurate increases ◗ in the level of health (...
This paper focuses on the practice of people who would not think of themselves as interpretive po... more This paper focuses on the practice of people who would not think of themselves as interpretive policy practitioners -clinical specialists working in UK hospitalsin order to open up for critical discussion the place of interpretation in the structuring of practice, how this relates to perceptions of 'health policy', and the way that the interrogation of interpretation can facilitate change in the constitution of policy.
This paper locates 'good governance' within the broader analytic concept of governance, a... more This paper locates 'good governance' within the broader analytic concept of governance, and applied it to the governing of urban land use - that is, to urban planning. It identifies parallel shift in town planning and political science from clear hierarchical models of governing to complex, interactive models in which 'government' is an outcome of continuing activity among a range of participants. This points to the importance for urban planning of constituting locations for interaction and the construction of shared meanings and commitments, a process termed by Healey 'collaborative planning'.
It is important to explore new ways of thinking about policy, not because new is necessarily bett... more It is important to explore new ways of thinking about policy, not because new is necessarily better, but because we need to understand the relationship between ways of thinking and the practice of policy. This paper identifies the currently-dominant way of thinking about policy and how it relates to the practices of governing, and goes on to look at a number of alternative ways of thinking about policy, and how they relate to practice. This leads to a consideration of an interpretive approach to policy, how interpretation operates as part of policy practice, and how the consideration of this aspect of policy practice helps us to understand what makes a way of thinking about policy 'good thinking'.
Page 1. EDITED BY HAL COLEBATCH, ROBERT HOPPE & MIRKO NOORDEGRAAF ORKING POLICY Amsterdam... more Page 1. EDITED BY HAL COLEBATCH, ROBERT HOPPE & MIRKO NOORDEGRAAF ORKING POLICY Amsterdam University Press Page 2. working for policy Page 3. Page 4. Working for Policy Hal K. Colebatch, Robert Hoppe & Mirko Noordegraaf (eds.) Page 5. ...
The concept of policy is a central element in both the practice and the analysis of governing, bu... more The concept of policy is a central element in both the practice and the analysis of governing, but it is rarely subject to much theoretical scrutiny. It forms part of an assumptive world in which it is taken for granted that governing is a coherent, hierarchical and instrumental process, and that policy is a pattern of authorised choice. This presentation of governing is subject to both empirical and theoretical critiques, which present government rather in terms of structured interaction. But these critiques do not appear to undermine the force of the dominant presentation of policy as authorised choice, and the central question for both the analysis and the practice of policy is the relationship between these confl icting presentations. Policy has been claimed as a fi eld of study for political science, but this has been contested by economics, and various elements of both economics and political science are mobilised in the analysis of policy, each contributing to a particular fr...
It is important to explore new ways of thinking about policy, not because new is necessarily bett... more It is important to explore new ways of thinking about policy, not because new is necessarily better, but because we need to understand the relationship between ways of thinking and the practice of policy. This paper identifies the currently-dominant way of thinking about policy and how it relates to the practices of governing, and goes on to look at a number of alternative ways of thinking about policy, and how they relate to practice. This leads to a consideration of an interpretive approach to policy, how interpretation operates as part of policy practice, and how the consideration of this aspect of policy practice helps us to understand what makes a way of thinking about policy 'good thinking'.
Usmjerenost na policy kao ključni pojam u analizi učinaka vlade ima svoje izvorište u anglosakson... more Usmjerenost na policy kao ključni pojam u analizi učinaka vlade ima svoje izvorište u anglosaksonskim sustavima predstavničke vlasti. Neke od ključnih kulturoloških normi tog oblika vlasti, koje uključuju suprotstavljenost pozicija, hijerarhiju i izbor, temelj su znatnogbroja radova o javnim politikama, koje se obično određuju kao proces izbora legitimnih i odgovornih dužnosnika vlasti. Postoji, međutim, i diskurs koji je tome suprotstavljen, kojim se naglašavaju ograničenja vlasti zasnovane na hijerarhiji, a na policy se prije svega gleda kao na strukturiranu interakciju. Ta dva suprotstavljena stava u međusobnu su odnosu i ne može ih se razmatrati posve odvojeno. Može se, međutim, reći da s obzirom na odnos dvaju pristupa postoje značajne razlike između anglosaksonskih sustava i sustava koji postoje u ostalim zemljama zapadne Europe. Time se ujedno postavlja i pitanje o značenju policyja i javnih politika u ostalim političkim sustavima, primjerice u jugoistočnoj Aziji ili u bivšim...
