The tension between research of policy and research for policy in an era of transnational education policy-making

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Desjardins, Richard; Rubenson, Kjell

2009-01-01

of implications for education policy-making processes and not least it has had an impact on who conducts policy studies and how. This book brings together a variety of contributions which explore recent political economic changes affecting education policy-making processes including the ascension of neo-liberalism......As national governments reform their educational systems to meet the challenges of living in a globalised world, the agenda setting power of transnational organizations like the OECD and the EU have become more transparent in the last decade. The phenomenon of globalization has a number...... and the transnationalization of education policy-making, as well as the tension between research of policy and research for policy. Working from different perspectives, the authors help to provide a better understanding of these two important sets of issues which the field of education must contend with today....

Health Policy Making System in Islamic Republic of Iran: Review an Experience

OpenAIRE

B Larijani; A Delavari; B Damari; A Vosoogh Moghadam; R Majdzadeh

2009-01-01

"nIn Iran, the policy making process still has room for improvement. These include the opportunities for better co-ordina­tion of policies on medical education, health research and service provision; improvement of decision making mecha­nisms; a more evidence-based policy making process, and more involvement of stakeholders; reducing fragmentation of policy making foci; and establishing a qualified institution for system analyses and progress monitoring. The Health Pol&am...

Policy dialogues - the "bolts and joints" of policy-making: experiences from Cabo Verde, Chad and Mali.

Science.gov (United States)

Dovlo, Delanyo; Nabyonga-Orem, Juliet; Estrelli, Yolanda; Mwisongo, Aziza

2016-07-18

Policy processes that yield good outcomes are inherently complex, requiring interactions of stakeholders in problem identification, generation of political will and selection of practical solutions. To make policy processes rational, policy dialogues are increasingly being used as a policy-making tool. Despite their increasing use for policy-making in Africa, evidence is limited on how they have evolved and are being used on the continent or in low and middle income countries elsewhere. This was an exploratory study using qualitative methods. It utilised data related to policy dialogues for three specific policies and strategies to understand the interplay between policy dialogue and policy-making in Cabo Verde, Chad and Mali. The specific methods used to gather data were key informant interviews and document review. Data were analysed inductively and deductively using thematic content analysis. Participation in the policy dialogues was inclusive, and in some instances bottom-up participatory approaches were used. The respondents felt that the execution of the policy dialogues had been seamless, and the few divergent views expressed often were resolved in a unanimous manner. The policies and strategies developed were seen by all stakeholders as relating to priority issues. Other specific process factors that contributed to the success of the dialogues included the use of innovative approaches, good facilitation, availability of resources for the dialogues, good communication, and consideration of the different opinions. Among the barriers were contextual issues, delays in decision-making and conflicting coordination roles and mandates. Policy dialogues have proved to be an effective tool in health sector management and could be a crucial component of the governance dynamics of the sector. The policy dialogue process needs to be institutionalised for continuity and maintenance of institutional intelligence. Other essential influencing factors include building

An overview of the United States government's space and science policy-making process

CERN Multimedia

CERN. Geneva

2008-01-01

A brief overview of the basic elements of the US space and science policy-making apparatus will be presented, focussing on insights into the interactions among the principal organizations, policy-making bodies and individual participants and their respective impact on policy outcomes. Several specific examples will be provided to illustrate the points made, and in the conclusion there will be some observations on current events in the US that may shape the outcome for the near-term future of US space and science policy in several areas.

[The role of the state and society relationship in the foreign policy making process : arvustus] / Hiski Haukkala

Index Scriptorium Estoniae

Haukkala, Hiski

2013-01-01

Arvustus: Maria Groeneveld. The role of the state and society relationship in the foreign policy making process. Tartu : Tartu University Press, 2012. ( Dissertationes rerum politicarum Universitatis Tartuensis ; 7)

Science communication in policy making

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Coumou, Hilde; van der Werf Kulichova, Z.; Wehrmann, C.

2014-01-01

Policy making regarding application of agricultural biotechnology has been controversial. This study investigates what determines the motivation of European biotech scientists to actively participate in policy making. To do this, a conceptual framework was developed based on the Theory of Planned...... Behavior. The framework was operationalized in semi-structured interviews with 17 European biotech scientists to collect data about their motivation to involve in GMO policy making. The results of this qualitative study suggest that the attitude of the scientists towards active participation in policy...... making is dependent on their view of the way science and decision making relate to each other. The respondents who are currently active in policy making seem to be driven by commitment to the public good. However, many respondents feel social pressure from environmental NGOs to withdraw from engagement...

Health policy making for street children: challenges and strategies.

Science.gov (United States)

Abdi, Fatemeh; Saeieh, Sara Esmaelzadeh; Roozbeh, Nasibeh; Yazdkhasti, Mansoureh

2017-08-17

Background The phenomenon of street children is a bio-psychological and social issue that not only harms children, but also endangers the health of a society. In line with the national programs for the development and promotion of street children's health in Iran, health policy making and essential strategies for this group of children will be presented in this paper. This paper will discuss the main issues and challenges of street children's health and, also, health policy and guidelines for this population. Methods In this review study, the keywords; street children, health, challenges, policy, and health policy making were searched through PubMed, SID, Iranmedex, World Health Organization (WHO), Emro, the Cochran Library, Medline and Google scholar to collect data. The search resulted in 84 related resources from which 48 cases that were more relevant to this research and covered the issue more comprehensively, were used. All data published during 2002-2015 have been included in this paper. Results Key concepts including street children and their health, health policy, strategies to improve the health of street children, health policy approaches for street children, the WHO's strategies, and social support program for street children must be considered in the health policy making processes for street children, as precise identification of the relevant information makes planning more effective in health policy making for this group of children. Conclusion The phenomenon of street children is a growing problem in the world and it has turned into a serious concern in many countries including Iran. The findings of this study can be used for identifying necessary measures in order to use research outcomes more effectively in policy making processes and reforming street children's health policies in Iran.

Models of policy-making and their relevance for drug research.

Science.gov (United States)

Ritter, Alison; Bammer, Gabriele

2010-07-01

Researchers are often frustrated by their inability to influence policy. We describe models of policy-making to provide new insights and a more realistic assessment of research impacts on policy. We describe five prominent models of policy-making and illustrate them with examples from the alcohol and drugs field, before drawing lessons for researchers. Policy-making is a complex and messy process, with different models describing different elements. We start with the incrementalist model, which highlights small amendments to policy, as occurs in school-based drug education. A technical/rational approach then outlines the key steps in a policy process from identification of problems and their causes, through to examination and choice of response options, and subsequent implementation and evaluation. There is a clear role for research, as we illustrate with the introduction of new medications, but this model largely ignores the dominant political aspects of policy-making. Such political aspects include the influence of interest groups, and we describe models about power and pressure groups, as well as advocacy coalitions, and the challenges they pose for researchers. These are illustrated with reference to the alcohol industry, and interest group conflicts in establishing a Medically Supervised Injecting Centre. Finally, we describe the multiple streams framework, which alerts researchers to 'windows of opportunity', and we show how these were effectively exploited in policy for cannabis law reform in Western Australia. Understanding models of policy-making can help researchers maximise the uptake of their work and advance evidence-informed policy.

Persistent misunderstandings about evidence-based (sorry: informed!) policy-making.

Science.gov (United States)

Bédard, Pierre-Olivier; Ouimet, Mathieu

2016-01-01

The field of research on knowledge mobilization and evidence-informed policy-making has seen enduring debates related to various fundamental assumptions such as the definition of 'evidence', the relative validity of various research methods, the actual role of evidence to inform policy-making, etc. In many cases, these discussions serve a useful purpose, but they also stem from serious disagreement on methodological and epistemological issues. This essay reviews the rationale for evidence-informed policy-making by examining some of the common claims made about the aims and practices of this perspective on public policy. Supplementing the existing justifications for evidence-based policy making, we argue in favor of a greater inclusion of research evidence in the policy process but in a structured fashion, based on methodological considerations. In this respect, we present an overview of the intricate relation between policy questions and appropriate research designs. By closely examining the relation between research questions and research designs, we claim that the usual points of disagreement are mitigated. For instance, when focusing on the variety of research designs that can answer a range of policy questions, the common critical claim about 'RCT-based policy-making' seems to lose some, if not all of its grip.

Big Data for Public Health Policy-Making: Policy Empowerment.

Science.gov (United States)

Mählmann, Laura; Reumann, Matthias; Evangelatos, Nikolaos; Brand, Angela

2018-04-04

Digitization is considered to radically transform healthcare. As such, with seemingly unlimited opportunities to collect data, it will play an important role in the public health policy-making process. In this context, health data cooperatives (HDC) are a key component and core element for public health policy-making and for exploiting the potential of all the existing and rapidly emerging data sources. Being able to leverage all the data requires overcoming the computational, algorithmic, and technological challenges that characterize today's highly heterogeneous data landscape, as well as a host of diverse regulatory, normative, governance, and policy constraints. The full potential of big data can only be realized if data are being made accessible and shared. Treating research data as a public good, creating HDC to empower citizens through citizen-owned health data, and allowing data access for research and the development of new diagnostics, therapies, and public health policies will yield the transformative impact of digital health. The HDC model for data governance is an arrangement, based on moral codes, that encourages citizens to participate in the improvement of their own health. This then enables public health institutions and policymakers to monitor policy changes and evaluate their impact and risk on a population level. © 2018 S. Karger AG, Basel.

[Public policy-making on breast cancer in Latin America].

Science.gov (United States)

González-Robledo, M C; González-Robledo, L M; Nigenda, G

2013-03-01

To understand the public policy-making process as it relates to breast cancer care in five Latin American countries. An exploratory-evaluative study was conducted in Argentina, Brazil, Colombia, Mexico, and Venezuela in 2010, with the selection of countries based on convenience sampling. Sixty-five semi-structured interviews were conducted with government officials, academics, and representatives of trade associations and civil society organizations. A content analysis of secondary sources was performed. Information sources, data, and informants were mixed using the triangulation method for purposes of analysis. The countries that have made the most progress in public policy-making related to breast cancer are Brazil and Mexico. Although Argentina, Colombia, and Venezuela do not have policies, they do have breast cancer care programs and activities. Two perspectives on the development of public policies became evident: the first includes the broad participation of both governmental and nongovernmental sectors, whereas the second, more narrow approach involves government authorities alone. The results point to significant differences in public policy-making related to breast cancer in the Region. They also show that greater progress has been made in countries where policies have been developed through inclusive participation processes.

HIV/AIDS Policy-Making in Iran: Part 2- from Formulation to Evaluation

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Rahim Khodayari Zarnaq

2018-01-01

Full Text Available Background and Objectives: Achieving an appropriate policy needs an in-depth and comprehensive understanding of policy-making process. This study aimed to analyze HIV/AIDS policy-making process in Iran. Material and Methods: This is a qualitative/exploratory study. Data were collected through document review and semi-structured interview. Non-probability sampling was used for selecting documents and research participants. We used framework analysis approach assisted by MAXQDA for analyzing qualitative data. Results: AIDS policy is formulated in two specific ways within national work group in the format of national strategic plan and drug damage reduction committee. The main problem of the policy process is fragmentation and lack of comprehensiveness. Country approach of the policy implementation is top-down. The main duty of country committee and its sub-committees facing with some challenges is generating interaction between the relevant organizations. Despite the specific structure of evaluation process, it suffers from challenges such as lack of required implementation power, lack of resource anticipation, weakness in systematic and comprehensiveness evaluation and not-enough cooperation among plan’s stakeholders. Conclusion: It is obvious that policy-making in this area is completely governmental and the role of non-governmental organizations and civil servants is neglected. It seems that reform in AIDS policy-making structure and process can solve most of the problems of implementation, monitoring and evaluation.

The Europeanization of German energy and climate policies. New forms of policy-making and EU multi-level-governance

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Fischer, Severin

2015-01-01

The Energy Transition (''Energiewende'') is one of the hot topics of the political debate in Germany for some years. As a consequence of ongoing European integration, EU level politics have gained growing importance. The focus of this study is on the interaction of German and EU energy and climate policies. How have German actors influenced EU policy-making processes and in how far are EU policies relevant for national policy-making in Germany? Three case studies look at processes in the fields of electricity market regulation, renewable energy policy and climate protection between 2007 and 2013.

Rationality versus reality: the challenges of evidence-based decision making for health policy makers.

Science.gov (United States)

McCaughey, Deirdre; Bruning, Nealia S

2010-05-26

Current healthcare systems have extended the evidence-based medicine (EBM) approach to health policy and delivery decisions, such as access-to-care, healthcare funding and health program continuance, through attempts to integrate valid and reliable evidence into the decision making process. These policy decisions have major impacts on society and have high personal and financial costs associated with those decisions. Decision models such as these function under a shared assumption of rational choice and utility maximization in the decision-making process. We contend that health policy decision makers are generally unable to attain the basic goals of evidence-based decision making (EBDM) and evidence-based policy making (EBPM) because humans make decisions with their naturally limited, faulty, and biased decision-making processes. A cognitive information processing framework is presented to support this argument, and subtle cognitive processing mechanisms are introduced to support the focal thesis: health policy makers' decisions are influenced by the subjective manner in which they individually process decision-relevant information rather than on the objective merits of the evidence alone. As such, subsequent health policy decisions do not necessarily achieve the goals of evidence-based policy making, such as maximizing health outcomes for society based on valid and reliable research evidence. In this era of increasing adoption of evidence-based healthcare models, the rational choice, utility maximizing assumptions in EBDM and EBPM, must be critically evaluated to ensure effective and high-quality health policy decisions. The cognitive information processing framework presented here will aid health policy decision makers by identifying how their decisions might be subtly influenced by non-rational factors. In this paper, we identify some of the biases and potential intervention points and provide some initial suggestions about how the EBDM/EBPM process can be

Rationality versus reality: the challenges of evidence-based decision making for health policy makers

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Bruning Nealia S

2010-05-01

Full Text Available Abstract Background Current healthcare systems have extended the evidence-based medicine (EBM approach to health policy and delivery decisions, such as access-to-care, healthcare funding and health program continuance, through attempts to integrate valid and reliable evidence into the decision making process. These policy decisions have major impacts on society and have high personal and financial costs associated with those decisions. Decision models such as these function under a shared assumption of rational choice and utility maximization in the decision-making process. Discussion We contend that health policy decision makers are generally unable to attain the basic goals of evidence-based decision making (EBDM and evidence-based policy making (EBPM because humans make decisions with their naturally limited, faulty, and biased decision-making processes. A cognitive information processing framework is presented to support this argument, and subtle cognitive processing mechanisms are introduced to support the focal thesis: health policy makers' decisions are influenced by the subjective manner in which they individually process decision-relevant information rather than on the objective merits of the evidence alone. As such, subsequent health policy decisions do not necessarily achieve the goals of evidence-based policy making, such as maximizing health outcomes for society based on valid and reliable research evidence. Summary In this era of increasing adoption of evidence-based healthcare models, the rational choice, utility maximizing assumptions in EBDM and EBPM, must be critically evaluated to ensure effective and high-quality health policy decisions. The cognitive information processing framework presented here will aid health policy decision makers by identifying how their decisions might be subtly influenced by non-rational factors. In this paper, we identify some of the biases and potential intervention points and provide some initial

Rationality versus reality: the challenges of evidence-based decision making for health policy makers

Science.gov (United States)

2010-01-01

Background Current healthcare systems have extended the evidence-based medicine (EBM) approach to health policy and delivery decisions, such as access-to-care, healthcare funding and health program continuance, through attempts to integrate valid and reliable evidence into the decision making process. These policy decisions have major impacts on society and have high personal and financial costs associated with those decisions. Decision models such as these function under a shared assumption of rational choice and utility maximization in the decision-making process. Discussion We contend that health policy decision makers are generally unable to attain the basic goals of evidence-based decision making (EBDM) and evidence-based policy making (EBPM) because humans make decisions with their naturally limited, faulty, and biased decision-making processes. A cognitive information processing framework is presented to support this argument, and subtle cognitive processing mechanisms are introduced to support the focal thesis: health policy makers' decisions are influenced by the subjective manner in which they individually process decision-relevant information rather than on the objective merits of the evidence alone. As such, subsequent health policy decisions do not necessarily achieve the goals of evidence-based policy making, such as maximizing health outcomes for society based on valid and reliable research evidence. Summary In this era of increasing adoption of evidence-based healthcare models, the rational choice, utility maximizing assumptions in EBDM and EBPM, must be critically evaluated to ensure effective and high-quality health policy decisions. The cognitive information processing framework presented here will aid health policy decision makers by identifying how their decisions might be subtly influenced by non-rational factors. In this paper, we identify some of the biases and potential intervention points and provide some initial suggestions about how the

Maritime Governance and Policy-Making

CERN Document Server

Roe, Michael

2013-01-01

A close analysis of the framework of existing governance and the existing jurisdictional arrangements for shipping and ports reveals that while policy-making is characterized by national considerations through flags, institutional representation at all jurisdictions and the inviolability of the state, the commercial, financial, legal and operational environment of the sector is almost wholly global. This governance mismatch means that in practice the maritime industry can avoid policies which it dislikes by trading nations off against one another, while enjoying the freedoms and benefits of a globalized economy. A Post-modern interpretation of this globalized society prompts suggestions for change in maritime policy-making so that the governance of the sector better matches more closely the environment in which shipping and ports operate. Maritime Governance and Policy-Making is a controversial commentary on the record of policy-making in the maritime sector and assesses whether the reason for continued polic...

Applying policy network theory to policy-making in China: the case of urban health insurance reform.

Science.gov (United States)

Zheng, Haitao; de Jong, Martin; Koppenjan, Joop

2010-01-01

In this article, we explore whether policy network theory can be applied in the People's Republic of China (PRC). We carried out a literature review of how this approach has already been dealt with in the Chinese policy sciences thus far. We then present the key concepts and research approach in policy networks theory in the Western literature and try these on a Chinese case to see the fit. We follow this with a description and analysis of the policy-making process regarding the health insurance reform in China from 1998 until the present. Based on this case study, we argue that this body of theory is useful to describe and explain policy-making processes in the Chinese context. However, limitations in the generic model appear in capturing the fundamentally different political and administrative systems, crucially different cultural values in the applicability of some research methods common in Western countries. Finally, we address which political and cultural aspects turn out to be different in the PRC and how they affect methodological and practical problems that PRC researchers will encounter when studying decision-making processes.

Application of HTA research on policy decision-making.

Science.gov (United States)

Youngkong, Sitaporn

2014-05-01

This article provides an overview of the potential uses of health technology assessment (HTA) in health technology or health intervention-related policy decision-making. It summarises the role of HTA in policy planning, health system investment, price negotiation, development of clinical practice guidelines, and communication with health professionals. While the multifaceted nature of HTA means that some aspects of the data can result in conflicting conclusions, the comprehensive approach of HTA is still recommended. To help minimise the potential conflicts within HTA data, a multicriteria decision analysis (MCDA) approach is recommended as a way to assess a number of decision criteria simultaneously. A combination of HTA with MCDA allows policy decision-making to be undertaken in an empirically rigorous and rational way. This combination can be used to support policy decision-makers in Thailand and help them prioritise topics for assessment and make informed health benefit package coverage decisions. This approach enhances the legitimacy of policy decisions by increasing the transparency, systematic nature, and inclusiveness of the process.

How much participation makes a participatory process legitimate? Observations from participants in forestry policy-making and nuclear weapons complex management

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Tuler, S.

1997-01-01

Public participation has received increasing attention as a means for improving research, policy-making, and decision-making in a variety of contexts. Regulators have experimented with a variety of participatory approaches to improve the legitimacy of outcomes in the eyes of diverse publics. In this paper the authors will explore how participants (as opposed to planners) perceived legitimacy of both processes and outcomes in planning processes. Data from two case studies will be presented: (1) a forestry planning process in the northeastern US and (2) environmental health, waste management, and clean-up activities in the US nuclear weapons complex. The data reveal that judgments about the appropriateness of particular forms of participation and about the quality of participation can be a critical factor in perceived legitimacy of processes and outcomes, and that judgments of appropriateness and quality are grounded in the experiences of individual participants. In addition, linkages between judgments about the adequacy of participation and legitimacy can be mediated by historical interactions and judgments of trust. Implications for the design of participatory processes will be discussed

What factors in the policy-making process determine the priority given to a policy issue?

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Erisa Xhixho

2015-03-01

Full Text Available Agenda setting is the process by which problems and alternative solutions gain or lose public attention (Birkland T. (2007, p.63; Werner J. and Wegrich K. (2007, p.46.. The main factor that determine an issue that it could become a priority, drawing the attention of decision makers, the public, reaching for it to become part of the agenda are: “Window of Opportunity”, which is a strategy used by less powerful groups, which are benefiting from the fact that powerful groups in certain situations may lose control of the agenda, they manage this circumstances to make their case to the priority. Another factor are the “Focus Event” that emphasizes the fact that unexpected events that shock the public opinion, as were the cases of corruption of officials, case “Snowden” or 11 September in the USA, affecting an issue that directly lead the decision-making agenda. Advocacy coalitions, is a form that use less powerful groups by joining on the basis of certain principles, values, beliefs they have about a particular issue. This alliance of values, resources and coordination of actions helps to advance the issue becoming a priority. “Venue shop” as a factor that aims to reach groups through institutions, be heard, be able to attract the attention of decision makers, also using the media as a very important factor nowadays for sensitizing public opinion on the issue and influence in order to become a priority issue. “Policy network” has come as a need of developing a relationship between government and the private sector, thus forming a power dependency relationship mainly the exchange of resources and thereby influencing the political agenda on particular issues. Therefore in this article I will try to argue that these factors affect in various ways becoming determinant that the issue be the priority on the decision agenda. Also, I can say that after the development of the analysis, I think that the two factors have a greater influence

Social Cost Benefit Analysis for Environmental Policy-Making

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

De Zeeuw, A.; In t Veld, R.; Van Soest, D.; Meuleman, L.; Hoogewoning, P.

2008-01-01

Review of the theoretical literature and the current debate on the valuation of environmental goods and services, on the discounting of future benefits and costs, and on how social cost benefit analysis (SCBAs) can be integrated in the policy and decision making process. It is concluded that SCBA can be a good decision support method in environmental policy-making if it is transparent and if all impacts are taken into account. Furthermore, the SCBA process should be participative, and politicians must be prepared to take responsibility for the assumptions behind the SCBA, including the assumptions on valuation and on the discount rate. Such a political role makes each SCBA a unique product of a politically responsible actor, and makes it possible for other stakeholders to have calculated an alternative SCBA based on their own assumptions. This Background Study also contains the proceedings of the international SCBA conference organised by RMNO on 16-17 January 2008

The Practices and Politics of Making Policy: Irrigation Management Transfer in Mexico

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Rap, E.R.; Wester, P.

2013-01-01

This article argues that policy making is an interactive and ongoing process that transcends the spatio-temporal boundaries drawn by a linear, rational or instrumental model of policy. We construct this argument by analysing the making of the Irrigation Management Transfer (IMT) policy in Mexico in

Policy Making as Bricolage

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Cartel, Melodie; Boxenbaum, Eva; Aggeri, Franck

The making of environmental policies is a multi-stakeholders process where actors often hold antagonistic interests. The paper explores how institutional compromises are reached by the mechanism of collective bricolage. Recent studies are developing a view on institutional innovation as bricolage......, but the conditions under which bricolage occurs and succeeds in relation to institutional innovation are still unknown. Drawing on the notion of platform developed in the context of economics performativity, we study their role in bricolage mechanisms. We hold an empirical case study of the GETS platform...... that was instrumental in developing the European carbon market as a corner-stone of European climate policy. Based on the GETS case study, we find three modalities in which platforms stimulate institutional bricolage: catalyzing combinations, managing learning, fostering compromise. These findings draw on, and extend...

Integrating research evidence and physical activity policy making

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Aro, Arja R.; Bertram, Maja; Hämäläinen, Riitta-Maija

2016-01-01

Evidence shows that regular physical activity is enhanced by supporting environment. Studies are needed to integrate research evidence into health enhancing, cross-sector physical activity (HEPA) policy making. This article presents the rationale, study design, measurement procedures...... and the initial results of the first phase of six European countries in a five-year research project (2011-2016), REsearch into POlicy to enhance Physical Activity (REPOPA). REPOPA is programmatic research; it consists of linked studies; the first phase studied the use of evidence in 21 policies in implementation...... to learn more in depth from the policy making process and carried out 86 qualitative stakeholder interviews. The second, ongoing phase builds on the central findings of the first phase in each country; it consists of two sets of interventions: game simulations to study cross-sector collaboration...

Civil Society Participation in EU Gender Policy-Making

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Agustin, Lise Rolandsen

2008-01-01

The participation of transnational advocacy networks (TANs) in the policy processes of the European Union (EU) is a potential site of substantial representation of women (SRW). In the article, it is argued that the institutional context can both enable and constrain civil society actors’ claims......-making. TANs employ framing strategies to make their claims resonate with or challenge the dominant discourse of the EU policies. The institutions use contested frames to constitute legitimate claims-makers, by recognising certain claims as more valid than others. The possibilities of SRW are delimited, since...

Decision making in energy policies with conflicting interests

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Renn, O.

1988-01-01

After the accident in Chernobyl policy making and implementation of energy decisions have become more difficult than ever. On the one hand the public reacts with fear and opposition to a possible extention of nuclear power, on the other hand the economic prosperity of a country depends on an inexpensive and non-exhaustive energy source like nuclear energy. The paper describes a concept of energy planning developed by a study group of the Nuclear Research Centre in Julich (FRG). The concept is based on the idea that in a pluralistic society different social groups should participate in the policy formulation process and that the values of the public should be incorporated in the weighting process to make choices between given options. As reference theory the basic framework of decision analysis is used. (orig./DG)

The African diaspora’s public participation in policy-making concerning Africa

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Norglo, Benhardt Edem Kofi; Goris, Margriet; Lie, Rico; Ong’ayo, Antony Otieno

2016-01-01

This paper examines the involvement of African diaspora organizations in Dutch and European policy-making concerning Africa. It addresses the extent to which their inclusion or exclusion in public policy processes in their destination countries is likely to impact (development) policies relating to

Policies and place-making for competitive cities

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Musterd, S.; Kovács, Z.; Musterd, S.; Kovács, Z.

2013-01-01

Policy-makers are making efforts to strengthen the competitiveness of their cities and urban regions. This book is about these policies and their implications for place-making and competitive cities. Policies driven by ‘classic’ location theory, cluster policies, ‘creative class’ policies aimed at

Assessing Patient Participation in Health Policy Decision-Making in Cyprus

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Kyriakos Souliotis

2016-08-01

Full Text Available Although the importance of patient participation in the design and evaluation of health programs and services is well-documented, there is scarcity of research with regard to patient association (PA participation in health policy decision-making processes. To this end, the present study aimed to validate further a previously developed instrument as well as to investigate the degree of PA participation in health policy decision-making in Cyprus. A convenient sample of 114 patients-members of patients associations took part in the study. Participants were recruited from an umbrella organization, the Pancyprian Federation of Patient Associations and Friends (PFPA. PA participation in health policy decision-making was assessed with the Health Democracy Index (HDI, an original 8-item tool. To explore its psychometric properties, Cronbach α was computed as regards to its internal consistency, while its convergent validity was tested against a self-rated question enquiring about the degree of PA participation in health policy decision-making. The findings revealed that the HDI has good internal consistency and convergent validity. Furthermore, PAs were found to participate more in consultations in health-related organizations and the Ministry of Health (MoH as well as in reforms or crucial decisions in health policy. Lower levels were documented with regard to participation in hospital boards, ethics committees in clinical trials and health technology assessment (HTA procedures. Overall, PA participation levels were found to be lower than the mid-point of the scale. Targeted interventions aiming to facilitate patients’ involvement in health policy decision-making processes and to increase its impact are greatly needed in Cyprus.

Assessing Patient Participation in Health Policy Decision-Making in Cyprus.

Science.gov (United States)

Souliotis, Kyriakos; Agapidaki, Eirini; Peppou, Lily Evangelia; Tzavara, Chara; Samoutis, George; Theodorou, Mamas

2016-06-20

Although the importance of patient participation in the design and evaluation of health programs and services is well-documented, there is scarcity of research with regard to patient association (PA) participation in health policy decision-making processes. To this end, the present study aimed to validate further a previously developed instrument as well as to investigate the degree of PA participation in health policy decision-making in Cyprus. A convenient sample of 114 patients-members of patients associations took part in the study. Participants were recruited from an umbrella organization, the Pancyprian Federation of Patient Associations and Friends (PFPA). PA participation in health policy decision-making was assessed with the Health Democracy Index (HDI), an original 8-item tool. To explore its psychometric properties, Cronbach α was computed as regards to its internal consistency, while its convergent validity was tested against a self-rated question enquiring about the degree of PA participation in health policy decision-making. The findings revealed that the HDI has good internal consistency and convergent validity. Furthermore, PAs were found to participate more in consultations in health-related organizations and the Ministry of Health (MoH) as well as in reforms or crucial decisions in health policy. Lower levels were documented with regard to participation in hospital boards, ethics committees in clinical trials and health technology assessment (HTA) procedures. Overall, PA participation levels were found to be lower than the mid-point of the scale. Targeted interventions aiming to facilitate patients' involvement in health policy decision-making processes and to increase its impact are greatly needed in Cyprus. © 2016 by Kerman University of Medical Sciences.

Strategic Delegation of Environmental Policy Making

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Roelfsema, H. [Utrecht University, Utrecht School of Economics, Vredenburg 138, 3511 BG Utrecht (Netherlands)

2004-04-15

A common claim is that nations should cooperate in environmental policy making. However, there is little empirical support that noncooperative decision making results in too low environmental standards and taxes. We develop a theoretical model and show that if the median voter cares sufficiently for the environment, she has an incentive to delegate policy making to a politician that cares more for the environment than she does herself. By doing so, she mitigates the 'race to the bottom' in environmental taxes. In contrast, if environmental policies are determined cooperatively with other countries, the median voter has an incentive to delegate policy making to a politician that cares less for the environment than she does herself, so as to free ride on international environmental agreements.

Making the Climate Count: Climate Policy Integration and Coherence in Finland

OpenAIRE

Kivimaa, Paula; Mickwitz, Per

2009-01-01

Tackling climate change in Finland and other industrialised countries requires major changes in production processes and consumption patterns. These changes will not take place unless climate change becomes a crucial factor in general and sector-specific policy-making. In this report climate policy integration in Finland is studied at different levels of policy-making: at the national level, regionally in Kymenlakso and the Metropolitan Area, as well as in the city of Helsinki and the town of...