Policy is a construct in and about the practice of governing, and like other institutions, it is ... more Policy is a construct in and about the practice of governing, and like other institutions, it is subject to adaptation. This article argues that “policy” is a distinct account of government, distinguishable from other accounts such as “tradition” or “market failure”, and identifies the underlying assumptions of the policy account. The contemporary appeal of “policy” can be traced back to reform currents in American government from the post-war years, which gave rise to the emergence of “policy analysis” as a body of knowledge and a field of practice; the article traces the key elements of this “policy project”. It goes on to identify the characteristics of government in Southeast Asia, and asks what questions are raised by the application of the concept of policy to the practice and the analysis of government in the region.
One aspect of the modernization of liberal government in the late 20th century was an increased a... more One aspect of the modernization of liberal government in the late 20th century was an increased attention to policy, both as a concept for interrogating government, and as the basis for organizing work within government, leading to the development of ‘policy analysis’ as a decision tool. This paper reviews the development of specialised forms of ‘policy work’ in liberal western political systems in order to establish what can be learned by other sorts of polity, and in particular, the transitional states of Eastern Europe. It discusses the multiple and overlapping accounts of policy that are in use, and the implications that these have for the nature of policy work. It points out that policy work takes place in multiple locations where a diversity of rationales may apply, and discusses the implications of this analysis for the place of policy work in the modernization of government.
Interpretation is a critical element in both the analysis and the accomplishment of governing, an... more Interpretation is a critical element in both the analysis and the accomplishment of governing, and taking an interpretive approach to policy should not be seen as a methodological option for consenting adults, but as an integral element of political analysis. Understanding governing (whether by practitioners or analysts) raises questions about the shared meaning which makes action valid, and makes a reality of ‘the government’. This calls for attention to the ways in which this is done, and how this interpretive construction has been recognised in political science (and other social sciences) in Australia and elsewhere, and for a consideration of what this means for political scientists’ agenda of inquiry.
The development of policy rests on skilled practice by knowledgeable practitioners – ‘policy work... more The development of policy rests on skilled practice by knowledgeable practitioners – ‘policy work’ – and it is important to know what skills and knowledge this work calls upon, and where these are learned. Although there is substantial academic knowledge and courses in this field, many practitioners will argue that policy work is ‘as much an art as a science’ and is something that ‘you learn as you go’. This article reports on an exploratory study of policy practitioners’ accounts of their practice, what counts as knowledge, and in what contexts it is ‘useful’. We examine the discourses through which policy work is accomplished, the way in which people learn to do it, and the place of academic work in the constitution of these discourses. Drawing on our respondents understanding of policy practice, we discuss what more might be done to facilitate learning about the work of policy.
This IPSA paper explains the logic that guided Colebatch and Hoppe in composing their "Handbook o... more This IPSA paper explains the logic that guided Colebatch and Hoppe in composing their "Handbook on Policy, Process, and Governing", to be published by Edward Elgar in December 2018.
‘The policy process’ is easy to say, but difficult to clarify. This is not only because of the lack of clarity about what counts as policy, and how it is related to the diversity of activities from which it emerges, but also because of the uncertainty about the extent to which – or the ways in which – these activities can be seen as part of a process. This paper approaches this question from the outside in, as it were, locating the concept of policy within a broader discourse about governing, and exploring the way in which policy is ‘put together’ in practice, how this practice has been analysed by social scientists, in what ways this can be seen as constituting a system, and how presentations of policy as system relate to the work of practitioners and the work of academic observers.