Cultural Requirements of Policy Making System for Hijab and Dignity

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Shahla Bagheri

2012-12-01

Full Text Available Policy making and policy measures is important in the social system. occurs. Policy maker aimed to achieve cultural requirements of policy making system by interaction stale and society. After the Islamic Revolution of Iran. the strengths and weaknesses of the different levels of the system politically has been accompanied in the field of moral and sexual dignity and chastity, aside from the basic necessity of building systems - Iranian, coordination and harmony of the system was not relevant. That is in the realm of theoretical ideas and goals are expressed in practice, the relationship between logical and measurable programs are executed with the goals and policies have been developed. measures to improve processes, motivate and educate individuals and groups, and to monitor the development of information systems.

Regime change and public policy: the political and macro-economic decision-making of Spanish energy policy

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Lancaster, T.D.

1983-01-01

This dissertation examines the effects of peaceful regime change on public policy-making. Spain's National Energy Plan (PEN) in particular, and energy planning in general, constitute a critical policy issue which permits direct comparison of decision-making across regime change from the Franco dictatorship to the present constitutional monarchy. The research reveals that the nature of the political coalition underlying Spain's regime change accounts of the lack of significant change in policy-making processes in this particular policy issue. This thesis develops a two-pronged argument to explain the absence of significant policy change. The first is based on a general view of the Franco regime's and the democratic system's coalitional support. In each, three major political forces are seen as central: the military, business, and labor. One of these, business, is seen as being pivotal in the regime transition. Business' pivotal position, it is argued, has permitted a defence of a national energy policy beneficial to its economic interests in energy. The argument's second part focuses on the binding constraint on policy outcomes imposed by private interests in state planning and the generally non-binding nature of oppositional party policy proposals and public opinion.

Parliament and the making of Indian foreign policy: a study of nuclear policy

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Paranjpe, Shrikant

1997-01-01

This book is a study that attempts to look at the emerging role design that the Indian Parliament has come to acquire in the exercise of its functions of participating in the formulation of foreign policy. The choice of the case study of nuclear policy is deliberate in that it evokes responses in all the three important dimensions of the role of the parliament: policy-making, representational activity, and system maintenance activity. The executive and the legislature are closely associated in the process of policy-making in the Indian parliamentary set-up. The representational activities focuses on the role perception of a parliamentarian and his interest in the area of foreign policy. The system maintenance activity includes support for the regime and political system essentially ensuring continuation of policy. This book also brings out the policies as they developed and the role played by the Parliament in terms of participation in the formulation of the policies. The issue areas covered includes the scientific and technological aspects of atomic energy policy; the debate on the Nuclear Non-proliferation Treaty; peaceful nuclear explosions; and the question of the nuclear weapons option. The essential sources of the study have been parliamentary debates, published reports and other statements dealing with the topic and interviews with legislators and officials involved in the issue. Most of the recommendations and concluding observations have been based on the interviews conducted

Making Policy in the Classroom

Science.gov (United States)

Hohmann, Ulrike

2016-01-01

The concept of street-level bureaucracy (Lipsky, 1980, 2010) examines the form and extent discretion takes in teachers' and other public policy enactors' work and how they negotiate their way through sometimes contradictory policy imperatives. It provides a framework for straddling top-down and bottom-up perspectives on policy making. In this…

Foreign Policy Involvement Matters: Towards an Analytical Framework Examining the Role of the Media in the Making of Foreign Policy

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Kerstin Schulz

2013-05-01

Full Text Available Foreign policy processes have long played a minor role in the study of political communication. There is a broad consensus that the media is the central mediating actor and primary conduit between political decision-makers and the public. However, the media’s influence on foreign policy remains contingent across various processes and phases of foreign policy making; it is dynamic and multi-directional. Considering that the public sphere is essential for the legitimacy of foreign policy making, there is a demand for further research on the media’s performance in the making of foreign policy. Based on secondary research, this paper proposes an analytical framework for the systematic analysis of media–foreign policy relations by integrating foreign-policy context conditions as a research variable. The framework is based on the assumption that the role of the media varies across diverse foreign policy contexts depending on the intensity of governmental involvement in foreign affairs. The intensity is distinguished according to three dimensions: no involvement, indirect involvement and direct involvement. Finally, a case study is suggested in order to demonstrate the framework’s explanatory power: the German media coverage of Russia.

Using media to impact health policy-making: an integrative systematic review.

Science.gov (United States)

Bou-Karroum, Lama; El-Jardali, Fadi; Hemadi, Nour; Faraj, Yasmine; Ojha, Utkarsh; Shahrour, Maher; Darzi, Andrea; Ali, Maha; Doumit, Carine; Langlois, Etienne V; Melki, Jad; AbouHaidar, Gladys Honein; Akl, Elie A

2017-04-18

Media interventions can potentially play a major role in influencing health policies. This integrative systematic review aimed to assess the effects of planned media interventions-including social media-on the health policy-making process. Eligible study designs included randomized and non-randomized designs, economic studies, process evaluation studies, stakeholder analyses, qualitative methods, and case studies. We electronically searched Medline, EMBASE, Communication and Mass Media Complete, Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials, and the WHO Global Health Library. We followed standard systematic review methodology for study selection, data abstraction, and risk of bias assessment. Twenty-one studies met our eligibility criteria: 10 evaluation studies using either quantitative (n = 7) or qualitative (n = 3) designs and 11 case studies. None of the evaluation studies were on social media. The findings of the evaluation studies suggest that media interventions may have a positive impact when used as accountability tools leading to prioritizing and initiating policy discussions, as tools to increase policymakers' awareness, as tools to influence policy formulation, as awareness tools leading to policy adoption, and as awareness tools to improve compliance with laws and regulations. In one study, media-generated attention had a negative effect on policy advocacy as it mobilized opponents who defeated the passage of the bills that the media intervention advocated for. We judged the confidence in the available evidence as limited due to the risk of bias in the included studies and the indirectness of the evidence. There is currently a lack of reliable evidence to guide decisions on the use of media interventions to influence health policy-making. Additional and better-designed, conducted, and reported primary research is needed to better understand the effects of media interventions, particularly social media, on health policy-making processes, and

The role of policy-making and planning cultures for sustainable transport?

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Hansen, Carsten Jahn

2011-01-01

for underlying sets of values and norms to enter the policy process more freely and explicitly. However, do we then have the cultures and moral force to build effective sustainable transport policies and plans? The article therefore also looks into a range of overlapping approaches that may potentially aid...... in rethinking and rebuilding transport policy-making and planning processes in terms of cultural learning processes. Finally, the role of the planner as a ‘cultural entrepreneur’ and ‘cultural story-teller’ is presented as potential tool to push through new agendas or ideas, such as more sustainable transport...

Twenty-First Century Energy Policy Making in New Hampshire: Lessons for Collaboration

Science.gov (United States)

Herndon, Henry Phillip

In this thesis I investigate the organizational field that is New Hampshire's energy policy-making community as it engages with the state regulatory institution, the Public Utilities Commission, to grapple the challenges of designing a 21st century electricity marketplace. The Public Utilities Commission structure and function are evolving. Historically, the Commission has used adjudicative proceedings to carry out a ratemaking function for monopoly utilities. The Commission's adjudicative process is evolving to become increasingly collaborative as it begins to carry out its new function of 21st century electricity market design. I analyze both the new structure (collaboration) and the new function (21 st century electricity market design) of the Commission through three in-depth case studies of dockets (policy-making processes): Energy Efficiency Resource Standard, Electric Grid Modernization, and Net Metering. My findings identify ways in which the Public Utilities Commission structure for making energy policy decisions is flexible and may be shaped by stakeholders engaging in policy processes. Stakeholders have the power to collectively design regulatory proceedings to incorporate greater opportunities for collaboration to better suit the challenges posed by a 21st century electricity sector. I provide recommendations on how that redesign should occur.

How Different Forms of Policy Learning Influence Each Other: Case Studies from Austrian Innovation Policy-Making

OpenAIRE

Biegelbauer, Peter

2016-01-01

This paper investigates the question whether different forms of policy learning influence each other. The focus is on relationships between different forms of policy learning, which are explored on the basis of case study research in the field of research, technology and innovation policy-making in Austria. Methods utilised are expert interviews and document analysis besides literature and media recherché. With the goal to better understand the mechanisms behind learning processes, different ...

Public Participation in the Energy-Related Public Policy Making

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Bozicevic Vrhovcak, M.; Rodik, D.; Zmijarevic, Z.; Jaksic, D.

2011-01-01

This paper provides an overview of possibilities for public participation in proposing legal acts and other energy related documents in the Republic of Croatia and gives author assessment of the Croatian public participation level in the processes carried out. The ways how public has participated in the making of a few officially accepted documents have been analysed and potential benefits of inclusion of a wider circle of interested public have been stated. A comparison of the degree of public involvement in the decision making processes in Croatia and the European Union has been made, with specific emphasis on the adoption of the Third package of energy laws. Several national and EU funded projects aiming at enhancing the Croatian public participation in public decision making processes have been presented and their results given. Finally, possibilities for the improvement of the public participation in the Croatian energy policy making processes are proposed. (author)

People, Process, and Policy: Case Studies in National Security Advising, the National Security Council, and Presidential Decision Making

Science.gov (United States)

2017-06-01

confirmation of Lake’s concerns with the administration’s public relations failures, David Gergen, the president’s communications advisor, increased... Public Affairs: 389-395. 75 these positions, he did not openly object too them during the campaign. Additionally, as this case study shows, he...PEOPLE, PROCESS, AND POLICY: CASE STUDIES IN NATIONAL SECURITY ADVISING, THE NATIONAL SECURITY COUNCIL, AND PRESIDENTIAL DECISION MAKING

Experiences and attitudes towards evidence-informed policy-making among research and policy stakeholders in the Canadian agri-food public health sector.

Science.gov (United States)

Young, I; Gropp, K; Pintar, K; Waddell, L; Marshall, B; Thomas, K; McEwen, S A; Rajić, A

2014-12-01

Policy-makers working at the interface of agri-food and public health often deal with complex and cross-cutting issues that have broad health impacts and socio-economic implications. They have a responsibility to ensure that policy-making based on these issues is accountable and informed by the best available scientific evidence. We conducted a qualitative descriptive study of agri-food public health policy-makers and research and policy analysts in Ontario, Canada, to understand their perspectives on how the policy-making process is currently informed by scientific evidence and how to facilitate this process. Five focus groups of 3-7 participants and five-one-to-one interviews were held in 2012 with participants from federal and provincial government departments and industry organizations in the agri-food public health sector. We conducted a thematic analysis of the focus group and interview transcripts to identify overarching themes. Participants indicated that the following six key principles are necessary to enable and demonstrate evidence-informed policy-making (EIPM) in this sector: (i) establish and clarify the policy objectives and context; (ii) support policy-making with credible scientific evidence from different sources; (iii) integrate scientific evidence with other diverse policy inputs (e.g. economics, local applicability and stakeholder interests); (iv) ensure that scientific evidence is communicated by research and policy stakeholders in relevant and user-friendly formats; (V) create and foster interdisciplinary relationships and networks across research and policy communities; and (VI) enhance organizational capacity and individual skills for EIPM. Ongoing and planned efforts in these areas, a supportive culture, and additional education and training in both research and policy realms are important to facilitate evidence-informed policy-making in this sector. Future research should explore these findings further in other countries and contexts. �

Healthy kids: Making school health policy a participatory learning process

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Stjernqvist, Nanna Wurr; Bruselius-Jensen, Maria; Høstgaard Bonde, Ane

enjoyed having a voice in school matters and to deal with real life during health education. Teachers were very positive towards the integration of school health policy work into teaching the curriculum in Danish, Maths and Biology. However, the transferring from the classroom to the organizational levels....... Methods The presented model works at two levels - the classroom and the organizational level – and is based on four phases, namely: Investigation – Vision – Action – Change, viewed as an iterative process. Pupil perspectives and learning is the basis in all four phases based on a set of health education...... was weakhindering sustainable health changes. Conclusion Findings indicate that integrating school policy processes into the teaching of curriculum might pave the way for schools to engage in health promotion. But further knowledge on how to likewise engage the staff on an organisational level is needed....

Structural analysis of health-relevant policy-making information exchange networks in Canada.

Science.gov (United States)

Contandriopoulos, Damien; Benoît, François; Bryant-Lukosius, Denise; Carrier, Annie; Carter, Nancy; Deber, Raisa; Duhoux, Arnaud; Greenhalgh, Trisha; Larouche, Catherine; Leclerc, Bernard-Simon; Levy, Adrian; Martin-Misener, Ruth; Maximova, Katerina; McGrail, Kimberlyn; Nykiforuk, Candace; Roos, Noralou; Schwartz, Robert; Valente, Thomas W; Wong, Sabrina; Lindquist, Evert; Pullen, Carolyn; Lardeux, Anne; Perroux, Melanie

2017-09-20

Health systems worldwide struggle to identify, adopt, and implement in a timely and system-wide manner the best-evidence-informed-policy-level practices. Yet, there is still only limited evidence about individual and institutional best practices for fostering the use of scientific evidence in policy-making processes The present project is the first national-level attempt to (1) map and structurally analyze-quantitatively-health-relevant policy-making networks that connect evidence production, synthesis, interpretation, and use; (2) qualitatively investigate the interaction patterns of a subsample of actors with high centrality metrics within these networks to develop an in-depth understanding of evidence circulation processes; and (3) combine these findings in order to assess a policy network's "absorptive capacity" regarding scientific evidence and integrate them into a conceptually sound and empirically grounded framework. The project is divided into two research components. The first component is based on quantitative analysis of ties (relationships) that link nodes (participants) in a network. Network data will be collected through a multi-step snowball sampling strategy. Data will be analyzed structurally using social network mapping and analysis methods. The second component is based on qualitative interviews with a subsample of the Web survey participants having central, bridging, or atypical positions in the network. Interviews will focus on the process through which evidence circulates and enters practice. Results from both components will then be integrated through an assessment of the network's and subnetwork's effectiveness in identifying, capturing, interpreting, sharing, reframing, and recodifying scientific evidence in policy-making processes. Knowledge developed from this project has the potential both to strengthen the scientific understanding of how policy-level knowledge transfer and exchange functions and to provide significantly improved advice

Strategic information for industrial policy-making in developing countries; Information strategique pour le policy-making industriel dans les pays en developpement

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Gonod, P F

1990-05-01

The practice shows that many crucial decisions for industrialization in developing countries have been taken based on incomplete information. For strategic decisions an incomplete information may have catastrophic consequences. The function of policy-making is defined as the process by which the information generated/or used in a particular context is reevaluated in a different context in order to formulate/or execute a policy of alternative decisions. It follows that the industrial information must be presented in such a manner to allow a reevaluation and alternative decisions. 30 notes.

Modeling decision making as a support tool for policy making on renewable energy development

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Cannemi, Marco; García-Melón, Mónica; Aragonés-Beltrán, Pablo; Gómez-Navarro, Tomás

2014-01-01

This paper presents the findings of a study on decision making models for the analysis of capital-risk investors’ preferences on biomass power plants projects. The aim of the work is to improve the support tools for policy makers in the field of renewable energy development. Analytic Network Process (ANP) helps to better understand capital-risk investors preferences towards different kinds of biomass fueled power plants. The results of the research allow public administration to better foresee the investors’ reaction to the incentive system, or to modify the incentive system to better drive investors’ decisions. Changing the incentive system is seen as major risk by investors. Therefore, public administration must design better and longer-term incentive systems, forecasting market reactions. For that, two scenarios have been designed, one showing a typical decision making process and another proposing an improved decision making scenario. A case study conducted in Italy has revealed that ANP allows understanding how capital-risk investors interpret the situation and make decisions when investing on biomass power plants; the differences between the interests of public administrations’s and promoters’, how decision making could be influenced by adding new decision criteria, and which case would be ranked best according to the decision models. - Highlights: • We applied ANP to the investors’ preferences on biomass power plants projects. • The aim is to improve the advising tools for renewable energy policy making. • A case study has been carried out with the help of two experts. • We designed two scenarios: decision making as it is and how could it be improved. • Results prove ANP is a fruitful tool enhancing participation and transparency

Embedding health policy and systems research into decision-making processes in low- and middle-income countries.

Science.gov (United States)

Koon, Adam D; Rao, Krishna D; Tran, Nhan T; Ghaffar, Abdul

2013-08-08

Attention is increasingly directed to bridging the gap between the production of knowledge and its use for health decision-making in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs). An important and underdeveloped area of health policy and systems research (HPSR) is the organization of this process. Drawing from an interdisciplinary conception of embeddedness, a literature review was conducted to identify examples of embedded HPSR used to inform decision-making in LMICs. The results of the literature review were organized according to the World Health Organization's Building Blocks Framework. Next, a conceptual model was created to illustrate the arrangement of organizations that produce embedded HPSR and the characteristics that facilitate its uptake into the arena of decision-making. We found that multiple forces converge to create context-specific pathways through which evidence enters into decision-making. Depending on the decision under consideration, the literature indicates that decision-makers may call upon an intricate combination of actors for sourcing HPSR. While proximity to decision-making does have advantages, it is not the position of the organization within the network, but rather the qualities the organization possesses, that enable it to be embedded. Our findings suggest that four qualities influence embeddedness: reputation, capacity, quality of connections to decision-makers, and quantity of connections to decision-makers and others. In addition to this, the policy environment (e.g. the presence of legislation governing the use of HPSR, presence of strong civil society, etc.) strongly influences uptake. Through this conceptual model, we can understand which conditions are likely to enhance uptake of HPSR in LMIC health systems. This raises several important considerations for decision-makers and researchers about the arrangement and interaction of evidence-generating organizations in health systems.

Introduction of new vaccines: decision-making process in Bangladesh.

Science.gov (United States)

Uddin, Jasim; Sarma, Haribondhu; Bari, Tajul I; Koehlmoos, Tracey P

2013-06-01

The understanding of the decision-making process in the introduction of new vaccines helps establish why vaccines are adopted or not. It also contributes to building a sustainable demand for vaccines in a country. The purpose of the study was to map and analyze the formal decision-making process in relation to the introduction of new vaccines within the context of health policy and health systems and identify the ways of making decisions to introduce new vaccines in Bangladesh. During February-April 2011, a qualitative assessment was made at the national level to evaluate the decision-making process around the adoption of new vaccines in Bangladesh. The study population included: policy-level people, programme heads or associates, and key decision-makers of the Government, private sector, non-governmental organizations, and international agencies at the national level. In total, 13 key informants were purposively selected. Data were collected by interviewing key informants and reviewing documents. Data were analyzed thematically. The findings revealed that the actors from different sectors at the policy level were involved in the decision-making process in the introduction of new vaccines. They included policy-makers from the ministries of health and family welfare, finance, and local government and rural development; academicians; researchers; representatives from professional associations; development partners; and members of different committees on EPI. They contributed to the introduction of new vaccines in their own capacity. The burden of disease, research findings on vaccine-preventable diseases, political issues relating to outbreaks of certain diseases, initiatives of international and local stakeholders, pressure of development partners, the Global Alliance for Vaccines and Immunization (GAVI) support, and financial matters were the key factors in the introduction of new vaccines in Bangladesh. The slow introduction and uptake of new vaccines is a concern

Public Policy-Making in Contemporary Ethiopia | Abebe | Africa Insight

African Journals Online (AJOL)

This article draws attention to the perennial problems and salient features of public policy-making in contemporary Ethiopia, namely, the imbalance between policy-making institutions and policy benefi ciaries, and how these have infl uenced policy formulation and implementation from 1991 to 2004. Drawing from interviews ...

The process of changing national malaria treatment policy: lessons from country-level studies.

Science.gov (United States)

Williams, Holly Ann; Durrheim, David; Shretta, Rima

2004-11-01

Widespread resistance of Plasmodium falciparum parasites to commonly used antimalarials, such as chloroquine, has resulted in many endemic countries considering changing their malaria treatment policy. Identifying and understanding the key influences that affect decision-making, and factors that facilitate or undermine policy implementation, is critical for improving the policy process and guiding resource allocation during this process. A historical review of archival documents from Malaŵi and data obtained from in-depth policy studies in four countries (Tanzania, South Africa, Kenya and Peru) that have changed malaria treatment policy provides important lessons about decision-making, the policy cycle and complex policy environment, while specifically identifying strategies successfully employed to facilitate policy-making and implementation. Findings from these country-level studies indicate that the process of malaria drug policy review should be institutionalized in endemic countries and based on systematically collected data. Key stakeholders need to be identified early and engaged in the process, while improved communication is needed on all levels. Although malaria drug policy change is often perceived to be a daunting task, using these and other proven strategies should assist endemic countries to tackle this challenge in a systematic fashion that ensures the development and implementation of the rational malaria drug policy.

Environmental policy and environment-saving technologies. Economic aspects of policy making under uncertainty

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Ossokina, I.

2003-07-01

It is generally known that natural environment is profoundly influenced by technological change. The direction and the size of this influence are, however, surrounded by uncertainties, which substantially complicate environmental policy making. This dissertation uses game-theoretical models to study policy making under uncertainty about (a) the costs of technological advances in pollution control, (b) the preferences of the policy maker and the voters, and (c) the consequences of policy measures. From a positive point of view the analysis provides explanations for environmental policies in modern democracies. From a normative point of view it gives a number of recommendations to improve environmental policies.

Understanding farmers' strategic decision-making processes and the implications for biodiversity conservation policy.

Science.gov (United States)

Farmar-Bowers, Quentin; Lane, Ruth

2009-02-01

The conservation of biodiversity is an important issue world wide and in Australia the maintenance of native biodiversity on farms makes an important contribution to overall conservation objectives. This paper seeks to explain Australian farmers' rationale for maintaining biodiversity on their farms for personal as opposed to business reasons by developing a decision-systems theory from in-depth interviews. This difference has implications for policy development. The decision-systems theory is divided into two main sections. The first section contains five parts. (1) A hierarchy of motivation stories, (2) the concept of suitability and availability of opportunities, (3) a hierarchy of three decision-systems, (4) the concept of personal career paths, (5) the concept of Lenses. The second section contains one part, a policy classification system called 'boxes of influence' that suggests how policy developers can use the information in the first section to develop new biodiversity conservation policy. The paper suggests that decision-systems theory could be used to shed new light on current trends in agriculture and become an important investigative tool for policy development concerning the conservation of biodiversity on farms.

Power and Politics in the Global Health Landscape: Beliefs, Competition and Negotiation Among Global Advocacy Coalitions in the Policy-Making Process

Science.gov (United States)

McDougall, Lori

2016-01-01

advantage. Global health policy-making is an arena of contested interests, power and ideas, shaped by the interaction of coalitions. Although policy-making is often seen as a process that should be guided by evidence rather than interest-based politics, this study concludes that a participatory process of debate among different actor-coalitions is vital to progress and can lend greater legitimacy, accountability and transparency to the policy process. PMID:27239880

Power and Politics in the Global Health Landscape: Beliefs, Competition and Negotiation Among Global Advocacy Coalitions in the Policy-Making Process

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Lori McDougall

2016-05-01

of advantage. Global health policy-making is an arena of contested interests, power and ideas, shaped by the interaction of coalitions. Although policy-making is often seen as a process that should be guided by evidence rather than interest-based politics, this study concludes that a participatory process of debate among different actorcoalitions is vital to progress and can lend greater legitimacy, accountability and transparency to the policy process.

Power and Politics in the Global Health Landscape: Beliefs, Competition and Negotiation Among Global Advocacy Coalitions in the Policy-Making Process.

Science.gov (United States)

McDougall, Lori

2016-01-30

contested interests, power and ideas, shaped by the interaction of coalitions. Although policy-making is often seen as a process that should be guided by evidence rather than interest-based politics, this study concludes that a participatory process of debate among different actor-coalitions is vital to progress and can lend greater legitimacy, accountability and transparency to the policy process. © 2016 by Kerman University of Medical Sciences.

Strategic information for industrial policy-making in developing countries

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Gonod, P.F.

1990-05-01

The practice shows that many crucial decisions for industrialization in developing countries have been taken based on incomplete information. For strategic decisions an incomplete information may have catastrophic consequences. The function of policy-making is defined as the process by which the information generated/or used in a particular context is reevaluated in a different context in order to formulate/or execute a policy of alternative decisions. It follows that the industrial information must be presented in such a manner to allow a reevaluation and alternative decisions. 30 notes

Legitimacy and institutional response strategies of public participation in nuclear policy-making

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Lee, J. H.; Ahn, S. K.; Yun, Y. J.

2004-01-01

This paper proposes that the approach to nuclear policy system should be changed to the participatory and resilient way from the managerial and anticipatory way. This change is surely reasonable in the point that, firstly, the managerial and anticipatory approach contains the internal weakness of not allowing trials and errors due to its centralized decision making and, secondly, active participation of general public can give a great contribution to the course of decision-making in science and technology as well. However, the expansion of public participation has the risk of falling into the deadlock of unreasonable populism, so the course and procedures of public participation need to be included in the process of decision making in the matter of science and technology systematically. Accordingly, this paper shows the research result on the process of public participation in Europe and suggests the possibility that there can be a balanced and effective system of public participation in nuclear policy making

U.S. Trade and Investment Policy Making Process

Science.gov (United States)

Overall, EPA’s trade and environment policy organization is designed to create a flexible and collaborative mechanism so that EPA can participate fully and effectively in the development and implementation of U.S. trade and environment policy.

Sustainable development based energy policy making frameworks, a critical review

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Meyar-Naimi, H.; Vaez-Zadeh, S.

2012-01-01

This paper, in the first step, presents an overview of the origination and formulation of sustainable development (SD) concept and the related policy making frameworks. The frameworks include Pressure–State–Response (PSR), Driving Force–State–Response (DSR), Driving Force–Pressure–State–Impact–Response (DPSIR), Driving Force–Pressure–State–Effect–Action (DPSEA) and Driving Force-Pressure-State-Exposure-Effect-Action (DPSEEA). In this regard, 40 case studies using the reviewed frameworks reported during 1994–2011 are surveyed. Then, their application area and application intensity are investigated. It is concluded that PSR, and DPSEA and DPSEEA have the higher and lower application intensities, respectively. Moreover, using Analytical Hierarchy Process (AHP) with a set of criteria, it is shown that PSR and DPSIR have the highest and lowest priorities. Finally, the shortcomings of frameworks applications are discussed. The paper is helpful in selecting appropriate policy making frameworks and presents some hints for future research in the area for developing more comprehensive models especially for sustainable electric energy policy making. - Highlights: ► The origination and formulation of sustainable development (SD) concept is reviewed. ► SD based frameworks (PSR, DSR, DPSIR, DPSEA and DPSEEA) are also reviewed. ► Then, the frameworks application area and intensity in recent years are investigated. ► Finally, the SD concept and the SD based frameworks are criticized. ► It will be helpful for developing more comprehensive energy policy making models.

Analysis of the decision-support function of policy assessment in real-world policy making in the field of poverty and social inequalities. Case study on migrant integration policies in the Brussels-Capital Region

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Feyaerts, Gille; Deguerry, Murielle; Deboosere, Patrick; De Spiegelaere, Myriam

2017-01-01

Despite its high potential to support decision-making, the role of policy assessment in real-world policy making in the field of poverty and social inequalities remains largely questioned. In this study, we analyse policy assessment's role in a context of real-world policymaking, by means of a case study on a legislative proposal on integration policy for immigrant newcomers in the Brussels-Capital Region, for which we evaluate the potential effects on poverty and social inequalities. We first analyse the policy process surrounding the policy proposal – a process that is often treated as a black box within policy assessment research. Understanding the factors that influence and determine the decision-making process, enables us to gain insight into the potential decision-support function(s). Second, we develop an approach to policy assessment that aims to fully exploit its potential to contribute to the functions of both instrumental and conceptual learning. For this purpose, we propose to introduce the approach of realist evaluation and to focus on evaluating the underlying policy intervention theory from the perspective of poverty and social inequalities. Finally, we illustrate this new approach and its added value by applying it to the legislative proposal on integration policy and analyse its contribution to policy-oriented learning. - Highlights: •The field of policy assessment should draw on insights from policy studies. •We unpacked the policymaking black-box to identify the mechanisms of policy change. •The policy process is driven by an interaction of ideas, interests and institutions. •Policy assessment's potential lies in both instrumental and conceptual learning. •We propose to integrate realist evaluation's logic of inquiry within policy assessment.

European Union Climate Change Policy: in the nexus of internal policy-making and itnernational negotiations

OpenAIRE

Cao, Hui

2012-01-01

The aim of the dissertation is to examine the European Union s climate policy in the nexus of domestic policy-making and international negotiations. I firstly test the EU s internal climate policy-making by applying the rational choice institutionalism on the model of institution and preference affect EU s policy outcomes and conclude that: as the EU has a convergent preference, the EU s unique decision-making procedure, the entrepreneurship and EU s membership had been driving EU s climate...

Conflict within the Turkish foreign policy decision making mechanism:

OpenAIRE

Oğuz, Mustafa; Oguz, Mustafa

2005-01-01

This thesis presents an analysis of Turkish foreign policy decision making in a theoretical model and argues that Turkish foreign policy is a product of negotiation and compromises among various foreign policy making actors. Theoretical foundation is built on decision units framework advanced by Margaret G. Herman. It applies this framework to two cases and four decision occasions to investigate who made foreign policy decisions and how this influenced foreign policy of Turkey. The first case...

Pathways of undue influence in health policy-making: a main actor's perspective.

Science.gov (United States)

Hernández-Aguado, Ildefonso; Chilet-Rosell, Elisa

2018-02-01

It is crucial to know the extent to which influences lead to policy capture-by which the policy-making process is shifted away from the public interest towards narrow private interests. Using the case study of Spain, our aim was to identify interactions between public administration, civil society and private companies that could influence health policies. 54 semistructured interviews with key actors related to health policy. The interviews were used to gather information on main policy actors as well as on direct and subtle influences that could modify health policies. The analysis identified and described, from the interviewed persons' experiences, both the inappropriate influences exerted on the actors and those that they exerted. Inappropriate influences were identified at all levels of administration and policy. They included actions for personal benefits, pressure for blocking health policies and pressure from high levels of government in favour of private corporations. The private sector played a significant role in these strategies through bribery, personal gifts, revolving doors, negative campaigns and by blocking unfavourable political positions or determining the knowledge agenda. The interviewees reported subtle forms of influence (social events, offers of technical support, invitations, etc) that contributed to the intellectual and cultural capture of health officials. The health policy decision-making processes in Spain are subject to influences by stakeholders that determine a degree of policy capture, which is avoidable. The private sector uses different strategies, from subtle influences to outright corruption, taking advantage in many cases of flexible legislation. © Article author(s) (or their employer(s) unless otherwise stated in the text of the article) 2018. All rights reserved. No commercial use is permitted unless otherwise expressly granted.

Controlling equine influenza: policy networks and decision-making during the 2007 Australian equine influenza outbreak.

Science.gov (United States)

Schemann, K; Gillespie, J A; Toribio, J-A L M L; Ward, M P; Dhand, N K

2014-10-01

Rapid, evidence-based decision-making is critical during a disease outbreak response; however, compliance by stakeholders is necessary to ensure that such decisions are effective - especially if the response depends on voluntary action. This mixed method study evaluated technical policy decision-making processes during the 2007 outbreak of equine influenza in Australia by identifying and analysing the stakeholder network involved and the factors driving policy decision-making. The study started with a review of the outbreak literature and published policy documents. This identified six policy issues regarding policy modifications or differing interpretations by different state agencies. Data on factors influencing the decision-making process for these six issues and on stakeholder interaction were collected using a pre-tested, semi-structured questionnaire. Face-to-face interviews were conducted with 24 individuals representing 12 industry and government organizations. Quantitative data were analysed using social network analysis. Qualitative data were coded and patterns matched to test a pre-determined general theory using a method called theory-oriented process-tracing. Results revealed that technical policy decisions were framed by social, political, financial, strategic and operational considerations. Industry stakeholders had influence through formal pre-existing channels, yet specific gaps in stakeholder interaction were overcome by reactive alliances formed during the outbreak response but outside the established system. Overall, the crisis management system and response were seen as positive, and 75-100% of individuals interviewed were supportive of, had interest in and considered the outcome as good for the majority of policy decisions, yet only 46-75% of those interviewed considered that they had influence on these decisions. Training to increase awareness and knowledge of emergency animal diseases (EADs) and response systems will improve stakeholder

How Qualitative Research Informs Clinical and Policy Decision Making in Transplantation: A Review.

Science.gov (United States)

Tong, Allison; Morton, Rachael L; Webster, Angela C

2016-09-01

Patient-centered care is no longer just a buzzword. It is now widely touted as a cornerstone in delivering quality care across all fields of medicine. However, patient-centered strategies and interventions necessitate evidence about patients' decision-making processes, values, priorities, and needs. Qualitative research is particularly well suited to understanding the experience and perspective of patients, donors, clinicians, and policy makers on a wide range of transplantation-related topics including organ donation and allocation, adherence to prescribed therapy, pretransplant and posttransplant care, implementation of clinical guidelines, and doctor-patient communication. In transplantation, evidence derived from qualitative research has been integrated into strategies for shared decision-making, patient educational resources, process evaluations of trials, clinical guidelines, and policies. The aim of this article is to outline key concepts and methods used in qualitative research, guide the appraisal of qualitative studies, and assist clinicians to understand how qualitative research may inform their practice and policy.

HOSPITAL SITE SELECTION USING TWO-STAGE FUZZY MULTI-CRITERIA DECISION MAKING PROCESS

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Ali Soltani

2011-06-01

Full Text Available Site selection for sitting of urban activities/facilities is one of the crucial policy-related decisions taken by urban planners and policy makers. The process of site selection is inherently complicated. A careless site imposes exorbitant costs on city budget and damages the environment inevitably. Nowadays, multi-attributes decision making approaches are suggested to use to improve precision of decision making and reduce surplus side effects. Two well-known techniques, analytical hierarchal process and analytical network process are among multi-criteria decision making systems which can easily be consistent with both quantitative and qualitative criteria. These are also developed to be fuzzy analytical hierarchal process and fuzzy analytical network process systems which are capable of accommodating inherent uncertainty and vagueness in multi-criteria decision-making. This paper reports the process and results of a hospital site selection within the Region 5 of Shiraz metropolitan area, Iran using integrated fuzzy analytical network process systems with Geographic Information System (GIS. The weights of the alternatives were calculated using fuzzy analytical network process. Then a sensitivity analysis was conducted to measure the elasticity of a decision in regards to different criteria. This study contributes to planning practice by suggesting a more comprehensive decision making tool for site selection.

HOSPITAL SITE SELECTION USING TWO-STAGE FUZZY MULTI-CRITERIA DECISION MAKING PROCESS

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Ali Soltani

2011-01-01

Full Text Available Site selection for sitting of urban activities/facilities is one of the crucial policy-related decisions taken by urban planners and policy makers. The process of site selection is inherently complicated. A careless site imposes exorbitant costs on city budget and damages the environment inevitably. Nowadays, multi-attributes decision making approaches are suggested to use to improve precision of decision making and reduce surplus side effects. Two well-known techniques, analytical hierarchal process and analytical network process are among multi-criteria decision making systems which can easily be consistent with both quantitative and qualitative criteria. These are also developed to be fuzzy analytical hierarchal process and fuzzy analytical network process systems which are capable of accommodating inherent uncertainty and vagueness in multi-criteria decision-making. This paper reports the process and results of a hospital site selection within the Region 5 of Shiraz metropolitan area, Iran using integrated fuzzy analytical network process systems with Geographic Information System (GIS. The weights of the alternatives were calculated using fuzzy analytical network process. Then a sensitivity analysis was conducted to measure the elasticity of a decision in regards to different criteria. This study contributes to planning practice by suggesting a more comprehensive decision making tool for site selection.

Evidence-based policy-making in the NHS: exploring the interface between research and the commissioning process.

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Harries, U; Elliott, H; Higgins, A

1999-03-01

The UK National Health Service (NHS) R&D strategy acknowledges the importance of developing an NHS where practice and policy is more evidence-based. This paper is based on a qualitative study which aimed to identify factors which facilitate or impede evidence-based policy-making at a local level in the NHS. The study involved a literature review and case studies of social research projects which were initiated by NHS health authority managers or general practitioner (GP) fundholders in one region of the NHS. Data were collected through in-depth interviews with lead policy-makers, GPs and researchers working on each of the case studies and analysis of project documentation. An over-arching theme from the analysis was that of the complexity of R&D in purchasing. The two worlds of research and health services management often sit uncomfortably together. For this reason it was not possible to describe a 'blueprint' for successful R&D, although several important issues emerged. These include sharing an appropriate model for research utilization, the importance of relationships in shaping R&D, the importance of influence and commitment in facilitating evidence-based change, and the resourcing of R&D in purchasing. These issues have important implications for the strategic development of R&D as well as for individual project application. Moving beyond the rhetoric of evidence-based policy-making is more likely if both policy-makers and researchers openly acknowledge this complexity and give due concern to the issues outlined.

Beyond the usual suspects: using political science to enhance public health policy making.

Science.gov (United States)

Fafard, Patrick

2015-11-01

That public health policy and practice should be evidence based is a seemingly uncontroversial claim. Yet governments and citizens routinely reject the best available evidence and prefer policies that reflect other considerations and concerns. The most common explanations of this paradox emphasise scientific disagreement, the power of 'politics', or the belief that scientists and policymakers live in two separate communities that do not communicate. However, another explanation may lie in the limits of the very notion of evidence-based policy making. In fact, the social science discipline of political science offers a rich body of theory and empirical evidence to explain the apparent gap between evidence and policy. This essay introduces this literature with a particular emphasis on a recent book by Katherine Smith, Beyond evidence-based policy in public health: the interplay of ideas. As the title suggests, Smith argues that what matters for public health policy is less scientific evidence and much more a more complex set of ideas. Based on detailed case studies of UK tobacco and health inequality policy, Smith offers a richly textured alternative account of what matters for policy making. This excellent book is part of a small but growing body of political science research on public health policy that draws on contemporary theories of policy change and governance more generally. This essay provides a window on this research, describes some examples, but emphasises that public health scholars and practitioners too often retain a narrow if not naive view of the policy-making process. Published by the BMJ Publishing Group Limited. For permission to use (where not already granted under a licence) please go to http://group.bmj.com/group/rights-licensing/permissions.

The power of science economic research and European decision-making : the case of energy and environment policies

CERN Document Server

Rossetti di Valdalbero, Domenico

2010-01-01

This book highlights the interaction between science and politics and between research in economics and European Union policy-making. It focuses on the use of Quantitative tools, Top-down and Bottom-up models in up-stream European decision-making process through five EU policy case studies: energy taxation, climate change, energy efficiency, renewable energy, and internalisation of external costs.

Public values for energy futures: Framing, indeterminacy and policy making

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Butler, C.; Demski, C.; Parkhill, K.; Pidgeon, N.; Spence, A.

2015-01-01

In the UK there are strong policy imperatives to transition toward low carbon energy systems but how and in what ways such transitional processes might be realised remains highly uncertain. One key area of uncertainty pertains to public attitudes and acceptability. Though there is wide-ranging research relevant to public acceptability, very little work has unpacked the multiple questions concerning how policy-makers can grapple with and mitigate related uncertainties in efforts to enact energy systems change. In this paper, public acceptability is identified as an indeterminate form of uncertainty that presents particular challenges for policy making. We build on our existing research into public values for energy system change to explore how the outcomes of the project can be applied in thinking through the uncertainties associated with public acceptability. Notably, we illustrate how the public values identified through our research bring into view alternative and quite different problem and solution framings to those currently evident within UK policy. We argue that engagement with a wide range of different framings can offer a basis for better understanding and anticipating public responses to energy system change, ultimately aiding in managing the complex set of uncertainties associated with public acceptability. - Highlights: • We argue that public acceptability represents an indeterminate form of uncertainty. • This means alternative approaches to decision-making are required. • We introduce a public value set for energy system change. • We use this as a basis for interrogating current UK policy approaches to transitions. • Incorporating public values in policy can help tackle uncertainty about acceptability.

Understanding Public Policy Making through the Work of Committees: Utilizing a Student-Led Congressional Hearing Simulation

Science.gov (United States)

Rinfret, Sara R.; Pautz, Michelle C.

2015-01-01

In an effort to help students better understand the complexity of making environmental policy and the role of policy actors in this process, we developed a mock congressional hearing simulation. In this congressional hearing, students in two environmental policy courses take on the roles of members of Congress and various interest groups to…

Integrated assessment and environmental policy making. In pursuit of usefulness

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Parson, E.A.

1995-01-01

Current integrated assessment projects primarily seek end to end integration through formal models at a national to global scale, and show three significant representational weaknesses: determinants of decadal-scale emissions trends; valuing impacts and adaptive response; and the formation and effects of policies. Meeting the needs of policy audiences may require other forms of integration; may require integration by formal modeling or by other means; and may require representing decisions of other actors through political and negotiating processes. While rational global environmental policy making requires integrated assessment, current practice admits no single vision of how to do it, so understanding will be best advanced by a diverse collection of projects pursuing distinct methods and approaches. Further practice may yield some consensus on best practice, possibly including generic assessment skills generalizable across issues. (Author)

Transport policy-making and planning Javanese cities

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Dimitriou, H.

1995-12-31

Based on findings of field studies in five Javanese cities in Indonesia, this paper looks at a hierarchy of settlements and investigates what aspects of urban development and the transport sector most influences transport policy-making and planning in the country. The paper highlights the presence of a community hierarchy within these settlements with consonant trip-making patterns and the widespread mis-use of certain transport modes. The paper cross-relates observed transport problems and policy issues diagnosed from the five Javanese cities with an earlier prepared national agenda of urban transport policy issues and problems. This is done with a view to arriving at more sensitive policy and planning responses nationwide for cities of different kinds in Indonesia. The paper commences with an explanation of the settlement hierarchy and community structure employed by Indonesian government planners. An attempt is then made to relate this hierarchy and structure to the five cities studied. Within this context, factors affecting urban transport are discussed and tabulated against the above cities settlement hierarchy. These include aspects of: settlement size, structure and area; settlement development policy, urban for, density and topography; and travel and transport characteristics. An attempt is made to match this settlement hierarchy (and its constituent community structure) with a conceptualized hierarchy of transport modes, simultaneously investigating: the relationship between urban communities and assigned road hierarchies; community-based travel demand and trip-making characteristics; and the relationship between travel, speed and distance. From this an assessment is made of the performance and current use and mis-use of such transport modes.

A study on the role of influence group in public policy making

OpenAIRE

Abbas Monavarian; Mojtaba Amiri; Narges Sadat Razavimehr

2014-01-01

Nowadays, learning more about influence groups on public policy making is one of most important subjects of management science. Governments are the primary sources for public policy making but influenced groups participate indirectly and while they remain out of power, they put pressure on many decisions. Some of participants in public policy making are not influenced groups but mostly, due to their participation in policy public making matter are called influenced groups. This research, from...

Using social network analysis to examine the decision-making process on new vaccine introduction in Nigeria.

Science.gov (United States)

Wonodi, C B; Privor-Dumm, L; Aina, M; Pate, A M; Reis, R; Gadhoke, P; Levine, O S

2012-05-01

The decision-making process to introduce new vaccines into national immunization programmes is often complex, involving many stakeholders who provide technical information, mobilize finance, implement programmes and garner political support. Stakeholders may have different levels of interest, knowledge and motivations to introduce new vaccines. Lack of consensus on the priority, public health value or feasibility of adding a new vaccine can delay policy decisions. Efforts to support country-level decision-making have largely focused on establishing global policies and equipping policy makers with the information to support decision-making on new vaccine introduction (NVI). Less attention has been given to understanding the interactions of policy actors and how the distribution of influence affects the policy process and decision-making. Social network analysis (SNA) is a social science technique concerned with explaining social phenomena using the structural and relational features of the network of actors involved. This approach can be used to identify how information is exchanged and who is included or excluded from the process. For this SNA of vaccine decision-making in Nigeria, we interviewed federal and state-level government officials, officers of bilateral and multilateral partner organizations, and other stakeholders such as health providers and the media. Using data culled from those interviews, we performed an SNA in order to map formal and informal relationships and the distribution of influence among vaccine decision-makers, as well as to explore linkages and pathways to stakeholders who can influence critical decisions in the policy process. Our findings indicate a relatively robust engagement of key stakeholders in Nigeria. We hypothesized that economic stakeholders and implementers would be important to ensure sustainable financing and strengthen programme implementation, but some economic and implementation stakeholders did not appear centrally on

Creating Adaptive Policies: A Guide for Policy-making in an ...

International Development Research Centre (IDRC) Digital Library (Canada)

2009-01-01

Jan 1, 2009 ... This is an essential toolkit for those in the business of making, recommending, ... Policies that cannot perform effectively under today's complex, dynamic, and ... Suruchi Bhadwal is an Area Convener of the Centre for Global ...

Developing a DSR-HNS policy making framework for electric energy systems

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Meyar-Naimi, H.; Vaez-Zadeh, S.

2012-01-01

Sustainable Development (SD) has played a major role as a foundation of several policy making frameworks developed mainly by international organizations. In this paper, some critical points regarding the origination and formulation of the SD concept are discussed. It is argued that the SD concerns with selected sectors and regions rather than the whole society and all regions of the world. To tackle these shortcomings, the conventional definition of SD is extended in this paper according to a broad philosophy of harmonizing key aspects of human, nature and systems performances over generations. Based on this extended definition, an improved Driving Force–State–Response (DSR-HNS) policy making framework is introduced. The main contribution is the modeling of the state block by human, nature and systems components to design overall and coherent policies. A procedure using the framework is also elaborated to monitor the current policies and design new ones, which provides a dynamic, nonlinear, feedback controlled policy making practice, not accommodated by existing policy making frameworks. Finally, a case study is presented to evaluate the effectiveness of the modified framework and the proposed model. The study assesses Iran's electric power generation system from sustainability point of view and develops new policies. - Highlights: ► Some critical points regarding the Sustainable Development (SD) concept are discussed. ► Based on this extended definition, a policy making framework is introduced. ► A policy making procedure based on the framework is elaborated. ► A case study is presented to evaluate the effectiveness of the modified framework. ► New policies are developed for Iran's power generation system.

Knowledge and power in policy-making for child survival in Niger.

Science.gov (United States)

Dalglish, Sarah L; Rodríguez, Daniela C; Harouna, Abdoutan; Surkan, Pamela J

2017-03-01

Calls to enhance the use of scientific evidence in international health and development policy have increased in recent years; however, analytic frameworks for understanding evidence use focus narrowly on scientific research and were created using data and observations nearly exclusively from Western countries. We examine processes of health policy development in a case study of Niger, a low-income West African country that adopted integrated community case management of childhood illness (iCCM) beginning in 2007, resulting in measurable declines in child mortality. Data collection included in-depth interviews with policy actors in Niger (N = 32), document review (N = 103) and direct observation of policy forums (N = 3). Data analysis used process tracing methodology and applied an Aristotelian definition of "knowledge" as 1) episteme (facts), 2) techne (skills) and 3) phronesis (practical wisdom), while also using a critical perspective to understand issues of power. We found sharp differentials in policy-makers' possession and use of codified forms of knowledge (episteme), with Nigerien policy officers' access highly mediated by actors at international agencies. Government policy-makers possessed skills and capacities (techne) to negotiate with donors and deliberate and weigh conflicting considerations; however they lacked capacity and resources to formally evaluate and document programs and thus reliably draw lessons from them. Practical wisdom (phronesis) emerged as key to the iCCM policy enterprise, particularly among Nigerien government actors, who used logical and ethical arguments to make decisions later found to be critical to iCCM's success. While codified knowledge confers power on members of policy discussions who can access it, this represents only one form of knowledge used in the policy process and perhaps not the most important. Future research on evidence-based policy should use broader definitions of evidence or knowledge, examine on how

A study on the role of influence group in public policy making

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Abbas Monavarian

2014-09-01

Full Text Available Nowadays, learning more about influence groups on public policy making is one of most important subjects of management science. Governments are the primary sources for public policy making but influenced groups participate indirectly and while they remain out of power, they put pressure on many decisions. Some of participants in public policy making are not influenced groups but mostly, due to their participation in policy public making matter are called influenced groups. This research, from practical research purpose and method view, is a descriptive research and survey branch. The study investigates the effect of university based Iranian Sociological Association on public policy making. The study designs a questionnaire in Likert scale and distributes it among some experts. The results of our survey indicate that that Iranian Sociological Association could influence on public policy making through elite and prominent leaders, self-knowledge and information, elective campaigns, stimulation and connecting with people and other groups.

Do Strategic Foresight and Policy Making Go Hand in Hand?

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Chloupkova, Jarka; Svendsen, Gert Tinggaard; Zdechovský, Tomáš

2016-01-01

Policy making is a complex issue, as numerous factors should be taken aboard before a political decision is made. To ensure a more holistic approach to policy making, the authors propose to use the tool of foresight to capture the multitude of variables. Using the framework of rational choice...... the use of the foresight tool. Such a vision for Europe could further improve future policy making to the benefit of all EU citizens. The success of foresight and stake- holders’ groups for making sound decisions where best to invest tax-payers’ money, was already piloted in European Commission...... and coordinated joint policy decisions. This would aid in establishing the optimal amount of public goods for which tax-payers’ money is to be invested. Currently, Europe stands at an important cross-road as to what its future will be. Some political decisions have been made, and some are still to be made...

Framing and the health policy process: a scoping review.

Science.gov (United States)

Koon, Adam D; Hawkins, Benjamin; Mayhew, Susannah H

2016-07-01

Framing research seeks to understand the forces that shape human behaviour in the policy process. It assumes that policy is a social construct and can be cast in a variety of ways to imply multiple legitimate value considerations. Frames provide the cognitive means of making sense of the social world, but discordance among them forms the basis of policy contestation. Framing, as both theory and method, has proven to generate considerable insight into the nature of policy debates in a variety of disciplines. Despite its salience for understanding health policy debates; however, little is known about the ways frames influence the health policy process. A scoping review using the Arksey and O'Malley framework was conducted. The literature on framing in the health sector was reviewed using nine health and social science databases. Articles were included that explicitly reported theory and methods used, data source(s), at least one frame, frame sponsor and evidence of a given frame's effect on the health policy process. A total of 52 articles, from 1996 to 2014, and representing 12 countries, were identified. Much of the research came from the policy studies/political science literature (n = 17) and used a constructivist epistemology. The term 'frame' was used as a label to describe a variety of ideas, packaged as values, social problems, metaphors or arguments. Frames were characterized at various levels of abstraction ranging from general ideological orientations to specific policy positions. Most articles presented multiple frames and showed how actors advocated for them in a highly contested political process. Framing is increasingly an important, yet overlooked aspect of the policy process. Further analysis on frames, framing processes and frame conflict can help researchers and policymakers to understand opaque and highly charged policy issues, which may facilitate the resolution of protracted policy controversies. © The Author 2016. Published by Oxford

Making robust policy decisions using global biodiversity indicators.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Emily Nicholson

Full Text Available In order to influence global policy effectively, conservation scientists need to be able to provide robust predictions of the impact of alternative policies on biodiversity and measure progress towards goals using reliable indicators. We present a framework for using biodiversity indicators predictively to inform policy choices at a global level. The approach is illustrated with two case studies in which we project forwards the impacts of feasible policies on trends in biodiversity and in relevant indicators. The policies are based on targets agreed at the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD meeting in Nagoya in October 2010. The first case study compares protected area policies for African mammals, assessed using the Red List Index; the second example uses the Living Planet Index to assess the impact of a complete halt, versus a reduction, in bottom trawling. In the protected areas example, we find that the indicator can aid in decision-making because it is able to differentiate between the impacts of the different policies. In the bottom trawling example, the indicator exhibits some counter-intuitive behaviour, due to over-representation of some taxonomic and functional groups in the indicator, and contrasting impacts of the policies on different groups caused by trophic interactions. Our results support the need for further research on how to use predictive models and indicators to credibly track trends and inform policy. To be useful and relevant, scientists must make testable predictions about the impact of global policy on biodiversity to ensure that targets such as those set at Nagoya catalyse effective and measurable change.

On the influence of institutional design on monetary policy making

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Raes, L.B.D.

2014-01-01

This thesis consists of a collection of essays on monetary policy making. These essays focus on institutional aspects which impact monetary policy making. Two chapters focus on analyzing voting records of central banks. A method is proposed to use the observed votes to infer the preferences of

The application of system dynamics modelling to environmental health decision-making and policy - a scoping review.

Science.gov (United States)

Currie, Danielle J; Smith, Carl; Jagals, Paul

2018-03-27

Policy and decision-making processes are routinely challenged by the complex and dynamic nature of environmental health problems. System dynamics modelling has demonstrated considerable value across a number of different fields to help decision-makers understand and predict the dynamic behaviour of complex systems in support the development of effective policy actions. In this scoping review we investigate if, and in what contexts, system dynamics modelling is being used to inform policy or decision-making processes related to environmental health. Four electronic databases and the grey literature were systematically searched to identify studies that intersect the areas environmental health, system dynamics modelling, and decision-making. Studies identified in the initial screening were further screened for their contextual, methodological and application-related relevancy. Studies deemed 'relevant' or 'highly relevant' according to all three criteria were included in this review. Key themes related to the rationale, impact and limitation of using system dynamics in the context of environmental health decision-making and policy were analysed. We identified a limited number of relevant studies (n = 15), two-thirds of which were conducted between 2011 and 2016. The majority of applications occurred in non-health related sectors (n = 9) including transportation, public utilities, water, housing, food, agriculture, and urban and regional planning. Applications were primarily targeted at micro-level (local, community or grassroots) decision-making processes (n = 9), with macro-level (national or international) decision-making to a lesser degree. There was significant heterogeneity in the stated rationales for using system dynamics and the intended impact of the system dynamics model on decision-making processes. A series of user-related, technical and application-related limitations and challenges were identified. None of the reported limitations or challenges

What Policy Actors Seek for: Reciprocal Misunderstanding of Objectives of Participatory Decision Making

OpenAIRE

Birutė PITRĖNAITĖ-ŽILĖNIENĖ; Birutė MIKULSKIENĖ

2013-01-01

The goal of this research is to explore different policy actors’ attitudes towards participation in public decision making. The paper examines objectives of external participants’ involvement and compares various participants’ judgements on the process and results of participation. We screened operation of formal networks of participatory decision making at the Lithuanian Ministries of Health and Education & Science. The research revealed the willingness of decision makers to allow different ...

Impact of policy game on insight and attitude to inter sectoral policy processes - EU country cases

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Lau, C.; Glümer, Charlotte; Spitters, Hilde

of the collaboration process in NL (100%). The fraction of participants who enhanced their insight to leadership aspects of their network varied across aspects of leadership and across countries, from 14% in NL to 86% in RO. The fraction of participants being more positive towards use of knowledge varied across...... collaboration and use of knowledge. Differences between countries may be a result of diversity in potential for change in game participant groups and game processes. Key message: The policy game encountered changes at the domains ‘organization network’, ‘collaboration’, ‘leadership’ and ‘use of knowledge...... change insight and attitude towards inter sectoral policy processes, such as the organization network, collaboration, and use of knowledge in HEPA policy making in three European countries. Methods The Netherlands (NL), Denmark (DK) and Romania (RO), partners in the REPOPA program, have carried out...

Private sector involvement in science and innovation policy-making in Hungary

OpenAIRE

Annamária Inzelt

2008-01-01

The overall thrust of this paper is that policy learning is enhanced by the participation of private business. It is assumed that business involvement would suggest abundant opportunities for policy learning and transfer. The empirical part of this paper investigates private sector involvement in science, technology and innovation (STI) policy-making in a transition economy (Hungary). Private sector involvement in Hungarian STI policy-making is investigated in terms of the stages and types of...

Politics of oil in Venezuela: A decision-making analysis of PDVSA's internationalisation policy

Science.gov (United States)

Baena, Cesar E.

The high degree of international vertical integration achieved by the Venezuelan state oil enterprise, Petroleos de Venezuela S.A. (PDVSA), has placed it among the most important oil multinationals (MNs). The policy of creating downstream outlets through the establishment of foreign direct investments (FDIs) in the form of refinery assets was given the term of 'internationalisation'. By analysing PDVSA's internationalisation policy, the thesis explores the difficulties encountered by a major state-owned enterprise (SOE) from a developing country in its efforts to grow beyond national borders. The study focuses on the impact of democratic bargaining on the process of oil policymaking in Venezuela, stressing the constraints posed by politics on PDVSA's efforts to expand its foreign operations. Specifically, the study examines the intricate policymaking process that shaped the origins and the development of PDVSA's internationalisation policy, underlying the events and factors that influenced each one of its three distinguishable phases: adoption, formulation, and implementation. The tensions between politics and corporate strategy are highlighted at the core of the policymaking process. The study also looks at the relationship between the oil industry and the other two key decision-making centres involved in the oil policymaking process: the executive and Congress. In exploring the ways in which each one of them sought to influence policy outcome, the study attempts to gain insight into the main factors that prompted the tensions among the policy actors involved. Three environments, or pressure-generating centres, constantly exert influence on the oil industry: the oil market, the political context and the government's financial situation. By seeking to determine the industry's response to their pervasive influence on policy formulation and implementation, this research ascertains the extent to which these variables influenced the decision-making process that

Evidence based policy making in the European Union. The role of the scientific community

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Majcen, Spela [Euro-Mediterranean Univ. (EMUNI), Portoroz (Slovenia)

2017-03-15

In the times when the acquis of the European Union (EU) has developed so far as to reach a high level of technical complexity, in particular in certain policy fields such as environmental legislation, it is important to look at what kind of information and data policy decisions are based on. This position paper looks at the extent to which evidence-based decision-making process is being considered in the EU institutions when it comes to adopting legislation in the field of environment at the EU level. The paper calls for closer collaboration between scientists and decision-makers in view of ensuring that correct data is understood and taken into consideration when drafting, amending, negotiating and adopting new legal texts at all levels of the EU decision-making process. It concludes that better awareness of the need for such collaboration among the decision-makers as well as the scientific community would benefit the process and quality of the final outcomes (legislation).

Evidence based policy making in the European Union: the role of the scientific community.

Science.gov (United States)

Majcen, Špela

2017-03-01

In the times when the acquis of the European Union (EU) has developed so far as to reach a high level of technical complexity, in particular in certain policy fields such as environmental legislation, it is important to look at what kind of information and data policy decisions are based on. This position paper looks at the extent to which evidence-based decision-making process is being considered in the EU institutions when it comes to adopting legislation in the field of environment at the EU level. The paper calls for closer collaboration between scientists and decision-makers in view of ensuring that correct data is understood and taken into consideration when drafting, amending, negotiating and adopting new legal texts at all levels of the EU decision-making process. It concludes that better awareness of the need for such collaboration among the decision-makers as well as the scientific community would benefit the process and quality of the final outcomes (legislation).

Evidence based policy making in the European Union. The role of the scientific community

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Majcen, Spela

2017-01-01

In the times when the acquis of the European Union (EU) has developed so far as to reach a high level of technical complexity, in particular in certain policy fields such as environmental legislation, it is important to look at what kind of information and data policy decisions are based on. This position paper looks at the extent to which evidence-based decision-making process is being considered in the EU institutions when it comes to adopting legislation in the field of environment at the EU level. The paper calls for closer collaboration between scientists and decision-makers in view of ensuring that correct data is understood and taken into consideration when drafting, amending, negotiating and adopting new legal texts at all levels of the EU decision-making process. It concludes that better awareness of the need for such collaboration among the decision-makers as well as the scientific community would benefit the process and quality of the final outcomes (legislation).

Policy processes and decision making of environmental policy in Great Britain and France. Vol. 1

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Schreiber, H.