In this article, we intend to take a few steps to mending the disconnect between the academic stu... more In this article, we intend to take a few steps to mending the disconnect between the academic study of policy processes and the many practices of professional and not-so-professional policy work. We argue, first, that the " toolkit " of academically warranted approaches to the policy process used in the representative mode may be ordered in a family tree with three major branches: policy as reasoned authoritative choice, policy as association in policy networks, and policy as problematization and joint meaning making. But, and this is our second argument, such approaches are not just representations to reflect and understand " reality ". They are also mental maps and discursive vehicles for shaping and sometimes changing policy practices. In other words, they also serve performative functions. The purpose of this article is to contribute to policy theorists' and policy workers' awareness of these often tacit and " underground " selective affinities between the representative and performative roles of policy process theorizing.
In this article, we intend to take a few steps to mending the disconnect between the academic stu... more In this article, we intend to take a few steps to mending the disconnect between the academic study of policy processes and the many practices of professional and not-so-professional policy work. We argue, first, that the “toolkit” of academically warranted approaches to the policy process used in the representative mode may be ordered in a family tree with three major branches: policy as reasoned authoritative choice, policy as association in policy networks, and policy as problematization and joint meaning making. But, and this is our second argument, such approaches are not just representations to reflect and understand “reality”. They are also mental maps and discursive vehicles for shaping and sometimes changing policy practices. In other words, they also serve performative functions. The purpose of this article is to contribute to policy theorists’ and policy workers’ awareness of these often tacit and “underground” selective affinities between the representative and performative roles of policy process theorizing. Keywords: governing, policy, policymaking process, policy analysis, policy work, representation, performation
The systematisation of healthcare emerged from a recognition that the quality of care has somethi... more The systematisation of healthcare emerged from a recognition that the quality of care has something to do with how it is organised, and with how organi- sational questions are addressed in a policy context. Care is specialised in order to achieve the highest levels of skill, but this produces discontinuities of care. Because there are many different specialised medical workers involved in the delivery of healthcare, and the treatment of any given patient involves bringing a number of these specialists to bear in a particular sequence, the organisational logic of specialisation and autonomy confl icts with the logic of patient focus and integration. But for the healthcare manager, this specifi c question of discontinuity of care is located in broader problems: costs of care are rising, largely owing to an ageing population, escalating ◗ technology and rises in the price of skilled labour increases in expenditure are not accompanied by commensurate increases ◗ in the level of health (...
This paper focuses on the practice of people who would not think of themselves as interpretive po... more This paper focuses on the practice of people who would not think of themselves as interpretive policy practitioners -clinical specialists working in UK hospitalsin order to open up for critical discussion the place of interpretation in the structuring of practice, how this relates to perceptions of 'health policy', and the way that the interrogation of interpretation can facilitate change in the constitution of policy.
This paper locates 'good governance' within the broader analytic concept of governance, a... more This paper locates 'good governance' within the broader analytic concept of governance, and applied it to the governing of urban land use - that is, to urban planning. It identifies parallel shift in town planning and political science from clear hierarchical models of governing to complex, interactive models in which 'government' is an outcome of continuing activity among a range of participants. This points to the importance for urban planning of constituting locations for interaction and the construction of shared meanings and commitments, a process termed by Healey 'collaborative planning'.
It is important to explore new ways of thinking about policy, not because new is necessarily bett... more It is important to explore new ways of thinking about policy, not because new is necessarily better, but because we need to understand the relationship between ways of thinking and the practice of policy. This paper identifies the currently-dominant way of thinking about policy and how it relates to the practices of governing, and goes on to look at a number of alternative ways of thinking about policy, and how they relate to practice. This leads to a consideration of an interpretive approach to policy, how interpretation operates as part of policy practice, and how the consideration of this aspect of policy practice helps us to understand what makes a way of thinking about policy 'good thinking'.
Page 1. EDITED BY HAL COLEBATCH, ROBERT HOPPE & MIRKO NOORDEGRAAF ORKING POLICY Amsterdam... more Page 1. EDITED BY HAL COLEBATCH, ROBERT HOPPE & MIRKO NOORDEGRAAF ORKING POLICY Amsterdam University Press Page 2. working for policy Page 3. Page 4. Working for Policy Hal K. Colebatch, Robert Hoppe & Mirko Noordegraaf (eds.) Page 5. ...