1991-01-01

Research of central aspects of British environmental policy. This report concentrates on the role of the constitutional system of environmental policy, on the evaluation of a growing of 'Green Policy' in Great Britain, on the central problems of environmental policy and finally on the role of international environmental policy for Great Britain and Great Britain's role in international environmental activities. Beyond that this report contains a presentation of the state of the British environment (Pollution: Air, Water, Waste, Soil; Radioactivity and Noise). (orig.) With 205 refs., 18 tabs., 14 figs [de

Governance and political consumerism in Finnish energy policy-making

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Ruostetsaari, Ilkka

2009-01-01

The research task in the study was, firstly, to analyse citizens' perceptions of the power structure underlying Finnish energy policy-making. Secondly, we analysed the role of civil society in the energy sector, addressing the question whether Finns feel that they can influence energy policy-making as citizens through general elections (civic participation) or as consumers via their own consumption choices (political consumerism). Methodologically, the study was based on postal survey conducted in 2007 among a random sample representing 18-75-year-old Finns (N=4000). According to the views expressed, the innermost core of the influence structure of Finland's energy policy-making today comprises only the Cabinet and Parliament, while the second circle is composed of energy-producer firms and big firms. The European Union, the Ministry of the Environment and the Ministry of Trade and Industry belong to the third circle of influence. The power relations in Finland's energy sector have continued particularly stable since the late 1980s despite the liberalization and globalization of the energy markets. In order to influence energy policy-making, citizens consider their own consumption choices more useful than voting in elections or contacts with MPs, authorities and energy-producing companies. The least useful devices are radical environmental activism and participation in mass demonstrations

The Europeanization of German energy and climate policies. New forms of policy-making and EU multi-level-governance; Die Europaeisierung der deutschen Energie- und Klimapolitik. Neue Formen der Politikgestaltung und Steuerung im EU-Mehrebenensystem

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Fischer, Severin

2015-01-23

The Energy Transition (''Energiewende'') is one of the hot topics of the political debate in Germany for some years. As a consequence of ongoing European integration, EU level politics have gained growing importance. The focus of this study is on the interaction of German and EU energy and climate policies. How have German actors influenced EU policy-making processes and in how far are EU policies relevant for national policy-making in Germany? Three case studies look at processes in the fields of electricity market regulation, renewable energy policy and climate protection between 2007 and 2013.

WOMEN’S AUTONOMY AND THE FAMILY IN RECENT ROMANIAN POLICY-MAKING

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

ALICE IANCU

2011-04-01

Full Text Available In my paper I aim to provide an analysis of the relation between women’s autonomy and the family in Romanian recent policy-making. I will focus primarily on policies developed by the Romanian state after Romania’s integration in the European Union with regards to the family and family-related policy domains. My analysis will focus on several variables: 1. the theoretical instruments available for analyzing women’s autonomy in relation to state policies 2. the understanding of the family in Romanian policy-making 3. the interplay between women’s autonomy and the family and how policy-making influences the relation between the two. The analysis will take into consideration the specific Romanian socio-political context in terms of economic conditions, ideological influences and gender relations. Political theory is no stranger to the issue of individual autonomy. In my paper I will focus on recent feminist political theories on gendered accounts of autonomy. These accounts modify the understanding of autonomy and focus on conditions and aspects of autonomy relevant to women’s lives and experiences. The current financial crisis and recent developments in Romanian policy-making will be analyzed in terms of how they affect women’s autonomy. Since much of Romanian policy-making still avoids including gender and gender relations into its explicit justifications, provisions and evaluation, referring to the family as a basic social unit, the gendered consequences for women’s autonomy of such an approach need to be understood and acknowledged. In my analysis I will use both Romanian and European recent policy papers, as well as recent data obtained through social research.

Educational Policy Making in the State Legislature: Legislator as Policy Expert.

Science.gov (United States)

Weaver, Sue Wells; Geske, Terry G.

1997-01-01

Examines the legislator's role as education policy expert in the legislative policymaking process. In a study of Louisiana state legislators, analysis of variance was used to determine expert legislators' degree of influence in formulating educational policy, given differences in policy types, information sources, and legislators' work roles.…

Making multiple 'online counsellings' through policy and practice: an evidence-making intervention approach.

Science.gov (United States)

Savic, Michael; Dilkes-Frayne, Ella; Carter, Adrian; Kokanovic, Renata; Manning, Victoria; Rodda, Simone N; Lubman, Dan I

2018-03-01

Online counselling services for a range of health conditions have proliferated in recent years. However, there is ambiguity and tension around their role and function. It is often unclear whether online counselling services are intended to provide only a brief intervention, the provision of information or referral, or constitute an alternative to face-to-face treatment. In line with recent analyses of alcohol and other drug (AOD) policy and interventions that draw on a critical social science perspective, we take an evidence-making intervention approach to examine how online counselling in the AOD field is made in policy and through processes of local implementation. In this article, we analyse how online AOD counselling interventions and knowledges are enacted in Australia's AOD policy, and compare these enactments with an analysis of information about Australia's national online AOD counselling service, Counselling Online, and transcripts of counselling sessions with clients of Counselling Online. We suggest that while the policy enacts online counselling as a brief intervention targeting AOD use, and as an avenue to facilitate referral to face-to-face treatment services, in its implementation in practice online counselling is enacted in more varied ways. These include online counselling as attempting to attend to AOD use and interconnected psychosocial concerns, as a potential form of treatment in its own right, and as supplementing face-to-face AOD treatment services. Rather than viewing online counselling as a singular and stable intervention object, we suggest that multiple 'online counsellings' emerge in practice through local implementation practices and knowledges. We argue that the frictions that arise between policy and practice enactments need to be considered by policy makers, funders, clinicians and researchers as they affect how the concerns of those targeted by the intervention are attended to. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Public Marketing: An Alternative Policy Decision-Making Idea for Small Cities. Community Development Research Series.

Science.gov (United States)

Meyers, James; And Others

The concept of public marketing presents a strategy for the systems approach to community development that would facilitate the community decision making process via improved communication. Basic aspects of the social marketing process include: (1) product policy; (2) channels of distribution; (3) pricing (perceived price vs quality and quantity…

Decision-Making Processes in Texas School Districts That Arm Personnel

Science.gov (United States)

Domain, Melinda Willoughby

2014-01-01

This qualitative phenomenological study employed narrative inquiry to describe the decision-making processes that Texas school districts followed in enacting firearms policies that allow school employees to carry concealed weapons on district property. Exploration of the lived experiences of eight Texas superintendents in such schools contributed…

External factors affecting decision-making and use of evidence in an Australian public health policy environment.

Science.gov (United States)

Zardo, Pauline; Collie, Alex; Livingstone, Charles

2014-05-01

This study examined external factors affecting policy and program decision-making in a specific public health policy context: injury prevention and rehabilitation compensation in the Australian state of Victoria. The aim was twofold: identify external factors that affect policy and program decision-making in this specific context; use this evidence to inform targeting of interventions aimed at increasing research use in this context. Qualitative interviews were undertaken from June 2011 to January 2012 with 33 employees from two state government agencies. Key factors identified were stakeholder feedback and action, government and ministerial input, legal feedback and action, injured persons and the media. The identified external factors were able to significantly influence policy and program decision-making processes: acting as both barriers and facilitators, depending on the particular issue at hand. The factors with the most influence were the Minister and government, lawyers, and agency stakeholders, particularly health providers, trade unions and employer groups. This research revealed that interventions aimed at increasing use of research in this context must target and harness the influence of these groups. This research provides critical insights for researchers seeking to design interventions to increase use of research in policy environments and influence decision-making in Victorian injury prevention and rehabilitation compensation. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Energy agreements in Italian foreign policy making

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Puri Purini, A.

1992-01-01

The growing complexity of international relations, involving nations with vastly diverse political and socio-economic frameworks, levels of technology, geography, and environmental policies, are necessitating new Italian government policies which favour multilateral as opposed to conventional bilateral cooperation, especially in that which regards energy agreements. This paper makes this point in examining Italy's vulnerable energy supply and demand situation, the current directions being taken in this nation's foreign policies, and in assessing the key political and socio-economic factors now influencing this nation's world competitiveness in light of pending European unification and the opening up, on a wide scale, of Russian markets to Western nations and Japan

Decision-Making for Systemic Water Risks: Insights From a Participatory Risk Assessment Process in Vietnam

Science.gov (United States)

Wyrwoll, Paul R.; Grafton, R. Quentin; Daniell, Katherine A.; Chu, Hoang Long; Ringler, Claudia; Lien, Le Thi Ha; Khoi, Dang Kim; Do, Thang Nam; Tuan, Nguyen Do Anh

2018-03-01

Systemic threats to food-energy-environment-water systems require national policy responses. Yet complete control of these complex systems is impossible and attempts to mitigate systemic risks can generate unexpected feedback effects. Perverse outcomes from national policy can emerge from the diverse responses of decision-makers across different levels and scales of resource governance. Participatory risk assessment processes can help planners to understand subnational dynamics and ensure that policies do not undermine the resilience of social-ecological systems and infrastructure networks. Researchers can play an important role in participatory processes as both technical specialists and brokers of stakeholder knowledge on the feedbacks generated by systemic risks and policy decisions. Here, we evaluate the use of causal modeling and participatory risk assessment to develop national policy on systemic water risks. We present an application of the Risks and Options Assessment for Decision-Making (ROAD) process to a district of Vietnam where national agricultural water reforms are being piloted. The methods and results of this project provide general insights about how to support resilient decision-making, including the transfer of knowledge across administrative levels, identification of feedback effects, and the effective implementation of risk assessment processes.

Governance and political consumerism in Finnish energy policy-making

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Ruostetsaari, Ilkka [University of Turku, Turku (Finland)

2009-01-15

The research task in the study was, firstly, to analyse citizens' perceptions of the power structure underlying Finnish energy policy-making. Secondly, we analysed the role of civil society in the energy sector, addressing the question whether Finns feel that they can influence energy policy-making as citizens through general elections (civic participation) or as consumers via their own consumption choices (political consumerism). Methodologically, the study was based on postal survey conducted in 2007 among a random sample representing 18-75-year-old Finns (N=4000). According to the views expressed, the innermost core of the influence structure of Finland's energy policy-making today comprises only the Cabinet and Parliament, while the second circle is composed of energy-producer firms and big firms. The European Union, the Ministry of the Environment and the Ministry of Trade and Industry belong to the third circle of influence. The power relations in Finland's energy sector have continued particularly stable since the late 1980s despite the liberalization and globalization of the energy markets. In order to influence energy policy-making, citizens consider their own consumption choices more useful than voting in elections or contacts with MPs, authorities and energy-producing companies. The least useful devices are radical environmental activism and participation in mass demonstrations. (author)

National platforms for evidence-informed physical activity policy making

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Rus, Diana; Bozdog, Elena; Loncarevic, Natasa

Evidence-informed policy making in physical activity calls for inter-sectoral and interdisciplinary collaboration. To facilitate the exchange of knowledge, experiences and ideas across practice, policy and research, as part of the REPOPA Project and dissemination work, it was encouraged...

The Process Architecture of EU Territorial Cohesion Policy

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Andreas Faludi

2010-08-01

Full Text Available When preparing the European Spatial Development Perspective (ESDP, Member States were supported by the European Commission but denied the EU a competence in the matter. Currently, the Treaty of Lisbon identifies territorial cohesion as a competence shared between the Union and the Member States. This paper is about the process architecture of territorial cohesion policy. In the past, this architecture resembled the Open Method of Coordination (OMC which the White Paper on European Governance praised, but only in areas where there was no EU competence. This reflected zero-sum thinking which may continue even under the Lisbon Treaty. After all, for as long as territorial cohesion was not a competence, voluntary cooperation as practiced in the ESDP process was pursued in this way. However, the practice of EU policies, even in areas where there is an EU competence, often exhibits features of the OMC. Surprisingly effective innovations hold the promise of rendering institutions of decision making comprehensible and democratically accountable. In the EU as a functioning polity decision making is thus at least part deliberative so that actors’ preferences are transformed by the force of the better argument. This brings into focus the socialisation of the deliberators into epistemic communities. Largely an informal process, this is reminiscent of European spatial planning having been characterised as a learning process.

Situating School District Resource Decision Making in Policy Context

Science.gov (United States)

Spain, Angeline K.

2016-01-01

Decentralization and deregulation policies assume that local educational leaders make better resource decisions than state policy makers do. Conceptual models drawn from organizational theory, however, offer competing predictions about how district central office administrators are likely to leverage their professional expertise in devolved…

Rapid review programs to support health care and policy decision making: a descriptive analysis of processes and methods.

Science.gov (United States)

Polisena, Julie; Garritty, Chantelle; Kamel, Chris; Stevens, Adrienne; Abou-Setta, Ahmed M

2015-03-14

Health care decision makers often need to make decisions in limited timeframes and cannot await the completion of a full evidence review. Rapid reviews (RRs), utilizing streamlined systematic review methods, are increasingly being used to synthesize the evidence with a shorter turnaround time. Our primary objective was to describe the processes and methods used internationally to produce RRs. In addition, we sought to understand the underlying themes associated with these programs. We contacted representatives of international RR programs from a broad realm in health care to gather information about the methods and processes used to produce RRs. The responses were summarized narratively to understand the characteristics associated with their processes and methods. The summaries were compared and contrasted to highlight potential themes and trends related to the different RR programs. Twenty-nine international RR programs were included in our sample with a broad organizational representation from academia, government, research institutions, and non-for-profit organizations. Responses revealed that the main objectives for RRs were to inform decision making with regards to funding health care technologies, services and policy, and program development. Central themes that influenced the methods used by RR programs, and report type and dissemination were the imposed turnaround time to complete a report, resources available, the complexity and sensitivity of the research topics, and permission from the requestor. Our study confirmed that there is no standard approach to conduct RRs. Differences in processes and methods across programs may be the result of the novelty of RR methods versus other types of evidence syntheses, customization of RRs for various decision makers, and definition of 'rapid' by organizations, since it impacts both the timelines and the evidence synthesis methods. Future research should investigate the impact of current RR methods and reporting to

Threat Prioritization Process for the Czech Security Strategy Making

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Milos Balaban

2012-06-01

Full Text Available This article offers systematic view of a process of identification of security threats and, subsequently, their use in the making of strategic documents, notably the Security Strategy of the Czech Republic. It is not the aim of the authors to name or define such threats, but to present the process itself. It is paramount to any credible security strategy that it deals with the threat identification in the most precise fashion. The authors take reservations against the “catalogue” approach and claim the processes of prioritization and categorization to be essential for any policies derived from the security strategy, especially in times of economic need. It is also the 2011 final paper of the project “Trends, Risks, and Scenarios of the Security Developments in the World, Europe, and the Czech Republic – Impacts on the Policy and Security System of the Czech Republic” (TRS / VG20102013009.

Knowledge to Policy: Making the Most of Development Research ...

International Development Research Centre (IDRC) Digital Library (Canada)

5 avr. 2009 ... A major contribution to an understudied, poorly understood, but critical aspect of development. — John Young, Director of Programmes, Research and Policy in Development Group (RAPID), Overseas Development Institute, London. Does research influence public policy and decision-making and, if so, ...

Insights into the government's role in food system policy making: improving access to healthy, local food alongside other priorities.

Science.gov (United States)

Wegener, Jessica; Raine, Kim D; Hanning, Rhona M

2012-11-12

Government actors have an important role to play in creating healthy public policies and supportive environments to facilitate access to safe, affordable, nutritious food. The purpose of this research was to examine Waterloo Region (Ontario, Canada) as a case study for "what works" with respect to facilitating access to healthy, local food through regional food system policy making. Policy and planning approaches were explored through multi-sectoral perspectives of: (a) the development and adoption of food policies as part of the comprehensive planning process; (b) barriers to food system planning; and (c) the role and motivation of the Region's public health and planning departments in food system policy making. Forty-seven in-depth interviews with decision makers, experts in public health and planning, and local food system stakeholders provided rich insight into strategic government actions, as well as the local and historical context within which food system policies were developed. Grounded theory methods were used to identify key overarching themes including: "strategic positioning", "partnerships" and "knowledge transfer" and related sub-themes ("aligned agendas", "issue framing", "visioning" and "legitimacy"). A conceptual framework to illustrate the process and features of food system policy making is presented and can be used as a starting point to  engage multi-sectoral stakeholders in plans and actions to facilitate access to healthy food.

THE STRUCTURAL SPECIFICITIES OF THE US CONGRESS’ WHICH INFLUENCE THE POLICY DECISION-MAKING PROCESS

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

O A. Frolova

2014-04-01

Full Text Available The U.S. Congress plays an important role in the decision-making process at the system of American political management. First of all, it applies to formulation and coordination of different interests through the law passing process. The article examines the Congress’ structure and the different aspects of its functioning. Those aspects often play a key role in lawmaking process and later affect the forming of the US political vector. The author comes to conclusion that the existing system of subcommittees doesn’t allow the U.S. Legislature to consider many bills completely and that fact negatively impacts on political decision-making process.Purchase on Elibrary.ru > Buy now

Decision making for wildfires: A guide for applying a risk management process at the incident level

Science.gov (United States)

Mary A. Taber; Lisa M. Elenz; Paul G. Langowski

2013-01-01

This publication focuses on the thought processes and considerations surrounding a risk management process for decision making on wildfires. The publication introduces a six element risk management cycle designed to encourage sound risk-informed decision making in accordance with Federal wildland fire policy, although the process is equally applicable to non-Federal...

Tools to Help Society in Decision Making: Legal and Policy Trends. Proceedings of a Topical Session

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Vari, Anna; Caddy, Joanne; ); Kotra, Janet P.; Pancher, Bertrand; Tromans, Stephan

2009-01-01

As part of its programme of work the OECD/NEA Forum on Stakeholder Confidence continues to investigate the theme of 'Tools and Processes to Help Society in Decision Making'. Following a presentation in June 2007 of environmental law and its implications for stakeholder involvement in decision making, the FSC decided to take a look at a variety of legal and policy issues. In particular, interest was expressed in seeing how law and policy may define which stakeholders must be consulted or engaged, and to consider when and whether that is helpful. A topical session was held on June 5, 2008 during the FSC's ninth regular meeting. Case studies were presented from the US, the UK, and France. An international survey of means for open and inclusive policy making was presented by the OECD Government directorate. The results of a questionnaire filled by FSC members served as the basis of the introductory presentation. Two sub-groups retired to discuss the material and a Rapporteur from each delivered feedback in plenary. These proceedings include a summary of the findings and discussions (Anna Vari), and the slides (some with accompanying text) provided for each case study: 1 - Open and Inclusive Policy Making: Emerging Practice in OECD Countries (Joanne Caddy); 2 - Deciding Whether to Authorized Construction at Yucca Mountain Explaining NRC's Process (Janet P. Kotra); 3 - Rights and Obligations under International Conventions (Stephan Tromans); 4 - Setting Criteria for the Representativeness of NGO/CSOs: Report on Hearings at the Request of France's Prime Minister (Bertrand Pancher)

Impact of the decision-making environment on policy responses to road worker fatality in Manitoba and Saskatchewan.

Science.gov (United States)

Pankratz, Curt J

2018-01-22

Fatal accidents often lead to policy changes. However, the existing decision-making environment is critical to policy responses. This study compares the policy responses to similar events in Manitoba and Saskatchewan. The key question explores the extent to which the policy decisions in each province differ despite the similarity of the events. Key documents were examined. Provincial court rulings, workplace health & safety incident investigation reports, court transcripts and police reports were used to compare resulting policy changes as well as the socio-political and economic decision-making context. Relevant clauses in resulting legislation were also compared to assess the specific changes that were made in each province. In each province, a young, female highway construction worker was killed. However, the provinces responded in very different ways. In Saskatchewan, the Premier called for recommendations to improve worker safety, initiating an in-depth governmental study and the development of a broad safety strategy. In Manitoba, political and social pressures shifted the decision-making environment and contributed to the rushed passing of a bill focused on traffic fine increases that resulted in record-breaking traffic fine revenue while failing to include broader safety measures. Different decision-making contexts can lead to vastly different policy outcomes even when responding to very similar events. Key differences included time constraints, access to information and the nature of the political process invoked.

Artificial intelligence and foreign policy decision-making

OpenAIRE

Berkoff, Russ H.

1997-01-01

Approved for public release; distribution is unlimited With the advent of a global information society, the US will seek to tap the potential of advanced computing capability to enhance its ability to conduct foreign policy decision making. This thesis explores the potential for improving individual and organizational decision making capabilities by means of artificial intelligence (AI). The use of AI will allow us to take advantage of the plethora of information available to obtain an edg...

Fuzziness and fuzzy modelling in Bulgaria's energy policy decision-making dilemma

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Wang Xingquan

2006-01-01

The decision complexity resulting from imprecision in decision variables and parameters, a major difficulty for conventional decision analysis methods, can be relevantly analysed and modelled by fuzzy logic. Bulgaria's nuclear policy decision-making process implicates such complexity of imprecise nature: stakeholders, criteria, measurement, etc. Given the suitable applicability of fuzzy logic in this case, this article tries to offer a concrete fuzzy paradigm including delimitation of decision space, quantification of imprecise variables, and, of course, parameterisation. (author)

Administration and Policy-Making in Education: The Contemporary Predicament.

Science.gov (United States)

Housego, Ian E.

This paper is based on the assumption that the educational administrator is the mediator in policy development. The author sees the administrator as caught between two conflicting approaches to policy-making--one characterized as "rational" and the other as "political." In attempting to deal with this dilemma and with the dilemma of shrinking…

Environmental policy-making networks and the future of the Amazon

OpenAIRE

Lemos, Maria Carmen; Roberts, J. Timmons

2008-01-01

This article examines four periods of environmental policy-making in the Amazonian region of Brazil. It specifically analyses the role of pro-environment and pro-development policy networks in affecting policy design and implementation. It argues that the efforts of environmentalist networks trying to advocate or block relative developmentalist policies in the Amazon depend on three critical factors - whether they are able to attract the support of elites (or at least block their developmenta...

Insights into the Government’s Role in Food System Policy Making: Improving Access to Healthy, Local Food Alongside Other Priorities

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Kim D. Raine

2012-11-01

Full Text Available Government actors have an important role to play in creating healthy public policies and supportive environments to facilitate access to safe, affordable, nutritious food. The purpose of this research was to examine Waterloo Region (Ontario, Canada as a case study for “what works” with respect to facilitating access to healthy, local food through regional food system policy making. Policy and planning approaches were explored through multi-sectoral perspectives of: (a the development and adoption of food policies as part of the comprehensive planning process; (b barriers to food system planning; and (c the role and motivation of the Region’s public health and planning departments in food system policy making. Forty-seven in-depth interviews with decision makers, experts in public health and planning, and local food system stakeholders provided rich insight into strategic government actions, as well as the local and historical context within which food system policies were developed. Grounded theory methods were used to identify key overarching themes including: “strategic positioning”, “partnerships” and “knowledge transfer” and related sub-themes (“aligned agendas”, “issue framing”, “visioning” and “legitimacy”. A conceptual framework to illustrate the process and features of food system policy making is presented and can be used as a starting point to  engage multi-sectoral stakeholders in plans and actions to facilitate access to healthy food.

Insights into the Government’s Role in Food System Policy Making: Improving Access to Healthy, Local Food Alongside Other Priorities

Science.gov (United States)

Wegener, Jessica; Raine, Kim D.; Hanning, Rhona M.

2012-01-01

Government actors have an important role to play in creating healthy public policies and supportive environments to facilitate access to safe, affordable, nutritious food. The purpose of this research was to examine Waterloo Region (Ontario, Canada) as a case study for “what works” with respect to facilitating access to healthy, local food through regional food system policy making. Policy and planning approaches were explored through multi-sectoral perspectives of: (a) the development and adoption of food policies as part of the comprehensive planning process; (b) barriers to food system planning; and (c) the role and motivation of the Region’s public health and planning departments in food system policy making. Forty-seven in-depth interviews with decision makers, experts in public health and planning, and local food system stakeholders provided rich insight into strategic government actions, as well as the local and historical context within which food system policies were developed. Grounded theory methods were used to identify key overarching themes including: “strategic positioning”, “partnerships” and “knowledge transfer” and related sub-themes (“aligned agendas”, “issue framing”, “visioning” and “legitimacy”). A conceptual framework to illustrate the process and features of food system policy making is presented and can be used as a starting point to engage multi-sectoral stakeholders in plans and actions to facilitate access to healthy food. PMID:23202834

Policy Making While Paradigms Shift: Understanding the Development of Policy Drought in the U.S. Congress 1981-2013

Science.gov (United States)

McCurdy, K. M.

2013-12-01

Ronald Reagan famously announced in his 1981 inaugural address that 'government is not the solution to our problem; government is the problem.' For the scientific community and Members of Congress of that time, who were partners in working within the scientific management policy paradigm and the meritocracy on which its technical expertise depended, these words were outside their paradigm of good public service. Despite this announcement of a new paradigm by the incoming President, their policy world continued undisturbed, finding points of agreement to make incremental improvements in policy. Executive branch actions in Reagan's two terms as president were dismissed as peculiar, although they were the beginnings of realizing a policy goal of reducing the size and influence of the federal government. The important parameters influencing policy making in the U.S. Congress, which party holds the majority that sets the agenda and schedules votes, seniority that determines leadership positions in the conference and caucus, specialization on policy by committee jurisdictions, vary little annually and thereby were treated as constants by participants and observers alike. But member replacement has policy consequences that are infrequently noted. Members die in office, retire, and lose re-election bids, while the new members replacing them do not replicate any of their institutional characteristics. The policy process continues seemingly unchanged, but there are changes that become apparent with time. By 2013, scientists are no longer unquestioning partners in shaping federal public policy. They have been ridiculed in congressional hearings and in media attacks. Meanwhile new legislative strategies are being tried, e.g. shutting down government, increasing the use of earmarks instead of peer review, filibuster threats, and repeated attempts to repeal laws are now common tactics in Congress. Science and Congress no longer seem to act as partners in policy making, but as

Implementation research evidence uptake and use for policy-making

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Panisset Ulysses

2012-07-01

Full Text Available Abstract A major obstacle to the progress of the Millennium Development Goals has been the inability of health systems in many low- and middle-income countries to effectively implement evidence-informed interventions. This article discusses the relationships between implementation research and knowledge translation and identifies the role of implementation research in the design and execution of evidence-informed policy. After a discussion of the benefits and synergies needed to translate implementation research into action, the article discusses how implementation research can be used along the entire continuum of the use of evidence to inform policy. It provides specific examples of the use of implementation research in national level programmes by looking at the scale up of zinc for the treatment of childhood diarrhoea in Bangladesh and the scaling up of malaria treatment in Burkina Faso. A number of tested strategies to support the transfer of implementation research results into policy-making are provided to help meet the standards that are increasingly expected from evidence-informed policy-making practices.

Environmental Pollution Control Policy-Making: An Analysis of Elite Perceptions and Preferences

Science.gov (United States)

Althoff, Phillip; Greig, William H.

1974-01-01

This article is based on an analysis of the perceptions and preferences of elite groups concerning environmental pollution control policy making. Results showed that although the groups agreed that present methods were inadequate, they were, nevertheless, unable to agree upon the nature of a future policy-making system. (MA)

Streamlining the process: A strategy for making NEPA work better and cost less

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Hansen, R.P.; Hansen, J.D. [Hansen Environmental Consultants, Englewood, CO (United States); Wolff, T.A. [Sandia National Labs., Albuquerque, NM (United States)

1998-05-01

When the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) was enacted in 1969, neither Congress nor the Federal Agencies affected anticipated that implementation of the NEPA process would result in the intolerable delays, inefficiencies, duplication of effort, commitments of excessive financial and personnel resources, and bureaucratic gridlock that have become institutionalized. The 1975 Council on Environmental Quality (CEQ) regulations, which were intended to make the NEPA process more efficient and more useful to decision makers and the public, have either been largely ignored or unintentionally subverted. Agency policy mandates, like those of former Secretary of Energy Hazel R. O`Leary, to ``make NEPA work better and cost less`` have, so far, been disappointingly ineffectual. Federal Agencies have reached the point where almost every constituent of the NEPA process must be subjected to crisis management. This paper focuses on a ten-point strategy for streamlining the NEPA process in order to achieve the Act`s objectives while easing the considerable burden on agencies, the public, and the judicial system. How the ten points are timed and implemented is critical to any successful streamlining.

Bridging the gap between evidence and policy for infectious diseases: How models can aid public health decision-making

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Gwenan M. Knight

2016-01-01

Full Text Available The dominant approach to decision-making in public health policy for infectious diseases relies heavily on expert opinion, which often applies empirical evidence to policy questions in a manner that is neither systematic nor transparent. Although systematic reviews are frequently commissioned to inform specific components of policy (such as efficacy, the same process is rarely applied to the full decision-making process. Mathematical models provide a mechanism through which empirical evidence can be methodically and transparently integrated to address such questions. However, such models are often considered difficult to interpret. In addition, models provide estimates that need to be iteratively re-evaluated as new data or considerations arise. Using the case study of a novel diagnostic for tuberculosis, a framework for improved collaboration between public health decision-makers and mathematical modellers that could lead to more transparent and evidence-driven policy decisions for infectious diseases in the future is proposed. The framework proposes that policymakers should establish long-term collaborations with modellers to address key questions, and that modellers should strive to provide clear explanations of the uncertainty of model structure and outputs. Doing so will improve the applicability of models and clarify their limitations when used to inform real-world public health policy decisions.

Building policy-making capacity in the Ministry of Health: the Kazakhstan experience.

Science.gov (United States)

Chanturidze, Tata; Adams, Orvill; Tokezhanov, Bolat; Naylor, Mike; Richardson, Erica

2015-01-20

Recent economic growth in Kazakhstan has been accompanied by slower improvements in population health and this has renewed impetus for health system reform. Strengthening strategic planning and policy-making capacity in the Ministry of Health has been identified as an important priority, particularly as the Ministry of Health is leading the health system reform process. The intervention was informed by the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) framework for capacity building which views capacity building as an ongoing process embedded in local institutions and practices. In response to local needs extra elements were included in the framework to tailor the capacity building programme according to the existing policy and budget cycles and respective competence requirements, and link it with transparent career development structures of the Ministry of Health. This aspect of the programme was informed by the institutional capability assessment model used by the United Kingdom National Health Service (NHS) which was adapted to examine the specific organizational and individual competences of the Ministry of Health in Kazakhstan. There were clear successes in building capacity for policy making and strategic planning within the Ministry of Health in Kazakhstan, including better planned, more timely and in-depth responses to policy assignments. Embedding career development as a part of this process was more challenging. This case study highlights the importance of strong political will and high level support for capacity building in ensuring the sustainability of programmes. It also shows that capacity-building programmes need to ensure full engagement with all local stakeholders, or where this is not possible, programmes need to be targeted narrowly to those stakeholders who will benefit most, for the greatest impact to be achieved. In sum, high quality tailor-made capacity development programmes should be based on thorough needs assessment of individual and

Public participation and environmental impact assessment: Purposes, implications, and lessons for public policy making

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

O'Faircheallaigh, Ciaran

2010-01-01

In recent years the need to enhance public participation in Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA), and the efficacy of alternative mechanisms in achieving this goal, have been central themes in the EIA literature. The benefits of public participation are often taken for granted, and partly for this reason the underlying rationale for greater public participation is sometimes poorly articulated, making it more difficult to determine how to pursue it effectively. The reasons for seeking public participation are also highly diverse and not always mutually consistent. There has been limited analysis of the implications of different forms and degrees of public participation for public decision making based on EIA, and little discussion of how experience with public participation in EIA relates to debates about participation in policy making generally. This paper distinguishes various purposes for public participation in EIA, and discusses their implications for decision making. It then draws on some general models of public participation in policy making to consider how approaches to participation in EIA can be interpreted and valued, and asks what EIA experience reveals about the utility of these models. It argues that the models pay insufficient attention to the interaction that can occur between different forms of public participation; and to the fact that public participation raises issues regarding control over decision making that are not subject to resolution, but must be managed through ongoing processes of negotiation.

Uncertainty in macroeconomic policy-making: art or science?

Science.gov (United States)

Aikman, David; Barrett, Philip; Kapadia, Sujit; King, Mervyn; Proudman, James; Taylor, Tim; de Weymarn, Iain; Yates, Tony

2011-12-13

Uncertainty is pervasive in economic policy-making. Modern economies share similarities with other complex systems in their unpredictability. But economic systems also differ from those in the natural sciences because outcomes are affected by the state of beliefs of the systems' participants. The dynamics of beliefs and how they interact with economic outcomes can be rich and unpredictable. This paper relates these ideas to the recent crisis, which has reminded us that we need a financial system that is resilient in the face of the unpredictable and extreme. It also highlights how such uncertainty puts a premium on sound communication strategies by policy-makers. This creates challenges in informing others about the uncertainties in the economy, and how policy is set in the face of those uncertainties. We show how the Bank of England tries to deal with some of these challenges in its communications about monetary policy.

Towards Agents for Policy Making

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Dignum, F.P.M.; Dignum, V.; Jonker, C.M.

2008-01-01

The process of introducing new public policies is a complex one in the sense that the behavior of society at the macro-level depends directly on the individual behavior of the people in that society and ongoing dynamics of the environment. It is at the micro-level that change is initiated, that

Including values in evidence-based policy making for breast screening: An empirically grounded tool to assist expert decision makers.

Science.gov (United States)

Parker, Lisa

2017-07-01

Values are an important part of evidence-based decision making for health policy: they guide the type of evidence that is collected, how it is interpreted, and how important the conclusions are considered to be. Experts in breast screening (including clinicians, researchers, consumer advocates and senior administrators) hold differing values in relation to what is important in breast screening policy and practice, and committees may find it difficult to incorporate the complexity and variety of values into policy decisions. The decision making tool provided here is intended to assist with this process. The tool is modified from more general frameworks that are intended to assist with ethical decision making in public health, and informed by data drawn from previous empirical studies on values amongst Australian breast screening experts. It provides a structured format for breast screening committees to consider and discuss the values of themselves and others, suggests relevant topics for further inquiry and highlights areas of need for future research into the values of the public. It enables committees to publicly explain and justify their decisions with reference to values, improving transparency and accountability. It is intended to act alongside practices that seek to accommodate the values of individual women in the informed decision making process for personal decision making about participation in breast screening. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Enhancing the contribution of research to health care policy-making: a case study of the Dutch Health Care Performance Report.

Science.gov (United States)

Hegger, Ingrid; Marks, Lisanne K; Janssen, Susan W J; Schuit, Albertine J; van Oers, Hans A M

2016-01-01

The Dutch Health Care Performance Report, issued by the National Institute of Public Health and the Environment, aims to monitor health care performance in The Netherlands. Both the National Institute and the Ministry of Health wish to increase the contribution of the Report to health care policy-making. Our aim was to identify ways to achieve that. We used contribution mapping as a theoretical framework that recognizes alignment of research as crucial to managing contributions to policy-making. To investigate which areas need alignment efforts by researchers and/or policy-makers, we interviewed National Institute researchers and policy-makers from the Ministry of Health and assessed the process for developing the 2010 Report. We identified six areas where alignment is specifically relevant for enhancing the contributions of future versions of the Dutch Health Care Performance Report: well-balanced information for different ministerial directorates; backstage work; double role actors; reports of other knowledge institutes; data collection/generation and presentation forms. The contribution of health care performance reporting to policy-making is complex and requires continuous alignment efforts between researchers and policy-makers. These efforts should form an inseparable part of health care performance reporting and although this demands considerable resources, it is worth considering since it may pay back in better contributions to policy-making. © The Author(s) 2015.

Considering economic analyses in the revision of the preventive vaccination law: a new direction for health policy-making in Japan?

Science.gov (United States)

Akazawa, Manabu; Yongue, Julia; Ikeda, Shunya; Satoh, Toshihiko

2014-10-01

Evidence of a significant vaccine policy shift can be witnessed not only in the number of new vaccines available in Japan but also in the way that vaccine policy is being formulated. In 2010, policy makers decided for the first time ever to commission economic analyses as a reference in their consideration of subsidy allocation. This research offers a first hand account of the recent changes in vaccine policies by examining the decision-making process from the perspective of the researchers commissioned to perform the economic evaluations. In order to understand the vaccine policy-making process, a review was made of all the documents that were distributed and discussed during the government committee meetings from February 2010 when the revision of the Preventive Vaccination Law was initially proposed to May 2012 when the final recommendations were made. Economic evaluations were conducted for seven vaccines under consideration in the routine immunization program (Haemophilus influenzae type b or Hib, pneumococcal disease for children and adults, human papillomavirus, varicella, mumps, and hepatitis B). All were cost-effective options, except the Hib and hepatitis B vaccines. Nonetheless, all the vaccines were recommended equally for inclusion in the routine immunization program. While it is significant that policy-makers decided to commission economic assessments at all, various issues remain regarding the influence of external pressure, the choice of evaluation methods and the implications of using cost-effectiveness analyses on the future of Japanese health policy-making. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved.

The Australian government's review of positron emission tomography: evidence-based policy-making in action.

Science.gov (United States)

Ware, Robert E; Francis, Hilton W; Read, Kenneth E

2004-06-21

The Commonwealth Government constituted the Medicare Services Advisory Committee (MSAC) to implement its commitment to entrench the principles of evidence-based medicine in Australian clinical practice. With its recent review of positron emission tomography (PETReview), the Commonwealth intervened in an established MSAC process, and sanctioned the stated objective to restrict expenditure on the technology. In our opinion: The evaluation of evidence by PETReview was fundamentally compromised by a failure to meet the terms of reference, poor science, poor process and unique decision-making benchmarks. By accepting the recommendations of PETReview, the Commonwealth is propagating information which is not of the highest quality. The use of inferior-quality information for decision-making by doctors, patients and policy-makers is likely to harm rather than enhance healthcare outcomes.

A dual justification for science-based policy-making

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Pedersen, David Budtz

2014-01-01

Science-based policy-making has grown ever more important in recent years, in parallel with the dramatic increase in the complexity and uncertainty of the ways in which science and technology interact with society and economy at the national, regional and global level. Installing a proper framewo...

Impact of stakeholders' interests on financial accounting policy-making : the case of Lithuania

OpenAIRE

Rudžionienė, Kristina

2006-01-01

This paper analyses the expectations of particular stakeholder groups’ impact on corporate financial accounting policy-making in Lithuanian enterprises from Stakeholder theory perspective. Companies should seek to present a true and fair view of their financial performance and results while making financial accounting policy because stakeholders need informative and truthful accounting data for making right decisions. On the basis of empirical results it could be stated that the impact of dif...

Challenges to fair decision-making processes in the context of health care services

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Shayo, Elizabeth H.; Norheim, Ole F.; Mboera, Leonard E. G.

2012-01-01

challenges to fair decision-making processes in health care services with a special focus on the potential influence of gender, wealth, ethnicity and education. We draw on the principle of fairness as outlined in the deliberative democratic theory. METHODS: The study was carried out in the Mbarali District......ABSTRACT: BACKGROUND: Fair processes in decision making need the involvement of stakeholders who can discuss issues and reach an agreement based on reasons that are justifiable and appropriate in meeting people's needs. In Tanzania, the policy of decentralization and the health sector reform place......: The study findings indicate a substantial influence of gender, wealth, ethnicity and education on health care decision-making processes. Men, wealthy individuals, members of strong ethnic groups and highly educated individuals had greater influence. Opinions varied among the study informants as to whether...

Design of coordinated energy and environmental policies: use of multi-criteria decision-making

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Greening, L.A.; Bernow, Steve

2004-01-01

Conventional economic modeling tools that depend upon one criterion to select among possible alternatives for inclusion in an energy or environmental policy have limitations. Formulation of both sets of policies involves large numbers of stakeholders with differing views and preferences. Those views and preferences cannot always be determined in advance or with certainty since many of the attributes of these policy alternatives are non-market valued. The use of multi-criteria decision-making (MCDM) methods in an integrated assessment (IA) framework offers a far better alternative to cost/benefit and similar methods. To facilitate understanding of MCDM methods, we offer a typology for this broad class of models, suggest some of the types of problems that may be analyzed with these methods, and recommend the implementation of several MCDM methods in currently evolving IA frameworks. Depending upon the choice of method from this family of methods, a wide range of attributes associated with multi-pollutant reduction and energy system development strategies, and a diversity of stakeholder preferences may be incorporated into the analysis. The resulting policy space can then provide a basis for comparison and selection of policy alternatives in a political or negotiated process

Sites of institutional racism in public health policy making in New Zealand.

Science.gov (United States)

Came, Heather

2014-04-01

Although New Zealanders have historically prided ourselves on being a country where everyone has a 'fair go', the systemic and longstanding existence of health inequities between Māori and non-Māori suggests something isn't working. This paper informed by critical race theory, asks the reader to consider the counter narrative viewpoints of Māori health leaders; that suggest institutional racism has permeated public health policy making in New Zealand and is a contributor to health inequities alongside colonisation and uneven access to the determinants of health. Using a mixed methods approach and critical anti-racism scholarship this paper identifies five specific sites of institutional racism. These sites are: majoritarian decision making, the misuse of evidence, deficiencies in both cultural competencies and consultation processes and the impact of Crown filters. These findings suggest the failure of quality assurance systems, existing anti-racism initiatives and health sector leadership to detect and eliminate racism. The author calls for institutional racism to be urgently addressed within New Zealand and this paper serves as a reminder to policy makers operating within other colonial contexts to be vigilant for such racism. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Sub-national entities’ participation in Brazil’s foreign policy and in regional integration processes

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Deisy Ventura

2012-09-01

Full Text Available This article focuses on how sub-national entities’ gradual participation in Brazilian foreign policy has come about, with reference to a decentralised scenario of the decision-making process in Itamaraty, where the ministries and presidential organs have a voice on many strategic themes, mainly concerning development. The article examines the insertion of sub-national entities into the decision-making process in the Southern Common Market (Mercosur, and concludes that in spite of the incipient participation, relevant contributions to the process of regional integration have arisen. Regarding the hypothesis that the participation of the federative entities in the decision-making process generates local and regional development, we argue that this is an alternative to increasing state efficiency. In conclusion, and despite the incipient institutionalisation that does not guarantee their vote in the decision-making process, at least their voice is heard.

The Montreal Protocol treaty and its illuminating history of science-policy decision-making

Science.gov (United States)

Grady, C.

2017-12-01

The Montreal Protocol on Substances that Deplete the Ozone Layer, hailed as one of the most effective environmental treaties of all time, has a thirty year history of science-policy decision-making. The partnership between Parties to the Montreal Protocol and its technical assessment panels serve as a basis for understanding successes and evaluating stumbles of global environmental decision-making. Real-world environmental treaty negotiations can be highly time-sensitive, politically motivated, and resource constrained thus scientists and policymakers alike are often unable to confront the uncertainties associated with the multitude of choices. The science-policy relationship built within the framework of the Montreal Protocol has helped constrain uncertainty and inform policy decisions but has also highlighted the limitations of the use of scientific understanding in political decision-making. This talk will describe the evolution of the scientist-policymaker relationship over the history of the Montreal Protocol. Examples will illustrate how the Montreal Protocol's technical panels inform decisions of the country governments and will characterize different approaches pursued by different countries with a particular focus on the recently adopted Kigali Amendment. In addition, this talk will take a deeper dive with an analysis of the historic technical panel assessments on estimating financial resources necessary to enable compliance to the Montreal Protocol compared to the political financial decisions made through the Protocol's Multilateral Fund replenishment negotiation process. Finally, this talk will describe the useful lessons and challenges from these interactions and how they may be applicable in other environmental management frameworks across multiple scales under changing climatic conditions.

Policy Process Editor for P3BM Software

Science.gov (United States)

James, Mark; Chang, Hsin-Ping; Chow, Edward T.; Crichton, Gerald A.

2010-01-01

A computer program enables generation, in the form of graphical representations of process flows with embedded natural-language policy statements, input to a suite of policy-, process-, and performance-based management (P3BM) software. This program (1) serves as an interface between users and the Hunter software, which translates the input into machine-readable form; and (2) enables users to initialize and monitor the policy-implementation process. This program provides an intuitive graphical interface for incorporating natural-language policy statements into business-process flow diagrams. Thus, the program enables users who dictate policies to intuitively embed their intended process flows as they state the policies, reducing the likelihood of errors and reducing the time between declaration and execution of policy.

In-situ burning policy development for California: A consensus approach to policy and decision-making

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Addassi, Y. N.

1997-01-01

Current efforts by the California State Dept. of Fish and Game to develop an in-situ burning policy for oil spills in the open-water marine environments of the State were described. The differing perspectives and mandates of the various agency representatives on working groups and the frequent necessity of consensus solutions was highlighted. It was stated that the consensus approach requires more time and energy, however, it is off-set by the benefits of developing good working relationships that will ultimately facilitate decision-making. Current projected timelines for the completed in-situ burning policy, pertinent sections of the draft policy, plans for dealing with negative public reactions to the policy and outreach and public education programs were outlined. 12 refs

Political economy of renewable energy policy in Germany. A consideration of the policy making process in the electricity market under the influence of interest groups

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Mueller, Tom

2015-01-01

In the research, it is argued that the targeted promotion of renewables leads to a change in the technological path dependency on the electricity market or led. The historically market depending portfolio of products in the conventional power industry will be replaced by an increasingly strong dependence on the product portfolio of Renewable Energy Sector according to this argumentation. The present work is devoted to the political explanation of the change and transition process in the electricity market. The process of policy formation in this market (especially support policies for renewable energies) will be discussed. It is examined from a public choice perspective, which political actors and instances in the past were responsible for the development and maintenance of individual policy elements. In particular, in this analysis the different private sector stakeholders in the electricity market move to center of attention. [de

A qualitative study of nulliparous women's decision making on mode of delivery under China's two-child policy.

Science.gov (United States)

Gu, Chunyi; Zhu, Xinli; Ding, Yan; Setterberg Simone; Wang, Xiaojiao; Tao, Hua; Zhang, Yu

2018-07-01

To explore nulliparous women's perceptions of decision making regarding mode of delivery under China's two-child policy. Qualitative descriptive design with in-depth semi-structured interviews. Postnatal wards at a tertiary specialized women's hospital in Shanghai, China. 21 nulliparous women 2-3 days postpartum were purposively sampled until data saturation. In-depth semi-structured interviews were conducted between October 8th, 2015 and January 31st, 2016. Two overarching descriptive categories were identified: (1) women's decision-making process: stability versus variability, and (2) factors affecting decision making: variety versus interactivity. Four key themes emerged from each category: (1) initial decision making with certainty: anticipated trial of labour, failed trial of labour, 'shy away' and compromise, anticipated caesarean delivery; (2) initial decision making with uncertainty: anticipated trial of labour, failed trial of labour, 'shy away' and compromise; (3) internal factors affecting decision making: knowledge and attitude, and childbirth self-efficacy; and (4) external factors affecting decision making: social support, and the situational environment. At the initial period of China's two-child policy, nulliparous women have perceived their decision-making process regarding mode of delivery as one with complexity and uncertainty, influenced by both internal and external factors. This may have implications for the obstetric setting to develop a well-designed decision support system for pregnant women during the entire pregnancy periods. And it is recommended that care providers should assess women's preferences for mode of delivery from early pregnancy and provide adequate perinatal support and continuity of care for them. Copyright © 2018 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Teacher Unions' Participation in Policy Making: A South African Case Study

Science.gov (United States)

Govender, Logan

2015-01-01

This article contends that teacher unions' participation in policy making during South Africa's political transition was characterised by assertion of ideological identity (unionism and professionalism) and the cultivation of policy networks and alliances. It is argued that, historically, while teacher unions were divided along political and…

Data-Based Decision Making at the Policy, Research, and Practice Levels

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Schildkamp, Kim; Ebbeler, J.

2015-01-01

Data-based decision making (DBDM) can lead to school improvement. However, schools struggle with the implementation of DBDM. In this symposium, we will discuss research and the implementation of DBDM at the national and regional policy level and the classroom level. We will discuss policy issues

Environmental policy-making in a difficult context: motorized two-wheeled vehicle emissions in India

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Badami, Madhav G.

2004-01-01

Motor vehicle activity is growing rapidly in India and other less-industrialized countries in Asia. This growth is contributing to serious health and welfare effects due to vehicle emissions, and energy insecurity, acidification and climate change. This paper applies the problem-structuring tools of 'value-focused thinking' to inform policy-making and implementation related to this complex problem in a difficult context, with specific reference to motorized two-wheeled vehicles, which play an important role in transport air pollution but also provide affordable mobility to millions with few other attractive options. The paper describes the process used to elicit and structure objectives and measures, based on interviews conducted by the author, and demonstrates how the objectives and measures can be used to more effectively characterize policy impacts, and create policy packages that have a better chance of long-term success

Revitalizing REDD+ Policy Processes in Vietnam: The Roles of State and Non-State Actors

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Thu Ba Huynh

2017-02-01

Full Text Available Vietnam was one of the first countries to introduce the National REDD+ (Reduced Emissions from Deforestation and Forest Degradation Action Program in 2012. The country has recently revised the Program to aim for a more inclusive 2016–2020 strategy and a vision to 2030. This study explores how Vietnam policy actors view REDD+ policy development and their influence in these processes. The results can contribute to the discussion on how policy actors can effectively influence policy processes in the evolving context of REDD+ and in the types of political arrangements represented in Vietnam. We examined the influence of state and non-state actors on the 2012 National REDD+ Action Program (NRAP processes, and explored factors that may have shaped this influence, using a combination of document analysis and semi-structured interviews with 81 policy actors. It was found that non-state actors in REDD+ are still on the periphery of decision making, occupying “safe” positions, and have not taken either full advantage of their capacities, or of recent significant changes in the contemporary policy environment, to exert stronger influence on policy. We suggest that REDD+ policy processes in Vietnam need to be revitalized with key actors engaging collectively to promote the possibilities of REDD+ within a broader view of social change that reaches beyond the forestry sector.

Negotiated complexity in ecostystem services science and policy making

OpenAIRE

Keune, Hans; Dendoncker, Nicolas

2014-01-01

Abstract: Its a long way from scientific knowledge to concrete policy action. Along the way many decisions have to be made. A lot of these decisions relate to setting priorities. With regard to policy uptake of scientific knowledge on ecosystem services, the need for an integrated decision-making framework is crucial. Framing complexity is a crucial aspect of any ecosystem services approach: How do we deal with ecological and social complexity? The complexity to be taken into account and the ...

Democratic energy policy making

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Tronconi, P.A.

1991-01-01

The author stresses the need for greater public participation, in particular, by organized labour in the role of organizer-coordinator, in the creation and implementation of local and regional clean energy-environmental protection programs. These would conform to innovative national strategies which would adapt the traditional short-sighted economic growth-energy use models still used by many industrialized countries, to current global requirements - that of harmonized global development and environmental protection to satisfy present needs without compromising the capacity of future generations, of developing, as well as, developed countries, to satisfy their own needs. With reference energy policies of Italy, heavily dependent on oil and gas imports, the author points out the strategic importance and technical-economic feasibility of energy conservation. He then makes suggestions on how to overcome past failures, due primarily to excessive bureaucracy and scarce investment, in the realization of effective energy conservation programs

Strengthening capacity to apply health research evidence in policy making: experience from four countries

Science.gov (United States)

Hawkes, Sarah; K Aulakh, Bhupinder; Jadeja, Nidhee; Jimenez, Michelle; Buse, Kent; Anwar, Iqbal; Barge, Sandhya; Odubanjo, M Oladoyin; Shukla, Abhay; Ghaffar, Abdul; Whitworth, Jimmy

2016-01-01

Increasing the use of evidence in policy making means strengthening capacity on both the supply and demand sides of evidence production. However, little experience of strengthening the capacity of policy makers in low- and middle- income countries has been published to date. We describe the experiences of five projects (in Bangladesh, Gambia, India and Nigeria), where collaborative teams of researchers and policy makers/policy influencers worked to strengthen policy maker capacity to increase the use of evidence in policy. Activities were focused on three (interlinked) levels of capacity building: individual, organizational and, occasionally, institutional. Interventions included increasing access to research/data, promoting frequent interactions between researchers and members of the policy communities, and increasing the receptivity towards research/data in policy making or policy-implementing organizations. Teams were successful in building the capacity of individuals to access, understand and use evidence/data. Strengthening organizational capacity generally involved support to infrastructure (e.g. through information technology resources) and was also deemed to be successful. There was less appetite to address the need to strengthen institutional capacity—although this was acknowledged to be fundamental to promoting sustainable use of evidence, it was also recognized as requiring resources, legitimacy and regulatory support from policy makers. Evaluation across the three spheres of capacity building was made more challenging by the lack of agreed upon evaluation frameworks. In this article, we propose a new framework for assessing the impact of capacity strengthening activities to promote the use of evidence/data in policy making. Our evaluation concluded that strengthening the capacity of individuals and organizations is an important but likely insufficient step in ensuring the use of evidence/data in policy-cycles. Sustainability of evidence

Unionism, the Decision-Making Process and Social Security Reform in Brazil

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Sidney Jard da Silva

2016-08-01

Full Text Available Despite the vast literature on social security reform there are relatively few studies that analyze the participation of representatives coming from the union movement in the decision-making process. This article aims to fill part of that gap in Brazilian academic production on unionism and public policy. In situations in which unionist representatives support the ruling party, does the union bloc tend to defend the specific interests of their base of social representation or to follow the guidance of the party coalition of which they are part? The study addresses this research problemby analyzing the participation of the union bloc in the decision-making process of a social security reform, Proposal of Amendment to the Constitution, Article 40 (PEC 40, during the first term of Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva's government. The main findings of the study confirm the thesis of party predominance. In an institutional political scenario in which party discipline prevails, unionist representatives and senators tend to follow the guidance of the party coalition even under contrary pressures from their electoral base. The research sheds light on the relations involved between the Executive and Legislative branches, in the process of changing public policy, in which a government considered to be allied imposes losses for specific sectors of the union base, notably the active and inactive public servants of the federal government, states and municipalities.

Policy-Making Theory as an Analytical Framework in Policy Analysis: Implications for Research Design and Professional Advocacy.

Science.gov (United States)

Sheldon, Michael R

2016-01-01

Policy studies are a recent addition to the American Physical Therapy Association's Research Agenda and are critical to our understanding of various federal, state, local, and organizational policies on the provision of physical therapist services across the continuum of care. Policy analyses that help to advance the profession's various policy agendas will require relevant theoretical frameworks to be credible. The purpose of this perspective article is to: (1) demonstrate the use of a policy-making theory as an analytical framework in a policy analysis and (2) discuss how sound policy analysis can assist physical therapists in becoming more effective change agents, policy advocates, and partners with other relevant stakeholder groups. An exploratory study of state agency policy responses to address work-related musculoskeletal disorders is provided as a contemporary example to illustrate key points and to demonstrate the importance of selecting a relevant analytical framework based on the context of the policy issue under investigation. © 2016 American Physical Therapy Association.

Provincial prenatal record revision: a multiple case study of evidence-based decision-making at the population-policy level

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Olson Joanne

2008-12-01

Full Text Available Abstract Background There is a significant gap in the knowledge translation literature related to how research evidence actually contributes to health care decision-making. Decisions around what care to provide at the population (rather than individual level are particularly complex, involving considerations such as feasibility, cost, and population needs in addition to scientific evidence. One example of decision-making at this "population-policy" level involves what screening questions and intervention guides to include on standardized provincial prenatal records. As mandatory medical reporting forms, prenatal records are potentially powerful vehicles for promoting population-wide evidence-based care. However, the extent to which Canadian prenatal records reflect best-practice recommendations for the assessment of well-known risk factors such as maternal smoking and alcohol consumption varies markedly across Canadian provinces and territories. The goal of this study is to better understand the interaction of contextual factors and research evidence on decision-making at the population-policy level, by examining the processes by which provincial prenatal records are reviewed and revised. Methods Guided by Dobrow et al.'s (2004 conceptual model for context-based evidence-based decision-making, this study will use a multiple case study design with embedded units of analysis to examine contextual factors influencing the prenatal record revision process in different Canadian provinces and territories. Data will be collected using multiple methods to construct detailed case descriptions for each province/territory. Using qualitative data analysis techniques, decision-making processes involving prenatal record content specifically related to maternal smoking and alcohol use will be compared both within and across each case, to identify key contextual factors influencing the uptake and application of research evidence by prenatal record review

What Policy Actors Seek for: Reciprocal Misunderstanding of Objectives of Participatory Decision Making

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Birutė PITRĖNAITĖ-ŽILĖNIENĖ

2013-12-01

Full Text Available The goal of this research is to explore different policy actors’ attitudes towards participation in public decision making. The paper examines objectives of external participants’ involvement and compares various participants’ judgements on the process and results of participation. We screened operation of formal networks of participatory decision making at the Lithuanian Ministries of Health and Education & Science. The research revealed the willingness of decision makers to allow different stakeholders to contribute to the solution of problems of diverse character. The results of interviews manifested reciprocal miscommunication towards objectives and results of participatory decision making. Public administrators demonstrated their high willingness to acquire expertise, while external participants sought to present specific interests and got them implemented as well. However, it has to be admitted that decision makers are not committed to the results generated by stakeholders.

Is Educational Policy Making Rational--and What Would that Mean, Anyway?

Science.gov (United States)

Bredo, Eric

2009-01-01

In "Moderating the Debate: Rationality and the Promise of American Education," Michael Feuer raises concerns about the consequences of basing educational policy on the model of rational choice drawn from economics. Policy making would be better and more realistic, he suggests, if it were based on a newer procedural model drawn from cognitive…

Policy making and energy infrastructure change: A Nigerian case study of energy governance in the electricity sector

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Edomah, Norbert; Foulds, Chris; Jones, Aled

2017-01-01

This paper focusses on investigating the underlying mechanisms and influences of the policy decision making process and how it affects and impacts the governance of the Nigerian energy industry, and energy infrastructure provisions. In-depth semi-structured interviews were used; all interviewees had been involved, directly or indirectly, in energy infrastructure policy decisions in Nigeria. Five key themes subsequently emerged as salient intra-country induced influences that were affecting the governance and performance of the Nigerian energy sector: (1) competencies – i.e. practical knowledge of energy policy making; (2) expectations – i.e. past, present, and forecasted future expectations from the energy industry; (3) legislation – i.e. institutionalized (and unwritten) rules/procedures; (4) future visions – i.e. future vision of the energy industry/energy market; (5) recruiting experts – i.e. recruiting new energy and public policy makers. In addition, three major inter-country induced influences were also identified: (1) the changing dynamics of international and foreign aid; (2) the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals; and (3) the Paris Agreements on Climate Change. The paper concludes by highlighting the policy implications of these influences, and the consequences for policy makers in the governance of the energy industry in ensuring a secured energy future. - Highlights: • Unclear energy policies pose a business risk to current and future investors. • Our energy future is threatened by unsystematic recruitment into the policy space. • Some energy governance challenges reflect incompetence in energy legislation. • Nigerian energy transition was shaped by historical policy dynamics and structures.

Contestations and complexities of nurses’ participation in policy-making in South Africa

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Prudence Ditlopo

2014-12-01

Full Text Available Background: There has been increased emphasis globally on nurses’ involvement in health policy and systems development. However, there has been limited scholarly attention on nurses’ participation in policy-making in South Africa. Objective: This paper analyses the dynamics, strengths, and weaknesses of nurses’ participation in four national health workforce policies: the 2008 Nursing Strategy, revision of the Scope of Practice for nurses, the new Framework for Nursing Qualifications, and the Occupation-Specific Dispensation (OSD remuneration policy. Design: Using a policy analysis framework, we conducted in-depth interviews with 28 key informants and 73 frontline nurses in four South African provinces. Thematic content analysis was done using the Atlas.ti software. Results: The study found that nurses’ participation in policy-making is both contested and complex. The contestation relates to the extent and nature of nurses’ participation in nursing policies. There was a disjuncture between nursing leadership and frontline nurses in their levels of awareness of the four policies. The latter group was generally unaware of these policies with the exception of the OSD remuneration policy as it affected them directly. There was also limited consensus on which nursing group legitimately represented nursing issues in the policy arena. Shifting power relationships influenced who participated, how the participation happened, and the degree to which nurses’ views and inputs were considered and incorporated. Conclusions: The South African health system presents major opportunities for nurses to influence and direct policies that affect them. This will require a combination of proactive leadership, health policy capacity and skills development among nurses, and strong support from the national nursing association.

Evidence-based policy: implications for nursing and policy involvement.

Science.gov (United States)

Hewison, Alistair

2008-11-01

Evidence-based policy making is espoused as a central feature of government in the United Kingdom. However, an expectation that this will improve the quality of policy produced and provide a path to increased involvement of nurses in the policy process is misplaced. The purpose of this article is to demonstrate that the emphasis on evidence-based policy is problematic and cannot be regarded as a "new model" of policy making. Also, it could deflect attention from more practical approaches to policy involvement on the part of nurses. Policy development activities, acquisition of skills in policy analysis, and other forms of involvement are needed if nurses are to move along the continuum from policy literacy, through policy acumen, to policy competence. This involves taking a critical stance on the notion of evidence-based policy.

Technocracy in Economic Policy-Making in Malaysia

OpenAIRE

Khadijah Md Khalid; Mahani Zainal Abidin

2014-01-01

This article looks at the role of the technocracy in economic policy-making in Malaysia. The analysis was conducted across two phases, namely the period before and after the 1997-98 economic and financial crises, and during the premiership of four prime ministers namely Tun Razak, Dr Mahathir, Abdullah Ahmad Badawi, and Najib Razak. It is claimed that the technocrats played an important role in helping the political leadership achieve their objectives. The article traces the changing fortunes...