The concept of policy is a central element in both the practice and the analysis of governing, bu... more The concept of policy is a central element in both the practice and the analysis of governing, but it is rarely subject to much theoretical scrutiny. It forms part of an assumptive world in which it is taken for granted that governing is a coherent, hierarchical and instrumental process, and that policy is a pattern of authorised choice. This presentation of governing is subject to both empirical and theoretical critiques, which present government rather in terms of structured interaction. But these critiques do not appear to undermine the force of the dominant presentation of policy as authorised choice, and the central question for both the analysis and the practice of policy is the relationship between these confl icting presentations. Policy has been claimed as a fi eld of study for political science, but this has been contested by economics, and various elements of both economics and political science are mobilised in the analysis of policy, each contributing to a particular fr...
It is important to explore new ways of thinking about policy, not because new is necessarily bett... more It is important to explore new ways of thinking about policy, not because new is necessarily better, but because we need to understand the relationship between ways of thinking and the practice of policy. This paper identifies the currently-dominant way of thinking about policy and how it relates to the practices of governing, and goes on to look at a number of alternative ways of thinking about policy, and how they relate to practice. This leads to a consideration of an interpretive approach to policy, how interpretation operates as part of policy practice, and how the consideration of this aspect of policy practice helps us to understand what makes a way of thinking about policy 'good thinking'.
Usmjerenost na policy kao ključni pojam u analizi učinaka vlade ima svoje izvorište u anglosakson... more Usmjerenost na policy kao ključni pojam u analizi učinaka vlade ima svoje izvorište u anglosaksonskim sustavima predstavničke vlasti. Neke od ključnih kulturoloških normi tog oblika vlasti, koje uključuju suprotstavljenost pozicija, hijerarhiju i izbor, temelj su znatnogbroja radova o javnim politikama, koje se obično određuju kao proces izbora legitimnih i odgovornih dužnosnika vlasti. Postoji, međutim, i diskurs koji je tome suprotstavljen, kojim se naglašavaju ograničenja vlasti zasnovane na hijerarhiji, a na policy se prije svega gleda kao na strukturiranu interakciju. Ta dva suprotstavljena stava u međusobnu su odnosu i ne može ih se razmatrati posve odvojeno. Može se, međutim, reći da s obzirom na odnos dvaju pristupa postoje značajne razlike između anglosaksonskih sustava i sustava koji postoje u ostalim zemljama zapadne Europe. Time se ujedno postavlja i pitanje o značenju policyja i javnih politika u ostalim političkim sustavima, primjerice u jugoistočnoj Aziji ili u bivšim...
Policy is a construct in and about the practice of governing, and like other institutions, it is ... more Policy is a construct in and about the practice of governing, and like other institutions, it is subject to adaptation. This article argues that “policy” is a distinct account of government, distinguishable from other accounts such as “tradition” or “market failure”, and identifies the underlying assumptions of the policy account. The contemporary appeal of “policy” can be traced back to reform currents in American government from the post-war years, which gave rise to the emergence of “policy analysis” as a body of knowledge and a field of practice; the article traces the key elements of this “policy project”. It goes on to identify the characteristics of government in Southeast Asia, and asks what questions are raised by the application of the concept of policy to the practice and the analysis of government in the region.
One aspect of the modernization of liberal government in the late 20th century was an increased a... more One aspect of the modernization of liberal government in the late 20th century was an increased attention to policy, both as a concept for interrogating government, and as the basis for organizing work within government, leading to the development of ‘policy analysis’ as a decision tool. This paper reviews the development of specialised forms of ‘policy work’ in liberal western political systems in order to establish what can be learned by other sorts of polity, and in particular, the transitional states of Eastern Europe. It discusses the multiple and overlapping accounts of policy that are in use, and the implications that these have for the nature of policy work. It points out that policy work takes place in multiple locations where a diversity of rationales may apply, and discusses the implications of this analysis for the place of policy work in the modernization of government.
Interpretation is a critical element in both the analysis and the accomplishment of governing, an... more Interpretation is a critical element in both the analysis and the accomplishment of governing, and taking an interpretive approach to policy should not be seen as a methodological option for consenting adults, but as an integral element of political analysis. Understanding governing (whether by practitioners or analysts) raises questions about the shared meaning which makes action valid, and makes a reality of ‘the government’. This calls for attention to the ways in which this is done, and how this interpretive construction has been recognised in political science (and other social sciences) in Australia and elsewhere, and for a consideration of what this means for political scientists’ agenda of inquiry.
The development of policy rests on skilled practice by knowledgeable practitioners – ‘policy work... more The development of policy rests on skilled practice by knowledgeable practitioners – ‘policy work’ – and it is important to know what skills and knowledge this work calls upon, and where these are learned. Although there is substantial academic knowledge and courses in this field, many practitioners will argue that policy work is ‘as much an art as a science’ and is something that ‘you learn as you go’. This article reports on an exploratory study of policy practitioners’ accounts of their practice, what counts as knowledge, and in what contexts it is ‘useful’. We examine the discourses through which policy work is accomplished, the way in which people learn to do it, and the place of academic work in the constitution of these discourses. Drawing on our respondents understanding of policy practice, we discuss what more might be done to facilitate learning about the work of policy.
'Edited by leading scholars with contributions from over thirty renowned experts this is the lead... more 'Edited by leading scholars with contributions from over thirty renowned experts this is the leading Handbook on policy, processes and real world governing.' – Klaus Schubert, University of Muenster, Germany 'This is a highly valuable and timely book, which rediscovers and rethinks the relationship between policy processes, policy analysis (expertise and " policy work ") and governing in the context of a search for optimal governance in an ever more globalized world. This handbook does not simply bring a set of theories " in good standing " in academia, but rather relates them to one another to form an overall framework needed in dealing with the increasing internationalisation of governing at a regional (the EU) and a global level.' – Danica Fink-Hafner, University of Ljubljana, Slovenia This Handbook covers the accounts, by practitioners and observers, of the ways in which policy is formed around problems, how these problems are recognised and understood, and how diverse participants come to be involved in addressing them. H.K. Colebatch and Robert Hoppe draw together a range of original contributions from experts in the field to illuminate the ways in which policies are formed and how they shape the process of governing. The Handbook on Policy, Process and Governing covers not only the activities of government, but also the contributions of other stakeholders, and the ways in which a wide range of participants contribute to the formation of public policy. It explores the tensions involved in the policy process between: innovative choice and stable practise, authoritative decision and negotiated order, and agreed activity and announced goals. The scholar's focus on the analysis of activity and the practitioner's interest in the achievement of outcomes are brought together in this timely volume, making it a valuable read for public policy scholars and practitioners alike.
Uploads
Papers by Hal Colebatch
‘The policy process’ is easy to say, but difficult to clarify. This is not only because of the lack of clarity about what counts as policy, and how it is related to the diversity of activities from which it emerges, but also because of the uncertainty about the extent to which – or the ways in which – these activities can be seen as part of a process. This paper approaches this question from the outside in, as it were, locating the concept of policy within a broader discourse about governing, and exploring the way in which policy is ‘put together’ in practice, how this practice has been analysed by social scientists, in what ways this can be seen as constituting a system, and how presentations of policy as system relate to the work of practitioners and the work of academic observers.
Keywords: governing, policy, policymaking process, policy analysis, policy work, representation, performation
‘The policy process’ is easy to say, but difficult to clarify. This is not only because of the lack of clarity about what counts as policy, and how it is related to the diversity of activities from which it emerges, but also because of the uncertainty about the extent to which – or the ways in which – these activities can be seen as part of a process. This paper approaches this question from the outside in, as it were, locating the concept of policy within a broader discourse about governing, and exploring the way in which policy is ‘put together’ in practice, how this practice has been analysed by social scientists, in what ways this can be seen as constituting a system, and how presentations of policy as system relate to the work of practitioners and the work of academic observers.
Keywords: governing, policy, policymaking process, policy analysis, policy work, representation, performation