Engaging Actors for Integrating Health Policy and Systems Research into Policy Making: Case Study from Haryana State in India

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Shankar Prinja

2017-09-01

Full Text Available Background & objective: Good examples of evidence generation using Health Policy and Systems Research (HPSR in low and middle income countries (LMIC; and its application in policy making are scarce. In this paper, we describe the experience of establishing a system of HPSR from the Haryana state in India, outline how the HPSR is being utilized for policy making and programmatic decision making, and analyse the key factors which have been critical to the implementation and uptake of HPSR. Methods: Multiple methods are employed in this case study, ranging from unstructured in-depth interviews, review of the program and policy documents, and participatory notes from the meetings. The steps towards creation of a knowledge partnership between stakeholders are outlined. Four case studies i.e. development of a plan for universal health care (UHC, nutrition policy, centralized drug procurement system and use of RAPID appraisal method highlight the use of research evidence in agenda setting, policy formulation and policy implementation respectively. Results: Our analysis shows that the most important factor which contributed to Haryana model of HPSR was the presence of a dedicated and motivated team in National Rural Health Mission (NRHM at state level, many of whom were researchers by previous training. Overall, we conclude by highlighting the need for establishing an institutional mechanism at Central and State level where health service administrators and managers, academicians and researchers working in the field of health system from medical colleges, public health schools, management and technology institutions and social science universities can identify health system research priorities. Increased budgetary allocation for HPSR is required.

Engaging Actors for Integrating Health Policy and Systems Research into Policy Making: Case Study from Haryana State in India

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Shankar Prinja

2017-09-01

Full Text Available Background & objective: Good examples of evidence generation using Health Policy and Systems Research (HPSR in low and middle income countries (LMIC; and its application in policy making are scarce. In this paper, we describe the experience of establishing a system of HPSR from the Haryana state in India, outline how the HPSR is being utilized for policy making and programmatic decision making, and analyse the key factors which have been critical to the implementation and uptake of HPSR. Methods: Multiple methods are employed in this case study, ranging from unstructured in-depth interviews, review of the program and policy documents, and participatory notes from the meetings. The steps towards creation of a knowledge partnership between stakeholders are outlined. Four case studies i.e. development of a plan for universal health care (UHC, nutrition policy, centralized drug procurement system and use of RAPID appraisal method highlight the use of research evidence in agenda setting, policy formulation and policy implementation respectively. Results: Our analysis shows that the most important factor which contributed to Haryana model of HPSR was the presence of a dedicated and motivated team in National Rural Health Mission (NRHM at state level, many of whom were researchers by previous training. Overall, we conclude by highlighting the need for establishing an institutional mechanism at Central and State level where health service administrators and managers, academicians and researchers working in the field of health system from medical colleges, public health schools, management and technology institutions and social science universities can identify health system research priorities. Increased budgetary allocation for HPSR is required.

Citizen participation in local policy making: design and democracy

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Michels, A.M.B.|info:eu-repo/dai/nl/11124501X

2012-01-01

Embedding democratic innovations that increase and deepen citizen participation in decision making has become a common policy of local governments in many countries. This article focuses on the role of the design of these innovations and seeks to establish the effects of their design on democracy.

The Politics of Local Tax Policy-Making in Poland

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Swianiewicz Paweł

2016-06-01

To what extent is tax policy an important item of the local political agenda in Polish municipalities ? Is it a subject of intense debates at city hall and local councils or is it accepted as a routine exercise ? The results suggest that the issues related to local taxes play a relatively marginal role compared to issues such as the location of major investments. However, the importance of taxes in local debates increases in those local communities in which the tax yields collected are larger and in the case of those taxes which are paid by a wider group of tax payers.Who governs in local tax-policy-making ? According to local provisions the proposal of tax resolution is submitted by the mayor, and the local council makes the final decision. But empirical findings suggest that the practice follows the “strong mayor” model, in which the local political leader, supporter by his staff of the financial department, is more influential than the councilors.

Shaping Education Policy: Power and Process

Science.gov (United States)

Mitchell, Douglas E., Ed.; Crowson, Robert L., Ed.; Shipps, Dorothy, Ed.

2011-01-01

"Shaping Education Policy" is a comprehensive overview of education politics and policy during the most turbulent and rapidly changing period in American history. Respected scholars review the history of education policy to explain the political powers and processes that shape education today. Chapters cover major themes that have…

A formal communication process: Pathway to improved policy making

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Benson, A.; Robison, A.C.; Seidler, P.E.

1993-01-01

This paper will examine the efforts made and the steps taken by the US DOE's Office of Civilian Radioactive Waste Management (DOE/OCRWM) to establish and keep open lines of communication with officials in Nye County, Nevada, the location of Yucca Mountain, the site of a proposed high-level nuclear waste repository. These efforts include creating policies and procedures for conducting oversight of the Yucca Mountain Site Characterization Project (YMP), as well as developing programs for engaging in technical studies, requests for impact assistance and financial assistance, and ensuring there's a continuous flow of information to the residents of Nevada

Pharmaceutical expenditure forecast model to support health policy decision making.

Science.gov (United States)

Rémuzat, Cécile; Urbinati, Duccio; Kornfeld, Åsa; Vataire, Anne-Lise; Cetinsoy, Laurent; Aballéa, Samuel; Mzoughi, Olfa; Toumi, Mondher

2014-01-01

With constant incentives for healthcare payers to contain their pharmaceutical budgets, modelling policy decision impact became critical. The objective of this project was to test the impact of various policy decisions on pharmaceutical budget (developed for the European Commission for the project 'European Union (EU) Pharmaceutical expenditure forecast' - http://ec.europa.eu/health/healthcare/key_documents/index_en.htm). A model was built to assess policy scenarios' impact on the pharmaceutical budgets of seven member states of the EU, namely France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Poland, Portugal, and the United Kingdom. The following scenarios were tested: expanding the UK policies to EU, changing time to market access, modifying generic price and penetration, shifting the distribution chain of biosimilars (retail/hospital). Applying the UK policy resulted in dramatic savings for Germany (10 times the base case forecast) and substantial additional savings for France and Portugal (2 and 4 times the base case forecast, respectively). Delaying time to market was found be to a very powerful tool to reduce pharmaceutical expenditure. Applying the EU transparency directive (6-month process for pricing and reimbursement) increased pharmaceutical expenditure for all countries (from 1.1 to 4 times the base case forecast), except in Germany (additional savings). Decreasing the price of generics and boosting the penetration rate, as well as shifting distribution of biosimilars through hospital chain were also key methods to reduce pharmaceutical expenditure. Change in the level of reimbursement rate to 100% in all countries led to an important increase in the pharmaceutical budget. Forecasting pharmaceutical expenditure is a critical exercise to inform policy decision makers. The most important leverages identified by the model on pharmaceutical budget were driven by generic and biosimilar prices, penetration rate, and distribution. Reducing, even slightly, the prices of

The didn't pilot the Welfare State: on evidence and temporality in policy-making

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Vohnsen, Nina Holm

for a discussion a key civil servants lament that “they did not pilot the welfare state” the paper moves on to argue that the real potential of a pilot lies not in its capacity to predict and prepare for policy outcome but in its capacity to prototype political alliances which might eventually do other work.......This paper examines the early stages of planning for a possible pilot on Universal Basic Income in Fife, Scotland. It builds on interviews with key stakeholders in the process and a number of internal and public documents related to the case. It focuses the analysis on a particular moment...... in the development of the pilot and discusses the idea of ‘piloting’, which in today’s policy-making seems to be an indispensable stage preceding radically new policy. Yet it seems there is a fundamental mismatch between ‘a pilot’ and the innovative work such are often called upon to do. Taking as is starting point...

Accessing the digital environment: making policy in academic libraries

African Journals Online (AJOL)

Accessing the digital environment: making policy in academic libraries. Dorette Snyman. Abstract. No Abstract Available Innovation No.23 2001: 13-18. Full Text: EMAIL FULL TEXT EMAIL FULL TEXT · DOWNLOAD FULL TEXT DOWNLOAD FULL TEXT · AJOL African Journals Online. HOW TO USE AJOL... for Researchers ...

Promoting evidence informed policy making for maternal and child health in Nigeria: lessons from a knowledge translation workshop

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Chigozie Jesse Uneke

2018-01-01

Full Text Available Background: Knowledge translation (KT is a process that ensures that research evidence gets translated into policy and practice. In Nigeria, reports indicate that research evidence rarely gets into policy making process. A major factor responsible for this is lack of KT capacity enhancement mechanisms. The objective of this study was to improve KT competence of an implementation research team (IRT, policymakers and stakeholders in maternal and child health to enhance evidence-informed policy making. Methods: This study employed a "before and after" design, modified as an intervention study. The study was conducted in Bauchi, north-eastern Nigeria. A three-day KT training workshop was organized and 15 modules were covered including integrated and end-of-grant KT; KT models,measures, tools and strategies; priority setting; managing political interference; advocacy and consensus building/negotiations; inter-sectoral collaboration; policy analysis, contextualization and legislation. A 4-point Likert scale pre-/post-workshop questionnaires were administered to evaluate the impact of the training, it was designed in terms of extent of adequacy; with "grossly inadequate" representing 1 point, and "very adequate" representing 4 points.Results: A total of 45 participants attended the workshop. There was a noteworthy improvement in the participants’ understanding of KT processes and strategies. The range of the praiseworthiness of participants knowledge of modules taught was from 2.04-2.94, the range for the post workshop mean was from 3.10–3.70 on the 4-point Likert scale. The range of percentage increase in mean for participants’ knowledge at the end of the workshop was from 13.3%–55.2%.Conclusion: The outcome of this study suggests that using a KT capacity building programme e.g., workshop, health researchers, policymakers and other stakeholders can acquire capacity and skill that will facilitate evidence-to-policy link.

Design Concepts and Design Practices in Policy-Making and Public Management

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Junginger, Sabine

2012-01-01

National governments around the globe are actively seeking new ways to engage in social innovation and are investing in innovation labs and innovation centers where methods and principles of design are now being explored and applied to problems of transforming and innovating the public sector (cf...... governments but they also pose new challenges for policy-makers and public administrators who are not yet familiar with design concepts, principles and methods beyond problem-solving. Despite the many linkages between and among design, designing, policy-making and policy implementation, we have yet to clarify...

Facilitating participatory processes for policy change in natural ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

Mo

an open and participatory policy and decision -making at the lower .... people who are open minded and who believe in the success of change ..... Figure 3: Policy Task Force Critical Triangle. Source: Adapted form Catacutan et al. (2001). Farmers and local organisations. R&D Facilitators. Decentralized local government.

The Role of Higher Education in National Quality Infrastructure Policy-Making

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Jelena Ruso

2017-05-01

Full Text Available The aim of the paper is to raise awareness of the importance of the policy makers’ knowledge and expertise about quality infrastructure (QI for the successful policy-making. This article, which addresses the role of higher education in Serbian quality infrastructure policy-making, is an analysis of QI related contents of higher education institution curriculum. The target institutions are public faculties from whose official websites the data were collected. Depending on the keywords, the analysis was performed in order to classify the faculties into three categories. After reviewing the 307 subject titles and descriptions of undergraduate courses, the results show that the concepts of QI are widely recognized as an important and popular topic. The analysis of the QI adoption and diffusion indicates that although some of the faculties might be ‘leaders’ in a particular dimension, they still do not necessarily fall into the ‘leader’ category. JEL Classification:I21, I23, H54, L15

The policy process in a petro-state. An analysis of PDVSA's (Petroleos de Venezuela SA's) internationalisation strategy

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Baena, C.E. [Instituto de Estudios Superiores de Administracion, Caracas (Venezuela)

1999-07-01

Venezuela offers a unique case and fertile ground for the study of oil policy-making processes. In the specialised literature very little attention has been paid to the nature and operations of multinationals from developing countries. By analysing Petroleos de Venezuela SA's (PDVSA's) internationalisation policy, this unique book explores the difficulties encountered by a major state oil enterprise in its efforts to grow beyond national borders. This informative study focuses on the impact of democratic bargaining on the process of oil policy-making in Venezuela, stressing the constraints posed by politics on PDVSA's efforts to expand its foreign operations. (author)

Exploring maintenance policy selection using the Analytic Hierarchy Process; An application for naval ships

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Goossens, Adriaan J.M.; Basten, Rob J.I.

2015-01-01

In this paper we investigate maintenance policy selection (MPS) through the use of the Analytic Hierarchy Process (AHP). A maintenance policy is a policy that dictates which parameter triggers a maintenance action. In practice, selecting the right maintenance policy appears to be a difficult decision. We investigate MPS for naval ships, but our results have wider applicability. For our study we cooperate with the owner and operator of the ships, as well as with a shipbuilder and an original equipment manufacturer of naval ships. We apply a structured five step approach to obtain the relevant criteria that may make one policy preferable over another. The criteria are drawn from both literature and a series of interviews at several navy related companies and are structured into a hierarchy of criteria usable with the AHP. Additionally, we organize three workshops at the three different companies to test the AHP-based MPS approach in practice. We conclude that the AHP is well suited for maintenance policy selection in this broad setting, and that it provides a structured and detailed approach for MPS. Adding to that, it facilitates discussions during and after the sessions, creating a better understanding of the policy selection process. - Highlights: • We use the Analytic Hierarchy Process (AHP) for maintenance policy selection (MPS). • Using both interviews and case studies from the literature, we construct a hierarchy. • In sessions at 3 companies, we find that 1 hierarchy can be used for multiple assets. • The AHP creates a better understanding of the maintenance policy selection process. • Our work is on naval ships, but our approach and findings have wider applicability

The Negative Impact of Legislation Pitfalls on Meaningful Public Participation, Efficient Policy-Making and Effective Governance

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Oana ALMĂȘAN

2009-02-01

Full Text Available This article focuses on emphasizing howa variety of apparently irrelevant legislationimperfections may induce significant misunderstandingsregarding the real spirit of democraticgovernance, corrupting the practice of activecitizenship in the policy-making processes anddepriving the Romanian public administration ofan important and valuable instrument for efficientgovernance and implementation of sustainabledecisions. The authors chose to analyze aspectsof the related legislation, as it represents afundamental element needed for the developmentof active citizenship. This article is the result of alarger on-going research on the phenomena ofpublic participation and policy dialogue that aimsto provide a more accurate understanding ofactive citizenship mechanisms and to investigatethe existence of a deliberative conscience at thelevel of the Romanian society.

The New Cannabis Policy Taxonomy on APIS: Making Sense of the Cannabis Policy Universe.

Science.gov (United States)

Klitzner, Michael D; Thomas, Sue; Schuler, Jonathan; Hilton, Michael; Mosher, James

2017-06-01

The National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism's Alcohol Policy Information System (APIS) is, for the first time, adding legal data pertaining to recreational cannabis use to its current offerings on alcohol policy. Now that Colorado, Washington, Oregon, Alaska, and the District of Columbia have legalized aspects of recreational cannabis, and more states are considering it, there is an urgency to provide high-quality, multi-dimensional legal data to the public health community. This article introduces the Cannabis Policy Taxonomy recently posted on APIS, and explores its theoretical and empirical contributions to the substance abuse literature and its potential for use in policy research. We also present results of interviews with public health experts in alcohol and cannabis policy, which sought to determine the most important variables to address in the initial release of cannabis policy data. From this process, we found that pricing controls emerged as the variable singled out by the largest number of experts. This analysis points to a host of vital policies that are of increasing importance to public health policy scholars and their current and future research.

Designing Dynamic Adaptive Policy Pathways using Many-Objective Robust Decision Making

Science.gov (United States)

Kwakkel, Jan; Haasnoot, Marjolijn

2017-04-01

Dealing with climate risks in water management requires confronting a wide variety of deeply uncertain factors, while navigating a many dimensional space of trade-offs amongst objectives. There is an emerging body of literature on supporting this type of decision problem, under the label of decision making under deep uncertainty. Two approaches within this literature are Many-Objective Robust Decision Making, and Dynamic Adaptive Policy Pathways. In recent work, these approaches have been compared. One of the main conclusions of this comparison was that they are highly complementary. Many-Objective Robust Decision Making is a model based decision support approach, while Dynamic Adaptive Policy Pathways is primarily a conceptual framework for the design of flexible strategies that can be adapted over time in response to how the future is actually unfolding. In this research we explore this complementarity in more detail. Specifically, we demonstrate how Many-Objective Robust Decision Making can be used to design adaptation pathways. We demonstrate this combined approach using a water management problem, in the Netherlands. The water level of Lake IJselmeer, the main fresh water resource of the Netherlands, is currently managed through discharge by gravity. Due to climate change, this won't be possible in the future, unless water levels are changed. Changing the water level has undesirable flood risk and spatial planning consequences. The challenge is to find promising adaptation pathways that balance objectives related to fresh water supply, flood risk, and spatial issues, while accounting for uncertain climatic and land use change. We conclude that the combination of Many-Objective Robust Decision Making and Dynamic Adaptive Policy Pathways is particularly suited for dealing with deeply uncertain climate risks.

Legitimation problems of participatory processes in technology assessment and technology policy.

Science.gov (United States)

Saretzki, Thomas

2012-11-01

Since James Carroll (1971) made a strong case for "participatory technology", scientists, engineers, policy-makers and the public at large have seen quite a number of different approaches to design and implement participatory processes in technology assessment and technology policy. As these participatory experiments and practices spread over the last two decades, one could easily get the impression that participation turned from a theoretical normative claim to a working practice that goes without saying. Looking beyond the well-known forerunners and considering the ambivalent experiences that have been made under different conditions in various places, however, the "if" and "how" of participation are still contested issues when questions of technology are on the agenda. Legitimation problems indicate that attempts to justify participation in a given case have not been entirely successful in the eyes of relevant groups among the sponsors, participants, organizers or observers. Legitimation problems of participatory processes in technology assessment and technology policy vary considerably, and they do so not only with the two domains and the ways of their interrelation or the specific features of the participatory processes. If we ask whether or not participation is seen as problematic in technology assessment and technology policy-making and in what sense it is being evaluated as problematic, then we find that the answer depends also on the approaches and criteria that have been used to legitimize or delegitimize the call for a specific design of participation.

Radioactive waste management: a comparative study of national decision-making processes. Final report, September 15, 1978-December 31, 1979

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Zinberg, D.S.; Deese, D.

1980-01-01

A report is presented resulting from a comparative study of national decision-making processes in radioactive waste management. By seeking out the variations among the socio-political and institutional components of the nuclear power and radioactive waste policies in ten countries, the authors have attempted to identify means to improve national and international responses to a seemingly intractable problem, the management of wastes from military and commercial nuclear programs worldwide. Efforts were focused on evaluation of comparative national policy formulation processes. Mapping national programs in conjunction with social, political and administrative structure and comparing the similarities and differences among them has revealed six major issues: (1) technological bias in decision-making; (2) lack of natioal strategies for the RWM programs; (3) fragmentation of governmental power structures; (4) crippled national regulatory bodies; (5) complex and competing relations among local, state and federal levels of government; and (6) increased importance of non-governmental actors and public participation. The first two issues are overarching, encompassing the fundamental approach to policy, whereas the last four describe more specific aspects of the decision-making structures

Integrating research evidence and physical activity policy making-REPOPA project

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Aro, A.R.; Bertram, M.; Hamalainen, R.-M.; van de Goor, L.A.M.; Skovgaard, T.; Valente, A.; Castellani, T.; Chereches, R.; Edwards, N.

2016-01-01

Evidence shows that regular physical activity is enhanced by supporting environment. Studies are needed to integrate research evidence into health enhancing, cross-sector physical activity (HEPA) policy making. This article presents the rationale, study design, measurement procedures and the initial

WHO policy development processes for a new vaccine: case study of malaria vaccines

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Cheyne James

2010-06-01

Full Text Available Abstract Background Recommendations from the World Health Organization (WHO are crucial to inform developing country decisions to use, or not, a new intervention. This article analysed the WHO policy development process to predict its course for a malaria vaccine. Methods The decision-making processes for one malaria intervention and four vaccines were classified through (1 consultations with staff and expert advisors to WHO's Global Malaria Programme (GMP and Immunization, Vaccines and Biologicals Department (IVB; (2 analysis of the procedures and recommendations of the major policy-making bodies of these groups; (3 interviews with staff of partnerships working toward new vaccine availability; and (4 review and analyses of evidence informing key policy decisions. Case description WHO policy formulation related to use of intermittent preventive treatment in infancy (IPTi and the following vaccine interventions: Haemophilus influenzae type b conjugate vaccine (Hib, pneumococcal conjugate vaccine (PCV, rotavirus vaccine (RV, and human papillomavirus vaccine (HPV, five interventions which had relatively recently been through systematic WHO policy development processes as currently constituted, was analysed. Required information was categorized in three areas defined by a recent WHO publication on development of guidelines: safety and efficacy in relevant populations, implications for costs and population health, and localization of data to specific epidemiological situations. Discussion and evaluation Data needs for a malaria vaccine include safety; the demonstration of efficacy in a range of epidemiological settings in the context of other malaria prevention interventions; and information on potential rebound in which disease increases subsequent to the intervention. In addition, a malaria vaccine would require attention to additional factors, such as costs and cost-effectiveness, supply and demand, impact of use on other interventions, and

Role of the national energy system modelling in the process of the policy development

OpenAIRE

Merse Stane; Urbancic Andreja; Sucic Boris; Pusnik Matevz

2012-01-01

Strategic planning and decision making, nonetheless making energy policies and strategies, is very extensive process and has to follow multiple and often contradictory objectives. During the preparation of the new Slovenian Energy Programme proposal, complete update of the technology and sector oriented bottom up model of Reference Energy and Environmental System of Slovenia (REES-SLO) has been done. During the redevelopment of the REES-SLO model trade-off between the simulation and opt...

Nonrational processes in ethical decision making.

Science.gov (United States)

Rogerson, Mark D; Gottlieb, Michael C; Handelsman, Mitchell M; Knapp, Samuel; Younggren, Jeffrey

2011-10-01

Most current ethical decision-making models provide a logical and reasoned process for making ethical judgments, but these models are empirically unproven and rely upon assumptions of rational, conscious, and quasilegal reasoning. Such models predominate despite the fact that many nonrational factors influence ethical thought and behavior, including context, perceptions, relationships, emotions, and heuristics. For example, a large body of behavioral research has demonstrated the importance of automatic intuitive and affective processes in decision making and judgment. These processes profoundly affect human behavior and lead to systematic biases and departures from normative theories of rationality. Their influence represents an important but largely unrecognized component of ethical decision making. We selectively review this work; provide various illustrations; and make recommendations for scientists, trainers, and practitioners to aid them in integrating the understanding of nonrational processes with ethical decision making.

Research-Based Knowledge: Researchers' Contribution to Evidence-Based Practice and Policy Making in Career Guidance

Science.gov (United States)

Haug, Erik Hagaseth; Plant, Peter

2016-01-01

To present evidence for the outcomes of career guidance is increasingly seen as pivotal for a further professionalization of policy making and service provision. This paper puts an emphasis on researchers' contribution to evidence-based practice and policy making in career guidance. We argue for a broader and more pluralistic research strategy to…

People adopt optimal policies in simple decision-making, after practice and guidance.

Science.gov (United States)

Evans, Nathan J; Brown, Scott D

2017-04-01

Organisms making repeated simple decisions are faced with a tradeoff between urgent and cautious strategies. While animals can adopt a statistically optimal policy for this tradeoff, findings about human decision-makers have been mixed. Some studies have shown that people can optimize this "speed-accuracy tradeoff", while others have identified a systematic bias towards excessive caution. These issues have driven theoretical development and spurred debate about the nature of human decision-making. We investigated a potential resolution to the debate, based on two factors that routinely differ between human and animal studies of decision-making: the effects of practice, and of longer-term feedback. Our study replicated the finding that most people, by default, are overly cautious. When given both practice and detailed feedback, people moved rapidly towards the optimal policy, with many participants reaching optimality with less than 1 h of practice. Our findings have theoretical implications for cognitive and neural models of simple decision-making, as well as methodological implications.

The decision-making process in public healthcare entities – identification of the decision-making process type

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Szymaniec-Mlicka Karolina

2017-05-01

Full Text Available The decisions made in the organization determine its success, therefore, conducting studies in the scope of decision-making seems important both for theory and practice. The aim of the studies was to identify the type of decision-making process in public medical entities with the use of typology developed by P. Nutt. For this purpose we used qualitative methods. Interviews with 8 directors of hospitals were conducted and the reconstruction was made on the basis of the decision-making process, which enabled the assignment of the model of decision-making process to the organization. The research indicated that four organizations use the historical decision-making model, three organizations represent the model of generating solutions, and one organization uses the model of available solutions.

Markov decision processes: a tool for sequential decision making under uncertainty.

Science.gov (United States)

Alagoz, Oguzhan; Hsu, Heather; Schaefer, Andrew J; Roberts, Mark S

2010-01-01

We provide a tutorial on the construction and evaluation of Markov decision processes (MDPs), which are powerful analytical tools used for sequential decision making under uncertainty that have been widely used in many industrial and manufacturing applications but are underutilized in medical decision making (MDM). We demonstrate the use of an MDP to solve a sequential clinical treatment problem under uncertainty. Markov decision processes generalize standard Markov models in that a decision process is embedded in the model and multiple decisions are made over time. Furthermore, they have significant advantages over standard decision analysis. We compare MDPs to standard Markov-based simulation models by solving the problem of the optimal timing of living-donor liver transplantation using both methods. Both models result in the same optimal transplantation policy and the same total life expectancies for the same patient and living donor. The computation time for solving the MDP model is significantly smaller than that for solving the Markov model. We briefly describe the growing literature of MDPs applied to medical decisions.

Environmental economics and policy making in developing countries. Current issues

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Motta, R.S. da

2001-01-01

In developing countries, where growth expectations are high, least-cost environmental policies are crucial since they can reduce the conflict between economic growth and the environment. In view of this, policymakers in these economies must be very aware of the relationship between economic and environmental issues to offer policy initiatives which can increase efficiency and improve equity. The authors provide a comprehensive analysis of topics varying from the general problems of growth and conservation to specific applications such as; pollution costs, environmental taxation, deforestation and climate change. This volume also offers policymakers a comprehensive view of the challenges they face, and the legacies they leave, in order to convert environmental policy making into an actual programme of welfare improvement. (author)

Pharmaceutical expenditure forecast model to support health policy decision making

Science.gov (United States)

Rémuzat, Cécile; Urbinati, Duccio; Kornfeld, Åsa; Vataire, Anne-Lise; Cetinsoy, Laurent; Aballéa, Samuel; Mzoughi, Olfa; Toumi, Mondher

2014-01-01

Background and objective With constant incentives for healthcare payers to contain their pharmaceutical budgets, modelling policy decision impact became critical. The objective of this project was to test the impact of various policy decisions on pharmaceutical budget (developed for the European Commission for the project ‘European Union (EU) Pharmaceutical expenditure forecast’ – http://ec.europa.eu/health/healthcare/key_documents/index_en.htm). Methods A model was built to assess policy scenarios’ impact on the pharmaceutical budgets of seven member states of the EU, namely France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Poland, Portugal, and the United Kingdom. The following scenarios were tested: expanding the UK policies to EU, changing time to market access, modifying generic price and penetration, shifting the distribution chain of biosimilars (retail/hospital). Results Applying the UK policy resulted in dramatic savings for Germany (10 times the base case forecast) and substantial additional savings for France and Portugal (2 and 4 times the base case forecast, respectively). Delaying time to market was found be to a very powerful tool to reduce pharmaceutical expenditure. Applying the EU transparency directive (6-month process for pricing and reimbursement) increased pharmaceutical expenditure for all countries (from 1.1 to 4 times the base case forecast), except in Germany (additional savings). Decreasing the price of generics and boosting the penetration rate, as well as shifting distribution of biosimilars through hospital chain were also key methods to reduce pharmaceutical expenditure. Change in the level of reimbursement rate to 100% in all countries led to an important increase in the pharmaceutical budget. Conclusions Forecasting pharmaceutical expenditure is a critical exercise to inform policy decision makers. The most important leverages identified by the model on pharmaceutical budget were driven by generic and biosimilar prices, penetration rate

The role of citizen public-interest groups in the decision-making process of a science-intensive culture

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Sinclair, M.P.

1991-01-01

This study explores how concerns about the environment have escalated in the past three decades from being peripheral to that of a mainstream social movement. Most environmental concerns stem from the deployment of technologies where technical expertise is essential to effective participation in the decision-making process. The manner in which the current policy for the disposal of low-level radioactive waste was devised and passed by Congress provides the information base through which the role of citizen groups in the decision-making process in a science-intensive culture is explored, as they seek to overcome the adverse environmental impacts and economic inequities of this Act. The actual process by which citizens have confronted this current flawed policy is described, which includes how technical expertise from various sources made the citizens' case credible and effective. Several existing and theoretical models of citizen participation are described. Recommendations and conclusions are presented briefly, and a recommended model based on the concept of sustainable development is proposed

Making the link: climate policy and the reform of the UK construction industry

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Sorrell, Steve

2003-01-01

This paper explores the barriers to energy efficiency in the construction of non-domestic buildings in the UK. The source of the barriers is argued to lie in the organisation of the construction industry, including the linear design process, the reliance on cost-based competitive tendering and the incentives placed upon different actors. The consequences include oversizing of equipment, reduced quality, neglect of whole life costs and lack of integrated design. Each of these problems can usefully be interpreted using concepts from the new institutional economics. While the barriers are well known to construction industry specialists, they are relatively neglected in the academic literature on energy policy. Furthermore, conventional policy measures such as building regulations leave these barriers largely untouched. The UK construction industry is currently undergoing a series of reforms which aim to change the relationship between different actors and to achieve improvements in product quality and productivity. While these reforms have the potential to address many of the barriers, the reform agenda makes practically no reference to sustainability. This paper argues that climate policy objectives must be integrated into the reform agenda if the UK is to begin the transition to a low carbon built environment

Trade policy and health: from conflicting interests to policy coherence.

Science.gov (United States)

Blouin, Chantal

2007-03-01

Policy incoherence at the interface between trade policy and health can take many forms, such as international trade commitments that strengthen protection of pharmaceutical patents, or promotion of health tourism that exacerbates the shortage of physicians in rural areas. Focusing on the national policy-making process, we make recommendations regarding five conditions that are necessary, but not sufficient, to ensure that international trade policies are coherent with national health objectives. These conditions are: space for dialogue and joint fact-finding; leadership by ministries of health; institutional mechanisms for coordination; meaningful engagement with stakeholders; and a strong evidence base.

Stakeholder participation in radiological decision making: processes and implication

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

2004-01-01

Since 1998, the OECD Nuclear Energy Agency has been organizing a series of workshops to address the various aspects of stakeholder involvement in radiological protection decision making. These workshops have been instrumental in forging consensus and improving understanding of key issues in this area. Building on the experience of the first two 'Villigen workshops', the third in the series extensively analysed three case studies, which covered the licensing of a new facility, the clean-up and release of an old facility, and the rehabilitation of a large, contaminated area. Consideration was given to the stakeholder involvement processes that had been used, and the implications that these did or could have on radiological protection policy, regulation and application. The workshop papers analysing these processes and implications are presented in these proceedings, which should provide valuable examples and lessons for governments, regulators and practitioners. (author)

Relating Actor Analysis Methods to Policy Problems

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Van der Lei, T.E.

2009-01-01

For a policy analyst the policy problem is the starting point for the policy analysis process. During this process the policy analyst structures the policy problem and makes a choice for an appropriate set of methods or techniques to analyze the problem (Goeller 1984). The methods of the policy

Decision making, procedural compliance, and outcomes definition in U.S. forest service planning processes

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Stern, Marc J.; Predmore, S. Andrew

2011-01-01

The National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) dictates a process of analyzing and disclosing the likely impacts of proposed agency actions on the human environment. This study addresses two key questions related to NEPA implementation in the U.S. Forest Service: 1) how do Interdisciplinary (ID) team leaders and decision makers conceptualize the outcomes of NEPA processes? And 2), how does NEPA relate to agency decision making? We address these questions through two separate online surveys that posed questions about recently completed NEPA processes - the first with the ID team leaders tasked with carrying out the processes, and the second with the line officers responsible for making the processes' final decisions. Outcomes of NEPA processes include impacts on public relations, on employee morale and team functioning, on the achievement of agency goals, and on the achievement of NEPA's procedural requirements (disclosure) and substantive intent (minimizing negative environmental impacts). Although both tended to view public relations outcomes as important, decision makers' perceptions of favorable outcomes were more closely linked to the achievement of agency goals and process efficiency than was the case for ID team leaders. While ID team leaders' responses suggest that they see decision making closely integrated with the NEPA process, decision makers more commonly decoupled decision making from the NEPA process. These findings suggest a philosophical difference between ID team leaders and decision makers that may pose challenges for both the implementation and the evaluation of agency NEPA. We discuss the pros and cons of integrating NEPA with decision making or separating the two. We conclude that detaching NEPA from decision making poses greater risks than integrating them.

Heuristic and optimal policy computations in the human brain during sequential decision-making.

Science.gov (United States)

Korn, Christoph W; Bach, Dominik R

2018-01-23

Optimal decisions across extended time horizons require value calculations over multiple probabilistic future states. Humans may circumvent such complex computations by resorting to easy-to-compute heuristics that approximate optimal solutions. To probe the potential interplay between heuristic and optimal computations, we develop a novel sequential decision-making task, framed as virtual foraging in which participants have to avoid virtual starvation. Rewards depend only on final outcomes over five-trial blocks, necessitating planning over five sequential decisions and probabilistic outcomes. Here, we report model comparisons demonstrating that participants primarily rely on the best available heuristic but also use the normatively optimal policy. FMRI signals in medial prefrontal cortex (MPFC) relate to heuristic and optimal policies and associated choice uncertainties. Crucially, reaction times and dorsal MPFC activity scale with discrepancies between heuristic and optimal policies. Thus, sequential decision-making in humans may emerge from integration between heuristic and optimal policies, implemented by controllers in MPFC.

Do Scale Frames Matter? Scale Frame Mismatches in the Decision Making Process of a "Mega Farm" in a Small Dutch Village

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Maartje van. Lieshout

2011-03-01

Full Text Available Scale issues are an increasingly important feature of complex sustainability issues, but they are mostly taken for granted in policy processes. However, the scale at which a problem is defined as well as the scale at which it should be solved are potentially contentious issues. The framing of a problem as a local, regional, or global problem is not without consequences and influences processes of inclusion and exclusion. Little is known about the ways actors frame scales and the effect of different scale frames on decision making processes. This paper addresses the questions that different scale frames actors use and what the implications of scale frames are for policy processes. It does so by analyzing the scale frames deployed by different actors on the establishment of a so-called new mixed company or mega farm and the related decision making process in a Dutch municipality. We find that actors deploy different and conflicting scale frames, leading to scale frame mismatches. We conclude that scale frame mismatches play an important role in the stagnation of the decision making process.

Make way for the climate. National adaptation strategy. The policy paper

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

2007-11-01

The policy paper is a background document of the interdepartmental memorandum 'Make way for climate', in which the outline is described for a national strategy for adaptation to the consequences of climate change. [mk] [nl

The influence of knowledge on the public policy making process: the case of renewable energies in Midi Pyrenees

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Behar, L.

2012-01-01

Even though energy policy makers were novices when wind power was introduced in the Midi Pyrenees region, the situation had changed when the photovoltaic was implemented. The new challenges policy makers experimented about the wind power and their opponents, the wood energy and the primacy of the wood's industrials, the photovoltaic and the preservation of the agricultural lands, fostered their learning and gradually lead them to change their perception of inherent issues. The coalitions forged between technical experts and policy makers unbind along the progressive empowerment of the formers. Shared between different forms of knowledge, however, the resources needed to implement renewable energies projects cannot be reduced to the technical dimension. Local knowledge and engineering knowledge increasingly compete with expert knowledge. This evolution corresponds to a policy arrangement change. Since the dynamic but also the elements that compose this political system change, a new reality gradually emerges. This whole process will be the main concern of this thesis. We will finally notice that there are some differences between the implementation of these renewable energies among the territories but also among the three forms of renewable energies we analyze. This means that although renewable energy policy are based on interactions between actors' resources, discourse and rules, they also emerge from the action of intermediates actors, and from the characteristic of each territories in which they are implemented. (author)

Variability in adolescent portal privacy features: how the unique privacy needs of the adolescent patient create a complex decision-making process.

Science.gov (United States)

Sharko, Marianne; Wilcox, Lauren; Hong, Matthew K; Ancker, Jessica S

2018-05-17

Medical privacy policies, which are clear-cut for adults and young children, become ambiguous during adolescence. Yet medical organizations must establish unambiguous rules about patient and parental access to electronic patient portals. We conducted a national interview study to characterize the diversity in adolescent portal policies across a range of institutions and determine the factors influencing decisions about these policies. Within a sampling framework that ensured diversity of geography and medical organization type, we used purposive and snowball sampling to identify key informants. Semi-structured interviews were conducted and analyzed with inductive thematic analysis, followed by a member check. We interviewed informants from 25 medical organizations. Policies established different degrees of adolescent access (from none to partial to complete), access ages (from 10 to 18 years), degrees of parental access, and types of information considered sensitive. Federal and state law did not dominate policy decisions. Other factors in the decision process were: technology capabilities; differing patient population needs; resources; community expectations; balance between information access and privacy; balance between promoting autonomy and promoting family shared decision-making; and tension between teen privacy and parental preferences. Some informants believed that clearer standards would simplify policy-making; others worried that standards could restrict high-quality polices. In the absence of universally accepted standards, medical organizations typically undergo an arduous decision-making process to develop teen portal policies, weighing legal, economic, social, clinical, and technological factors. As a result, portal access policies are highly inconsistent across the United States and within individual states.

The role of migration-specific and migration-relevant policies in migrant decision-making in transit

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Kuschminder - de Guerre, Katie; Koser, Khalid

2017-01-01

This paper examines the role of migration-specific and migration-relevant policies in migrant decision-making factors for onwards migration or stay in Greece and Turkey. In this paper we distinguish migration-specific policies from migration-relevant policies in transit and destination countries,

The Impact of Institutional Culture, Policy and Process on Student Engagement in University Decision-Making

Science.gov (United States)

Carey, Philip

2018-01-01

There is a strong focus on the importance of student engagement in higher education, with increasing attention on how students can participate in their university's decision-making processes. Yet, although the concept appears to be almost universally accepted, it is rarely problematised. This has led some commentators to conclude that student…

Making sense of the global health crisis: policy narratives, conflict, and global health governance.

Science.gov (United States)

Ney, Steven

2012-04-01

Health has become a policy issue of global concern. Worried that the unstructured, polycentric, and pluralist nature of global health governance is undermining the ability to serve emergent global public health interests, some commentators are calling for a more systematic institutional response to the "global health crisis." Yet global health is a complex and uncertain policy issue. This article uses narrative analysis to explore how actors deal with these complexities and how uncertainties affect global health governance. By comparing three narratives in terms of their basic assumptions, the way they define problems as well as the solutions they propose, the analysis shows how the unstructured pluralism of global health policy making creates a wide scope of policy conflict over the global health crisis. This wide scope of conflict enables effective policy-oriented learning about global health issues. The article also shows how exclusionary patterns of cooperation and competition are emerging in health policy making at the global level. These patterns threaten effective learning by risking both polarization of the policy debate and unanticipated consequences of health policy. Avoiding these pitfalls, the analysis suggests, means creating global health governance regimes that promote openness and responsiveness in deliberation about the global health crisis.

Is welfare all that matters? A discussion of what should be included in policy-making regarding animals

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Yeates, J.W.; Röcklinsberg, H.; Gjerris, Mickey

2011-01-01

Policy-making concerned with animals often includes human interests, such as economy, trade, environmental protection, disease control, species conservation etc. When it comes to the interests of the animals, such policy-making often makes use of the results of animal welfare science to provide...... assessments of ethically relevant concerns for animals. This has provided a scientific rigour that has helped to overcome controversies and allowed debates to move forward according to generally agreed methodologies. However, this focus can lead to policies leaving out other important issues relevant...... to animals. This can be considered as a problem of what is included in welfare science, or of what is included in policy. This suggests two possible solutions: expanding animal welfare science to address all ethical concerns about animals’ interests or widening the perspective considered in policy...

Scientists as lobbyists? How science can make its voice heard in the South African policy-making arena

CSIR Research Space (South Africa)

Funke, Nicola S

2011-11-01

Full Text Available This paper examines the complexity of the South African policy-making context and its official and non-official actors and investigates the challenges that scientists face when trying to exert their influence here in order to strengthen the science...

Understanding the Development of Minimum Unit Pricing of Alcohol in Scotland: A Qualitative Study of the Policy Process

Science.gov (United States)

Katikireddi, Srinivasa Vittal; Hilton, Shona; Bonell, Chris; Bond, Lyndal

2014-01-01

Background Minimum unit pricing of alcohol is a novel public health policy with the potential to improve population health and reduce health inequalities. Theories of the policy process may help to understand the development of policy innovation and in turn identify lessons for future public health research and practice. This study aims to explain minimum unit pricing’s development by taking a ‘multiple-lenses’ approach to understanding the policy process. In particular, we apply three perspectives of the policy process (Kingdon’s multiple streams, Punctuated-Equilibrium Theory, Multi-Level Governance) to understand how and why minimum unit pricing has developed in Scotland and describe implications for efforts to develop evidence-informed policymaking. Methods Semi-structured interviews were conducted with policy actors (politicians, civil servants, academics, advocates, industry representatives) involved in the development of MUP (n = 36). Interviewees were asked about the policy process and the role of evidence in policy development. Data from two other sources (a review of policy documents and an analysis of evidence submission documents to the Scottish Parliament) were used for triangulation. Findings The three perspectives provide complementary understandings of the policy process. Evidence has played an important role in presenting the policy issue of alcohol as a problem requiring action. Scotland-specific data and a change in the policy ‘image’ to a population-based problem contributed to making alcohol-related harms a priority for action. The limited powers of Scottish Government help explain the type of price intervention pursued while distinct aspects of the Scottish political climate favoured the pursuit of price-based interventions. Conclusions Evidence has played a crucial but complex role in the development of an innovative policy. Utilising different political science theories helps explain different aspects of the policy process

Understanding the development of minimum unit pricing of alcohol in Scotland: a qualitative study of the policy process.

Science.gov (United States)

Katikireddi, Srinivasa Vittal; Hilton, Shona; Bonell, Chris; Bond, Lyndal

2014-01-01

Minimum unit pricing of alcohol is a novel public health policy with the potential to improve population health and reduce health inequalities. Theories of the policy process may help to understand the development of policy innovation and in turn identify lessons for future public health research and practice. This study aims to explain minimum unit pricing's development by taking a 'multiple-lenses' approach to understanding the policy process. In particular, we apply three perspectives of the policy process (Kingdon's multiple streams, Punctuated-Equilibrium Theory, Multi-Level Governance) to understand how and why minimum unit pricing has developed in Scotland and describe implications for efforts to develop evidence-informed policymaking. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with policy actors (politicians, civil servants, academics, advocates, industry representatives) involved in the development of MUP (n = 36). Interviewees were asked about the policy process and the role of evidence in policy development. Data from two other sources (a review of policy documents and an analysis of evidence submission documents to the Scottish Parliament) were used for triangulation. The three perspectives provide complementary understandings of the policy process. Evidence has played an important role in presenting the policy issue of alcohol as a problem requiring action. Scotland-specific data and a change in the policy 'image' to a population-based problem contributed to making alcohol-related harms a priority for action. The limited powers of Scottish Government help explain the type of price intervention pursued while distinct aspects of the Scottish political climate favoured the pursuit of price-based interventions. Evidence has played a crucial but complex role in the development of an innovative policy. Utilising different political science theories helps explain different aspects of the policy process, with Multi-Level Governance particularly useful for

Efficiency of Administrative and Policy-Making Structures

Science.gov (United States)

O'Donoghue, M.; And Others

1978-01-01

A research program at Trinity College in Ireland is reported that focused on the decision-making process, particularly the committee structure. Described are the role of individuals within committees, centralized versus decentralized decision-making, costs, sources of rigidity, and problems of the concentration of power. (Author/LBH)

A qualitative study on community pharmacists' decision-making process when making a diagnosis.

Science.gov (United States)

Sinopoulou, Vassiliki; Summerfield, Paul; Rutter, Paul

2017-12-01

Self-care policies are increasingly directing patients to seek advice from community pharmacists. This means pharmacists need to have sound diagnostic decision-making skills to enable them to recognise a variety of conditions. The aim of this study was to investigate the process by which pharmacists manage patient signs and symptoms and to explore their use of decision-making for diagnostic purposes. Data were collected through semi-structured, face-to-face interviews with community pharmacists working in England, between August 2013 and November 2014. Pharmacists were asked to share their experiences on how they performed patient consultations, and more specifically how they would approach a hypothetical headache scenario. As part of the interview, their sources of knowledge and experience were also explored. Framework analysis was used to identify themes and subthemes. Eight interviews were conducted with pharmacists who had a wide range of working practice, from 1 year through to 40 years of experience. The pharmacists' main motivations during consultations were product selection and risk minimisation. Their questioning approach and decision-making relied heavily on mnemonic methods. This led to poor quality information gathering-although pharmacists acknowledged they needed to "delve deeper" but were often unable to articulate how or why. Some pharmacists exhibited elements of clinical reasoning in their consultations, but this seemed, mostly, to be unconscious and subsequently applied inappropriately. Overall, pharmacists exhibited poor decision-making ability, and often decisions were based on personal belief and experiences rather than evidence. Community pharmacists relied heavily on mnemonic methods to manage patients' signs and symptoms with diagnosis-based decision-making being seldom employed. These findings suggest practicing pharmacists should receive more diagnostic training. © 2017 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

Policy Design and Non-Design: Towards a Spectrum of Policy Formulation Types

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Michael Howlett

2014-11-01

Full Text Available Public policies are the result of efforts made by governments to alter aspects of behaviour—both that of their own agents and of society at large—in order to carry out some end or purpose. They are comprised of arrangements of policy goals and policy means matched through some decision-making process. These policy-making efforts can be more, or less, systematic in attempting to match ends and means in a logical fashion or can result from much less systematic processes. “Policy design” implies a knowledge-based process in which the choice of means or mechanisms through which policy goals are given effect follows a logical process of inference from known or learned relationships between means and outcomes. This includes both design in which means are selected in accordance with experience and knowledge and that in which principles and relationships are incorrectly or only partially articulated or understood. Policy decisions can be careful and deliberate in attempting to best resolve a problem or can be highly contingent and driven by situational logics. Decisions stemming from bargaining or opportunism can also be distinguished from those which result from careful analysis and assessment. This article considers both modes and formulates a spectrum of policy formulation types between “design” and “non-design” which helps clarify the nature of each type and the likelihood of each unfolding.

Intelligent policy making? Key actors' perspectives on the development and implementation of an early years' initiative in Scotland's public health arena.

Science.gov (United States)

Deas, L; Mattu, L; Gnich, W

2013-11-01

Increased political enthusiasm for evidence-based policy and action has re-ignited interest in the use of evidence within political and practitioner networks. Theories of evidence-based policy making and practice are being re-considered in an attempt to better understand the processes through which knowledge translation occurs. Understanding how policy develops, and practice results, has the potential to facilitate effective evidence use. Further knowledge of the factors which shape healthcare delivery and their influence in different contexts is needed. This paper explores the processes involved in the development of a complex intervention in Scotland's National Health Service (NHS). It uses a national oral health programme for children (Childsmile) as a case study, drawing upon key actors' perceptions of the influence of different drivers (research evidence, practitioner knowledge and values, policy, and political and local context) to programme development. Framework analysis is used to analyse stakeholder accounts from in-depth interviews. Documentary review is also undertaken. Findings suggest that Childsmile can be described as an 'evidence-informed' intervention, blending available research evidence with knowledge from practitioner experience and continual learning through evaluation, to plan delivery. The importance of context was underscored, in terms of the need to align with prevailing political ideology and in the facilitative strength of networks within the relatively small public health community in Scotland. Respondents' perceptions support several existing theoretical models of translation, however no single theory offered a comprehensive framework covering all aspects of the complex processes reported. Childsmile's use of best available evidence and on-going contribution to knowledge suggest that the programme is an example of intelligent policy making with international relevance. Copyright © 2013 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

44 CFR 9.6 - Decision-making process.

Science.gov (United States)

2010-10-01

... 44 Emergency Management and Assistance 1 2010-10-01 2010-10-01 false Decision-making process. 9.6... HOMELAND SECURITY GENERAL FLOODPLAIN MANAGEMENT AND PROTECTION OF WETLANDS § 9.6 Decision-making process... protection decision-making process to be followed by the Agency in applying the Orders to its actions. While...

Role of centralized review processes for making reimbursement decisions on new health technologies in Europe.

Science.gov (United States)

Stafinski, Tania; Menon, Devidas; Davis, Caroline; McCabe, Christopher

2011-01-01

The purpose of this study was to compare centralized reimbursement/coverage decision-making processes for health technologies in 23 European countries, according to: mandate, authority, structure, and policy options; mechanisms for identifying, selecting, and evaluating technologies; clinical and economic evidence expectations; committee composition, procedures, and factors considered; available conditional reimbursement options for promising new technologies; and the manufacturers' roles in the process. A comprehensive review of publicly available information from peer-reviewed literature (using a variety of bibliographic databases) and gray literature (eg, working papers, committee reports, presentations, and government documents) was conducted. Policy experts in each of the 23 countries were also contacted. All information collected was reviewed by two independent researchers. Most European countries have established centralized reimbursement systems for making decisions on health technologies. However, the scope of technologies considered, as well as processes for identifying, selecting, and reviewing them varies. All systems include an assessment of clinical evidence, compiled in accordance with their own guidelines or internationally recognized published ones. In addition, most systems require an economic evaluation. The quality of such information is typically assessed by content and methodological experts. Committees responsible for formulating recommendations or decisions are multidisciplinary. While criteria used by committees appear transparent, how they are operationalized during deliberations remains unclear. Increasingly, reimbursement systems are expressing interest in and/or implementing reimbursement policy options that extend beyond the traditional "yes," "no," or "yes with restrictions" options. Such options typically require greater involvement of manufacturers which, to date, has been limited. Centralized reimbursement systems have become an

The Impact of Irish Policy and Legislation on How Adults with Learning Disabilities Make Choices

Science.gov (United States)

Carey, Eileen; Griffiths, Colin

2016-01-01

This paper reflects the impact of policy and legislation in the context of how adults with learning disabilities make choices. Following an overview of policies which have improved choice for people with learning disability in the United Kingdom, this paper reviews "choice" in current Irish policy and legislation. This paper, while…

Studying and evaluating pharmaceutical policy--becoming a part of the policy and consultative process

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Almarsdóttir, Anna Birna; Traulsen, Janine Marie

2006-01-01

In this last article in the series the authors focus on the issue of researching and evaluating pharmaceutical policy. The past five articles made an argument for why pharmaceutical policy is important and why it is different from health policy. The evidence base needed for pharmaceutical policym...... culture around pharmaceutical policy. They emphasize the importance of pharmaceutical specialists' (i.e., pharmacists') involvement in pharmaceutical policy analysis and the policy consultative process....

Framework for assessing the capacity of a health ministry to conduct health policy processes--a case study from Tajikistan.

Science.gov (United States)

Mirzoev, Tolib N; Green, Andrew; Van Kalliecharan, Ricky

2015-01-01

An adequate capacity of ministries of health (MOH) to develop and implement policies is essential. However, no frameworks were found assessing MOH capacity to conduct health policy processes within developing countries. This paper presents a conceptual framework for assessing MOH capacity to conduct policy processes based on a study from Tajikistan, a former Soviet republic where independence highlighted capacity challenges. The data collection for this qualitative study included in-depth interviews, document reviews and observations of policy events. Framework approach for analysis was used. The conceptual framework was informed by existing literature, guided the data collection and analysis, and was subsequently refined following insights from the study. The Tajik MOH capacity, while gradually improving, remains weak. There is poor recognition of wider contextual influences, ineffective leadership and governance as reflected in centralised decision-making, limited use of evidence, inadequate actors' participation and ineffective use of resources to conduct policy processes. However, the question is whether this is a reflection of lack of MOH ability or evidence of constraining environment or both. The conceptual framework identifies five determinants of robust policy processes, each with specific capacity needs: policy context, MOH leadership and governance, involvement of policy actors, the role of evidence and effective resource use for policy processes. Three underlying considerations are important for applying the capacity to policy processes: the need for clear focus, recognition of capacity levels and elements, and both ability and enabling environment. The proposed framework can be used in assessing and strengthening of the capacity of different policy actors. Copyright © 2013 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

A multicriteria decision making approach applied to improving maintenance policies in healthcare organizations.

Science.gov (United States)

Carnero, María Carmen; Gómez, Andrés

2016-04-23

Healthcare organizations have far greater maintenance needs for their medical equipment than other organization, as many are used directly with patients. However, the literature on asset management in healthcare organizations is very limited. The aim of this research is to provide more rational application of maintenance policies, leading to an increase in quality of care. This article describes a multicriteria decision-making approach which integrates Markov chains with the multicriteria Measuring Attractiveness by a Categorical Based Evaluation Technique (MACBETH), to facilitate the best choice of combination of maintenance policies by using the judgements of a multi-disciplinary decision group. The proposed approach takes into account the level of acceptance that a given alternative would have among professionals. It also takes into account criteria related to cost, quality of care and impact of care cover. This multicriteria approach is applied to four dialysis subsystems: patients infected with hepatitis C, infected with hepatitis B, acute and chronic; in all cases, the maintenance strategy obtained consists of applying corrective and preventive maintenance plus two reserve machines. The added value in decision-making practices from this research comes from: (i) integrating the use of Markov chains to obtain the alternatives to be assessed by a multicriteria methodology; (ii) proposing the use of MACBETH to make rational decisions on asset management in healthcare organizations; (iii) applying the multicriteria approach to select a set or combination of maintenance policies in four dialysis subsystems of a health care organization. In the multicriteria decision making approach proposed, economic criteria have been used, related to the quality of care which is desired for patients (availability), and the acceptance that each alternative would have considering the maintenance and healthcare resources which exist in the organization, with the inclusion of a

Strengthening the Assessment Trajectory: Engaging Educators in the Policy Process. Making a Measurable Difference: Case Studies from the High-Quality Assessment Project

Science.gov (United States)

McClellan, Catherine; Snyder, Rebecca; Woods-Murphy, Maryann; Basset, Katherine

2018-01-01

Great teachers recognize great assessments. As policy and education leaders work to make sure state tests are measuring the problem-solving, writing, and critical-thinking skills students need for success, they should convene and rely on teachers to review test quality and help answer the question: Do the questions on our state test reflect…

24 CFR 55.20 - Decision making process.

Science.gov (United States)

2010-04-01

... 24 Housing and Urban Development 1 2010-04-01 2010-04-01 false Decision making process. 55.20 Section 55.20 Housing and Urban Development Office of the Secretary, Department of Housing and Urban Development FLOODPLAIN MANAGEMENT Procedures for Making Determinations on Floodplain Management § 55.20 Decision making process. The decision making...

Inclusive research: making a difference to policy and legislation.

Science.gov (United States)

Johnson, Kelley; Minogue, Gerard; Hopklins, Rob

2014-01-01

While inclusive research has become an important stream in research with people with intellectual disabilities, there is a tension between the possibly empowering research process and the strength of the research itself to make social change happen. In this paper, we explore the contribution of two inclusive qualitative research studies in Australia and the Republic of Ireland to change in policy and legislation. Both studies used qualitative methods including life stories and focus groups to explore the issue of sexuality and relationships. In both studies, people with intellectual disabilities were actively involved in undertaking the research. Both studies revealed that it was difficult for people with intellectual disabilities to express their sexuality openly or to form adult relationships. Both studies were used by people with intellectual disabilities and their supporters to promote change in which they had a heard voice. This paper is about how people with intellectual disabilities and their supporters can use research which they have done to change policies and laws that affect them. When people with intellectual disabilities are doing research it is called inclusive research.We write about two research studies which were about the sexual lives and relationships of people with intellectual disabilities. One research study was in Australia and one was in the Republic of Ireland.In the Australian study, Living Safer Sexual Lives, 25 people with intellectual disabilities told their life stories and talked about sexuality and relationships.In the Irish study people with intellectual disabilities told life stories and talked with other people with intellectual disabilities about their sexuality and relationships in groups. These are called focus groups.In this paper we explore 4 questions that arose from these studies. Question 1. What impact does doing research have on the people who are involved in it? People with intellectual disabilities in Australia were

Factors influencing smallholder cocoa production : a management analysis of behavioural decision-making processes of technology adoption and application

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Taher, S.

1996-01-01

The objectives of the study were to expand present knowledge on the technology adoption and application rates for production inputs and fermentation processing related to farmers' decision- making, and to formulate an optimal technology application policy, particularly for smallholder cocoa

A Policy Analysis Perspective on Ecological Restoration

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Susan Baker

2013-06-01

Full Text Available Using a simple stages model of the policy process, we explore the politics of ecological restoration using an array of examples drawn across sector, different size and scale, and from different countries. A policy analysis perspective reveals how, at both the program and project levels, ecological restoration operates within a complex and dynamic interplay between technical decision making, ideologies, and interest politics. Viewed through the stages model, restoration policy involves negotiating nature across stages in the policy making process, including agenda setting, policy formulation, implementation, and evaluation. The stages model is a useful heuristic devise; however, this linear model assumes that policy makers approach the issue rationally. In practice, ecological restoration policy takes place in the context of different distributions of power between the various public and private actors involved at the different stages of restoration policy making. This allows us to reiterate the point that ecological restoration is best seen not only as a technical task but as a social and political project.

The EVOTION Decision Support System: Utilizing It for Public Health Policy-Making in Hearing Loss.

Science.gov (United States)

Katrakazas, Panagiotis; Trenkova, Lyubov; Milas, Josip; Brdaric, Dario; Koutsouris, Dimitris

2017-01-01

As Decision Support Systems start to play a significant role in decision making, especially in the field of public-health policy making, we present an initial attempt to formulate such a system in the concept of public health policy making for hearing loss related problems. Justification for the system's conceptual architecture and its key functionalities are presented. The introduction of the EVOTION DSS sets a key innovation and a basis for paradigm shift in policymaking, by incorporating relevant models, big data analytics and generic demographic data. Expected outcomes for this joint effort are discussed from a public-health point of view.

Role of centralized review processes for making reimbursement decisions on new health technologies in Europe

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Stafinski T

2011-08-01

Full Text Available Tania Stafinski1, Devidas Menon2, Caroline Davis1, Christopher McCabe31Health Technology and Policy Unit, 2Health Policy and Management, School of Public Health, University of Alberta, Edmonton, Alberta, Canada; 3Academic Unit of Health Economics, Leeds Institute for Health Sciences, University of Leeds, Leeds, UKBackground: The purpose of this study was to compare centralized reimbursement/coverage decision-making processes for health technologies in 23 European countries, according to: mandate, authority, structure, and policy options; mechanisms for identifying, selecting, and evaluating technologies; clinical and economic evidence expectations; committee composition, procedures, and factors considered; available conditional reimbursement options for promising new technologies; and the manufacturers' roles in the process.Methods: A comprehensive review of publicly available information from peer-reviewed literature (using a variety of bibliographic databases and gray literature (eg, working papers, committee reports, presentations, and government documents was conducted. Policy experts in each of the 23 countries were also contacted. All information collected was reviewed by two independent researchers.Results: Most European countries have established centralized reimbursement systems for making decisions on health technologies. However, the scope of technologies considered, as well as processes for identifying, selecting, and reviewing them varies. All systems include an assessment of clinical evidence, compiled in accordance with their own guidelines or internationally recognized published ones. In addition, most systems require an economic evaluation. The quality of such information is typically assessed by content and methodological experts. Committees responsible for formulating recommendations or decisions are multidisciplinary. While criteria used by committees appear transparent, how they are operationalized during deliberations

Exploring health systems research and its influence on policy processes in low income countries

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Syed Shamsuzzoha B

2007-10-01

Full Text Available Abstract Background The interface between research and policymaking in low-income countries is highly complex. The ability of health systems research to influence policy processes in such settings face numerous challenges. Successful analysis of the research-policy interface in these settings requires understanding of contextual factors as well as key influences on the interface. Future Health Systems (FHS: Innovations for Equity is a consortium conducting research in six countries in Asia and Africa. One of the three cross-country research themes of the consortium is analysis of the relationship between research (evidence and policy making, especially their impact on the poor; insights gained in the initial conceptual phase of FHS activities can inform the global knowledge pool on this subject. Discussion This paper provides a review of the research-policy interface in low-income countries and proposes a conceptual framework, followed by directions for empirical approaches. First, four developmental perspectives are considered: social institutional factors; virtual versus grassroots realities; science-society relationships; and construction of social arrangements. Building on these developmental perspectives three research-policy interface entry points are identified: 1. Recognizing policy as complex processes; 2. Engaging key stakeholders: decision-makers, providers, scientists, and communities; and 3. Enhancing accountability. A conceptual framework with three entry points to the research-policy interface – policy processes; stakeholder interests, values, and power; and accountability – within a context provided by four developmental perspectives is proposed. Potential empirical approaches to the research-policy interface are then reviewed. Finally, the value of such innovative empirical analysis is considered. Conclusion The purpose of this paper is to provide the background, conceptual framework, and key research directions for

Behavioural Decision Making and Suggestional Processes

OpenAIRE

Molz, Günter

2001-01-01

Common features between the domains of behavioural decision making and suggestional processes are discussed. These features are allocated in two aspects. First, behavioural decision making and suggestional processes are traditionally considered to provoke inadequate human behaviour. In this article arguments are put forward against this interpretation: Actions induced by non-rational decisions and / or by suggestional processes often have adaptive functions. Second, two common themat...

Serotonin and decision making processes.

Science.gov (United States)

Homberg, Judith R

2012-01-01

Serotonin (5-HT) is an important player in decision making. Serotonergic antidepressant, anxiolytic and antipsychotic drugs are extensively used in the treatment of neuropsychiatric disorders characterized by impaired decision making, and exert both beneficial and harmful effects in patients. Detailed insight into the serotonergic mechanisms underlying decision making is needed to strengthen the first and weaken the latter. Although much remains to be done to achieve this, accumulating studies begin to deliver a coherent view. Thus, high central 5-HT levels are generally associated with improved reversal learning, improved attentional set shifting, decreased delay discounting, and increased response inhibition, but a failure to use outcome representations. Based on 5-HT's evolutionary role, I hypothesize that 5-HT integrates expected, or changes in, relevant sensory and emotional internal/external information, leading to vigilance behaviour affecting various decision making processes. 5-HT receptor subtypes play distinctive roles in decision making. 5-HT(2A) agonists and 5-HT2c antagonists decrease compulsivity, whereas 5-HT(2A) antagonists and 5-HT(2C) agonists decrease impulsivity. 5-HT(6) antagonists univocally affect decision making processes. Copyright © 2011 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Adapting public policy theory for public health research: A framework to understand the development of national policies on global health.

Science.gov (United States)

Jones, Catherine M; Clavier, Carole; Potvin, Louise

2017-03-01

National policies on global health appear as one way that actors from health, development and foreign affairs sectors in a country coordinate state action on global health. Next to a burgeoning literature in which international relations and global governance theories are employed to understand global health policy and global health diplomacy at the international level, little is known about policy processes for global health at the national scale. We propose a framework of the policy process to understand how such policies are developed, and we identify challenges for public health researchers integrating conceptual tools from political science. We developed the framework using a two-step process: 1) reviewing literature to establish criteria for selecting a theoretical framework fit for this purpose, and 2) adapting Real-Dato's synthesis framework to integrate a cognitive approach to public policy within a constructivist perspective. Our framework identifies multiple contexts as part of the policy process, focuses on situations where actors work together to make national policy on global health, considers these interactive situations as spaces for observing external influences on policy change and proposes policy design as the output of the process. We suggest that this framework makes three contributions to the conceptualisation of national policy on global health as a research object. First, it emphasizes collective action over decisions of individual policy actors. Second, it conceptualises the policy process as organised interactive spaces for collaboration rather than as stages of a policy cycle. Third, national decision-making spaces are opportunities for transferring ideas and knowledge from different sectors and settings, and represent opportunities to identify international influences on a country's global health policy. We discuss two sets of challenges for public health researchers using interdisciplinary approaches in policy research. Copyright �

Public Demand and Climate Change Policy Making in OECD Countries – From Dynamics of the Demand to Policy Responsiveness

OpenAIRE

Bianca Oehl

2015-01-01

Climate change is one of today’s major political challenges. The Kyoto Protocol assigned national emission reduction goals for the developed countries however national governments in these countries have implemented policies varying widely in range and ambition over time and across countries to meet their goals. Can this variation in policy making be explained by dierences in the typically taken for granted – but empirically often neglected – influence of public demand for climate protection?...

UTILIZATION OF EVALUATION RESULTS IN LEGAL POLICY-MAKING AND ADMINISTRATION

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Hellmut Wollmann

2017-01-01

Full Text Available The article is devoted to the analysis of evaluation method and its impact on legal policy development in governance, including in the area of law enforcement.The author outlines the importance of question whether, when and how the evaluation results of public policies, programs and measures has been utilized (or not utilized in policy making and policy implementation.In the pursuit of this guiding question the article will come in five steps.First, major variants of evaluation will be briefly presented particularly with an eye on their respective “utilization potential”.Second, different concepts will be sketched that have been forwarded to capture the utilization of social science generated knowledge by political, administrative and social actors. The author outlines a detailed description of types of evaluations: a retrospective, prelimi-nary, ongoing, interactive, – as well as existing concepts of application of its results.Third, looking at Germany, Switzerland and the European Union as “cases in point” perti-ent research findings will be discussed. The article also subjected to a detailed analysis of the experience of Germany, Switzerland and the European Union in the field of utilization of evaluation results.Fourth, a summary and conclusion will be given.Fifth, some remarks on pertinent research needs will be made.The author comes to the conclusion that that the rate of the utilization of evaluation-generated knowledge has so far turned out be, by and large, scarce. The author says that re-garding the politically crucial decisions the political rationality and its underlying political will of the decision-makers prevail while concerning less important decisions evaluation-generated evidence does show some effect and, hence, a dose of scientific rationality comes to the fore.There is also a need for further research on the subject of how should (and should not use assessment results when making legal and political decisions.

[The role of science in policy making--EuSANH-ISA project, framework for science advice for health].

Science.gov (United States)

Cianciara, Dorota; Piotrowicz, Maria; Bielska-Lasota, Magdalena; Wysocki, Mirosław J

2012-01-01

Governments and other authorities (including MPs) should be well informed on issues of science and technology. This is particularly important in the era of evidence-based practice. This implies the need to get expert advice. The process by which scientific knowledge is transmitted, along with proposals how to solve the problem, is called science advice. The main aim of the article is to discuss the issue of science advice--definitions, interaction between science and policymaking, and its position in contemporary policies. The second aim is to present European Science Advisory Network for Health (EuSANH), EuSANH-ISA project, and framework for science advice for health which was developed by participants. Furthermore, the role of civil society in decision-making process and science advice is also discussed. Interaction between scientists and policy-makers are described in terms of science-push approach (technocratic model), policy-pull (decisionistic) and simultaneous push-pull approach (pragmatic). The position of science advice is described in historical perspective from the 50s, especially in the last two decades. Description relies to USA, Canada and UK. Principles of scientific advice to government (Government Office for Science, UK) are quoted. Some important documents related to science advice in EU and UN are mentioned. EuSANH network is described as well as EuSANH-ISA project, with its objectives and outcomes. According to findings of this project, the process of science advice for health should follow some steps: framing the issue to be covered; planning entire process leading to the conclusion; drafting the report; reviewing the report and revision; publishing report and assessing the impact on policy.

Re-thinking the relevance of philosophy of education for educational policy making

OpenAIRE

Griffiths, Morwenna

2014-01-01

The overall question addressed in this article is,‘What kind of philosophy of education is relevant to educational policy makers?’ The article focuses on the following four themes: The meanings attached to the term philosophy (of education) by philosophers themselves; the meanings attached to the term philosophy (of education) by policy makers; the difference place and time makes to these meanings; how these different meanings affect the possibility of philosophy (of education) influencing po...

The Role of Interstate Policy Organizations in State Higher Education Policy Processes: Perceptions of Policymakers and Policy Shapers

Science.gov (United States)

Michelau, Demaree K.

2010-01-01

Political science offers rich explanations for how different types of organizations that are focused on public policy decisions (e.g., boundary organizations, interest groups, policy networks (or communities), and think tanks) influence public policy processes (Cash, Clark, Alcock, Dickson, Eckley, Guston, Jager, and Mitchell 2003; Guston 2001;…

Who makes European Cohesion Policy: a practitioners’ learning perspective

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Fanny Sbaraglia

2016-01-01

Full Text Available Through the European Social Fund (ESF, the European Union subsidizes social inclusion and occupational trainee projects. This policy instrument is formulated by European Union institutions and implemented by regions through a call for projects which requires innovative actions and a result-oriented strategy. It is a key vantage point to observe sub-national implementation of an European Union policy instrument in a sub-national practitioner’s perspective, a topic under-investigated in the literature. For a project to receive funding, sub-national practitioners must take the European Union requirements (accounting standards, evidence of innovation etc. and their social needs into account. Against this backdrop, this research tackles an original question: how can local practitioners adapt their policy actions to fit with European Union requirements? Taking the region of Wallonia in Belgium as a case study, the ESF implementation is considered as a specific policy process in sub-national policy sectors. Adopting an in-depth qualitative perspective, this research contends that it depends on practitioners’ learning, practices and experience of past applications, their specific socio-economic context and income maximization.

International Organisations and Transnational Education Policy

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Moutsios, Stavros

2009-01-01

This paper focuses on the World Bank/IMF (International Monetary Fund), the OECD (Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development) and the WTO (World Trade Organisation) as institutions of transnational policy making. They are all at present making education policies which are decisively...... shaping current directions and developments in national education systems. The paper reviews the enhanced role of these institutions in producing education policies and investigates the ideological basis as well as the processes through which these policies are made. It is argued that decisions are taken...... the transnationalisation of education policy making but also the full submission of education to the pursuits of global economy....

Ingredients for Good Health Policy-Making: Incorporating Power and Politics into the Mix

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Yusra Shawar

2014-05-01

Full Text Available Eggs, flour, sugar, butter, baking soda, milk, and vanilla extract—all ingredients necessary to make a delicious cake. Similarly, good health policy-making can only be successfully pursued and understood by accounting for all of its basic ingredients, including the role of politics and power. Otherwise, the result is simply not good.

Simulation Models of Human Decision-Making Processes

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Nina RIZUN

2014-10-01

Full Text Available The main purpose of the paper is presentation of the new concept of human decision-making process modeling via using the analogy with Automatic Control Theory. From the author's point of view this concept allows to develop and improve the theory of decision-making in terms of the study and classification of specificity of the human intellectual processes in different conditions. It was proved that the main distinguishing feature between the Heuristic / Intuitive and Rational Decision-Making Models is the presence of so-called phenomenon of "enrichment" of the input information with human propensity, hobbies, tendencies, expectations, axioms and judgments, presumptions or bias and their justification. In order to obtain additional knowledge about the basic intellectual processes as well as the possibility of modeling the decision results in various parameters characterizing the decision-maker, the complex of the simulation models was developed. These models are based on the assumptions that:  basic intellectual processes of the Rational Decision-Making Model can be adequately simulated and identified by the transient processes of the proportional-integral-derivative controller; basic intellectual processes of the Bounded Rationality and Intuitive Models can be adequately simulated and identified by the transient processes of the nonlinear elements.The taxonomy of the most typical automatic control theory elements and their compliance with certain decision-making models with a point of view of decision-making process specificity and decision-maker behavior during a certain time of professional activity was obtained.

Making the Most of Obesity Research: Developing Research and Policy Objectives through Evidence Triangulation

Science.gov (United States)

Oliver, Kathryn; Aicken, Catherine; Arai, Lisa

2013-01-01

Drawing lessons from research can help policy makers make better decisions. If a large and methodologically varied body of research exists, as with childhood obesity, this is challenging. We present new research and policy objectives for child obesity developed by triangulating user involvement data with a mapping study of interventions aimed at…

Are new industry policies precautionary?

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Galland, Daniel; McDaniels, Timothy L

2008-01-01

. The paper finally argues that, although in practice, policy makers generally tend to make incremental choices that are reactive to diverse issues, new industries could adopt more precautionary policies based on processes of public negotiation, analytical decision making and regional planning based......This paper argues that regulatory processes and outcomes in the context of a new industry could respond to mechanisms and factors that shape governmental agendas, illustrating how policy can behave reactively rather than in a precautionary manner. In the case of salmon aquaculture, an emerging...... industry characterized by risks, uncertainties, exponential growth, economic significance and environmental controversy, the outcomes of such reactive policies are generally reflected in siting criteria that yield implicit environmental and socio-economic disadvantages and trade-offs. This paper proposes...

Three essays on decision-making in energy policy

Science.gov (United States)

Wendling, Zachary Ann

This dissertation examines three issues surrounding decision-making in energy policy. Over the past decade, technological advances in horizontal drilling and hydraulic fracturing have allowed the economical extraction of natural gas and petroleum from shale basins. Thus far, natural gas has been produced from shale at a commercial scale only in certain American States and Canadian Provinces, though potential shale plays exist elsewhere in North America and the world. Whether, how, and to what extent SGD diffuses to new shale basins and jurisdictions will depend on several questions about energy policy. The first chapter examines the potential for SGD in the European Union. Among EU institutions, the European Parliament has been the strongest proponent for regulation of SGD, preferring a balance between environmental protection and opportunities for economic development, energy security, and climate mitigation. Analysis of roll call voting on SGD in the Seventh European Parliament shows that ideological preferences are the primary explanation of voting behavior, followed by national interests in decarbonization. Prospects for further regulatory action are discussed. ? The second chapter takes a closer look at the potential of shale gas to facilitate decarbonization in the electricity sector. Proponents of SGD have claimed that high carbon fossil fuels can be immediately phased out and replaced in the short term by power plants that burn cheap, abundant natural gas, which emits half the greenhouse gasses over a well-to-wire life cycle. A value of information analysis examines the conditions under which this may be so and quantifies how valuable it would be to have perfect information about uncertain parameters in a cost function characterizing the global electricity sector. The third chapter is describes a new tool of policy analysis, the Indiana Scalable Energy-Economy Model (IN-SEEM). State and local governments have played an increasing role in energy and climate

Influence of institutional culture and policies on do-not-resuscitate decision making at the end of life.

Science.gov (United States)

Dzeng, Elizabeth; Colaianni, Alessandra; Roland, Martin; Chander, Geetanjali; Smith, Thomas J; Kelly, Michael P; Barclay, Stephen; Levine, David

2015-05-01

Controversy exists regarding whether the decision to pursue a do-not-resuscitate (DNR) order should be grounded in an ethic of patient autonomy or in the obligation to act in the patient's best interest (beneficence). To explore how physicians' approaches to DNR decision making at the end of life are shaped by institutional cultures and policies surrounding patient autonomy. We performed semistructured in-depth qualitative interviews of 58 internal medicine physicians from 4 academic medical centers (3 in the United States and 1 in the United Kingdom) by years of experience and medical subspecialty from March 7, 2013, through January 8, 2014. Hospitals were selected based on expected differences in hospital culture and variations in hospital policies regarding prioritization of autonomy vs best interest. This study identified the key influences of institutional culture and policies on physicians' attitudes toward patient autonomy in DNR decision making at the end of life. A hospital's prioritization of autonomy vs best interest as reflected in institutional culture and policy appeared to influence the way that physician trainees conceptualized patient autonomy. This finding may have influenced the degree of choice and recommendations physician trainees were willing to offer regarding DNR decision making. Trainees at hospitals where policies and culture prioritized autonomy-focused approaches appeared to have an unreflective deference to autonomy and felt compelled to offer the choice of resuscitation neutrally in all situations regardless of whether they believed resuscitation to be clinically appropriate. In contrast, trainees at hospitals where policies and culture prioritized best-interest-focused approaches appeared to be more comfortable recommending against resuscitation in situations where survival was unlikely. Experienced physicians at all sites similarly did not exclusively allow their actions to be defined by policies and institutional culture and were

The many meanings of evidence: a comparative analysis of the forms and roles of evidence within three health policy processes in Cambodia.

Science.gov (United States)

Walls, Helen; Liverani, Marco; Chheng, Kannarath; Parkhurst, Justin

2017-11-10

Discussions within the health community routinely emphasise the importance of evidence in informing policy formulation and implementation. Much of the support for the evidence-based policy movement draws from concern that policy decisions are often based on inadequate engagement with high-quality evidence. In many such discussions, evidence is treated as differing only in quality, and assumed to improve decisions if it can only be used more. In contrast, political science scholars have described this as an overly simplistic view of the policy-making process, noting that research 'use' can mean a variety of things and relies on nuanced aspects of political systems. An approach more in recognition of how policy-making systems operate in practice can be to consider how institutions and ideas influence which pieces of evidence appear to be relevant for, and are used within, different policy processes. Drawing on in-depth interviews undertaken in 2015-2016 with key health sector stakeholders in Cambodia, we investigate the evidence perceived to be relevant to policy decisions for three contrasting health policy examples, namely tobacco control, HIV/AIDS and performance-based salary incentives. These cases allow us to examine the ways that policy-relevant evidence may differ given the framing of the issue and the broader institutional context in which evidence is considered. The three health issues show few similarities in how pieces of evidence were used in various aspects of policy-making, despite all being discussed within a broad policy environment in which evidence-based policy-making is rhetorically championed. Instead, we find that evidence use can be better understood by mapping how these health policy issues differ in terms of the issue characteristics, and also in terms of the stakeholders structurally established as having a dominant influence for each issue. Both of these have important implications for evidence use. Contrasting concerns of key stakeholders

At the Crossroads : ICT Policy Making in East Africa | CRDI - Centre ...

International Development Research Centre (IDRC) Digital Library (Canada)

At the Crossroads : ICT Policy Making in East Africa. Couverture du livre At the Crossroads : ICT Policymaking in East Africa. Directeur(s) : Florence Etta et Laurent Elder. Maison(s) d'édition : East African Educational Publishers, CRDI. 1 janvier 2005. ISBN : 9966254390. 336 pages. e-ISBN : 1552502198. Téléchargez le ...

THE ROMANIAN ASPECT OF THE E.U. GOVERNANCE CASE STUDIES: EDUCATUION POLICY AND ENVIRONMENTAL POLICY

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

OANA-ANDREEA ION

2011-04-01

Full Text Available This paper belongs to the domestic studies which try to connect the Romanian research to the current debates within the EU studies. The authors' aim is to analyze the aspects and the implications of the EU governance at the Member States' domestic policies level, as most of these policies are currently facing the challenges brought by the Europeanization process. Therefore, the theoretical framework selected is the theory of governance, focusing on the explanatory and analytical opportunities of two components – multi-level governance and governance networks; in this way, it is underlined the separation from the classic model of relation between the (multiplied levels of political authority (supranational, national, subnational and the exponential increase in the number and types of actors participating at the decisional process and implementation of European public policy. Within the selected case studies (environmental policy and education policy, the authors advance a research structure with the aims (a to identify the relevant actors involved in the policy-making process of these policies, at all stages of its cycle; (b to offer an explanation of the types of interactions between these actors, and (c to identify the influence these interactions exert on the communitarization pronounced tendency of some EU policy sectors. The analysis is performed in terms of the Treaty of Lisbon (the selected policies being part of distinct categories of the Union competences and it is oriented towards the national level of the making process of these policies.

The Role of Science in Advising the Decision Making Process: A Pathway for Building Effective Climate Change Mitigation Policies in Mexico at the Local Level.

Science.gov (United States)

Barraza, Roberto; Velazquez-Angulo, Gilberto; Flores-Tavizón, Edith; Romero-González, Jaime; Huertas-Cardozo, José Ignacio

2016-04-27

This study examines a pathway for building urban climate change mitigation policies by presenting a multi-dimensional and transdisciplinary approach in which technical, economic, environmental, social, and political dimensions interact. Now, more than ever, the gap between science and policymaking needs to be bridged; this will enable judicious choices to be made in regarding energy and climate change mitigation strategies, leading to positive social impacts, in particular for the populations at-risk at the local level. Through a case study in Juarez, Chihuahua, Mexico, we propose a multidimensional and transdisciplinary approach with the role of scientist as policy advisers to improve the role of science in decision-making on mitigation policies at the local level in Mexico.

The making of nursing practice law in Lebanon: a policy analysis case study.

Science.gov (United States)

El-Jardali, Fadi; Hammoud, Rawan; Younan, Lina; Nuwayhid, Helen Samaha; Abdallah, Nadine; Alameddine, Mohammad; Bou-Karroum, Lama; Salman, Lana

2014-09-05

Evidence-informed decisions can strengthen health systems, improve health, and reduce health inequities. Despite the Beijing, Montreux, and Bamako calls for action, literature shows that research evidence is underemployed in policymaking, especially in the East Mediterranean region (EMR). Selecting the draft nursing practice law as a case study, this policy analysis exercise aims at generating in-depth insights on the public policymaking process, identifying the factors that influence policymaking and assessing to what extent evidence is used in this process. This study utilized a qualitative research design using a case study approach and was conducted in two phases: data collection and analysis, and validation. In the first phase, data was collected through key informant interviews that covered 17 stakeholders. In the second phase, a panel discussion was organized to validate the findings, identify any gaps, and gain insights and feedback of the panelists. Thematic analysis was conducted and guided by the Walt & Gilson's "Policy Triangle Framework" as themes were categorized into content, actors, process, and context. Findings shed light on the complex nature of health policymaking and the unstructured approach of decision making. This study uncovered the barriers that hindered the progress of the draft nursing law and the main barriers against the use of evidence in policymaking. Findings also uncovered the risk involved in the use of international recommendations without the involvement of stakeholders and without accounting for contextual factors and implementation barriers. Findings were interpreted within the context of the Lebanese political environment and the power play between stakeholders, taking into account equity considerations. This policy analysis exercise presents findings that are helpful for policymakers and all other stakeholders and can feed into revising the draft nursing law to reach an effective alternative that is feasible in Lebanon. Our

Making parks make a difference: poor alignment of policy, planning and management with protected-area impact, and ways forward.

Science.gov (United States)

Pressey, Robert L; Visconti, Piero; Ferraro, Paul J

2015-11-05

Policy and practice around protected areas are poorly aligned with the basic purpose of protection, which is to make a difference. The difference made by protected areas is their impact, defined in program evaluation as the outcomes arising from protection relative to the counterfactual of no protection or a different form of protection. Although impact evaluation of programs is well established in fields such as medicine, education and development aid, it is rare in nature conservation. We show that the present weak alignment with impact of policy targets and operational objectives for protected areas involves a great risk: targets and objectives can be achieved while making little difference to the conservation of biodiversity. We also review potential ways of increasing the difference made by protected areas, finding a poor evidence base for the use of planning and management 'levers' to better achieve impact. We propose a dual strategy for making protected areas more effective in their basic role of saving nature, outlining ways of developing targets and objectives focused on impact while also improving the evidence for effective planning and management. © 2015 The Authors.

Determinants of knowledge translation from health technology assessment to policy-making in China: From the perspective of researchers

Science.gov (United States)

Liu, Wenbin; Shi, Lizheng; Pong, Raymond W.; Dong, Hengjin; Mao, Yiwei; Tang, Meng; Chen, Yingyao

2018-01-01

Background For health technology assessment (HTA) to be more policy relevant and for health technology-related decision-making to be truly evidence-based, promoting knowledge translation (KT) is of vital importance. Although some research has focused on KT of HTA, there is a dearth of literature on KT determinants and the situation in developing countries and transitional societies remains largely unknown. Objective To investigate the determinants of HTA KT from research to health policy-making from the perspective of researchers in China. Design Cross-sectional study. Methods A structured questionnaire which focused on KT was distributed to HTA researchers in China. KT activity levels in various fields of HTA research were compared, using one-way ANOVA. Principal component analysis was performed to provide a basis to combine similar variables. To investigate the determinants of KT level, multiple linear regression analysis was performed. Results Based on a survey of 382 HTA researchers, it was found that HTA KT wasn’t widespread in China. Furthermore, results showed that no significant differences existed between the various HTA research fields. Factors, such as attitudes of researchers toward HTA and evidence utilization, academic ranks and linkages between researchers and policy-makers, had significant impact on HTA KT (p-valuespolicy-makers, policy-relevance of HTA research, practicality of HTA outcomes and making HTA reports easier to understand also contributed to predicting KT level. However, academic nature of HTA research was negatively associated with KT level. Conclusion KT from HTA to policy-making was influenced by many factors. Of particular importance were collaborations between researchers and policy-makers, ensuring policy relevance of HTA and making HTA evidence easier to understand by potential users. PMID:29300753

Environmental and sustainability education policy

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

The volume draws on a wide range of policy studies and syntheses to provide readers with insights into the international genealogy and priorities of ESE policy. Editors and contributors call for renewed attention to the possibilities for future directions in light of previously published work and......, ideological orthodoxy and critique, curriculum making and educational theory, globalisation and neoliberalism, climate change and environmental worldviews, and much more....... and innovations in scholarship. They also offer critical commentary on the evolution of research trends, approaches and findings. Including a wide range of examples of ESE policy and policy research, the book draws on studies of educational initiatives and legislation, policy making processes and rhetoric...

Is climate change-centrism an optimal policy making strategy to set national electricity mixes?

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Vázquez-Rowe, Ian; Reyna, Janet L.; García-Torres, Samy; Kahhat, Ramzy

2015-01-01

Highlights: • The impact of climate-centric policies on other environmental impacts is uncertain. • Analysis of changing electricity grids of Peru and Spain in the period 1989–2013. • Life Cycle Assessment was the selected sustainability method to conduct the study. • Policies targeting GHG reductions also reduce air pollution and toxicity. • Resource usage, especially water, does not show the same trends as GHG emissions. - Abstract: In order to combat the threat of climate change, countries have begun to implement policies which restrict GHG emissions in the electricity sector. However, the development of national electricity mixes should also be sensitive to resource availability, geo-political forces, human health impacts, and social equity concerns. Policy focused on GHG goals could potentially lead to adverse consequences in other areas. To explore the impact of “climate-centric” policy making on long-term electricity mix changes, we develop two cases for Peru and Spain analyzing their changing electricity grids in the period 1989–2013. We perform a Life Cycle Assessment of annual electricity production to catalogue the improvements in GHG emissions relative to other environmental impacts. We conclude that policies targeting GHG reductions might have the co-benefit of also reducing air pollution and toxicity at the expense of other important environmental performance indicators such as water depletion. Moreover, as of 2013, both countries generate approximately equal GHG emissions per kWh, and relatively low emission rates of other pollutants compared to nations of similar development levels. Although climate-centric policy can lead to some positive environmental outcomes in certain areas, energy policy-making should be holistic and include other aspects of sustainability and vulnerability.

The nuclear controversy: unequal competition in public policy-making

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Sanderson, I.

1980-05-01

The subject is discussed under the headings: introduction; some epistemological problems; energy policy-making and the energy crisis; the nuclear controversy - substantive issues (the need for nuclear power; the desirability of nuclear power (safety of nuclear power; cost of nuclear power; nuclear power and weapons proliferation; nuclear power and civil liberties; some other aspects of nuclear power development); conclusion); the dominance of pro-nuclear thinking; conclusion and prospects. Appendix A describes the structure of the UK nuclear industry and its European connections. (U.K.)

Policy making opportunities in the United States Senate and House of Representatives: an examination of seniority and gridlock

Science.gov (United States)

McCurdy, K. M.

2017-12-01

and lampooned throughout the world. Yet gridlock and its antecedents are important to furthering our understanding of the policy process and perhaps allowing us to establish causality in legislative decision making models.

Beyond the lab: observations on the process by which science successfully informs management and policy decisions

Science.gov (United States)

Flores, S.

2012-12-01

Scientific findings inform management decisions and policy products through various ways, these include: synthesis reports, white papers, in-person and web-based seminars (webinars), communication from specialized staff, and seminal peer-reviewed journal articles. Scientists are often told that if they want their science to inform management decisions and policy products that they must: clearly and simply articulate discreet pieces of scientific information and avoid attaching advocacy messages to the science; however, solely relying on these tenants does not ensure that scientific products will infuse the realms of management and policy. The process by which science successfully informs management decisions and policy products rarely begins at the time the results come out of the lab, but rather, before the research is carried out. Having an understanding of the political climate, management needs, agency research agendas, and funding limitations, as well as developing a working relationship with the intended managers and policy makers are key elements to developing the kind of science results and products that often make an impact in the management and policy world. In my presentation I will provide case-studies from California (USA) to highlight the type of coastal, ocean and climate science that has been successful in informing management decisions and policy documents, as well as provide a state-level agency perspective on the process by which this occurs.

Mediating Education Policy: Making up the "Anti-Politics" of Third-Sector Participation in Public Education

Science.gov (United States)

Williamson, Ben

2014-01-01

This article examines the participation of "third-sector" organisations in public education in England. These organisations act as a cross-sectoral policy network made up of new kinds of policy experts: mediators and brokers with entrepreneurial careers in ideas. They have sought to make education reform thinkable, intelligible and…

Judicial policy-making and Europeanization

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Martinsen, Dorte Sindbjerg

2011-01-01

been cautious to apply the principle beyond economic law, it no longer treads as reluctantly, instead generally limiting the inner core of national policy control, i.e. the capacity of the national executive to detail, condition and administer national policies in almost all domains....

The impact of stakeholder involvement in hospital policy decision-making: a study of the hospital's business processes.

Science.gov (United States)

Malfait, Simon; Van Hecke, Ann; Hellings, Johan; De Bodt, Griet; Eeckloo, Kristof

2017-02-01

In many health care systems, strategies are currently deployed to engage patients and other stakeholders in decisions affecting hospital services. In this paper, a model for stakeholder involvement is presented and evaluated in three Flemish hospitals. In the model, a stakeholder committee advises the hospital's board of directors on themes of strategic importance. To study the internal hospital's decision processes in order to identify the impact of a stakeholder involvement committee on strategic themes in the hospital decision processes. A retrospective analysis of the decision processes was conducted in three hospitals that implemented a stakeholder committee. The analysis consisted of process and outcome evaluation. Fifteen themes were discussed in the stakeholder committees, whereof 11 resulted in a considerable change. None of these were on a strategic level. The theoretical model was not applied as initially developed, but was altered by each hospital. Consequentially, the decision processes differed between the hospitals. Despite alternation of the model, the stakeholder committee showed a meaningful impact in all hospitals on the operational level. As a result of the differences in decision processes, three factors could be identified as facilitators for success: (1) a close interaction with the board of executives, (2) the inclusion of themes with a more practical and patient-oriented nature, and (3) the elaboration of decisions on lower echelons of the organization. To effectively influence the organization's public accountability, hospitals should involve stakeholders in the decision-making process of the organization. The model of a stakeholder committee was not applied as initially developed and did not affect the strategic decision-making processes in the involved hospitals. Results show only impact at the operational level in the participating hospitals. More research is needed connecting stakeholder involvement with hospital governance.

Use of evidence in policy making in South Africa: An exploratory study of attitudes of senior government officials

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Gemma Paine Cronin

2015-09-01

Full Text Available This paper outlines a 2011 study commissioned by the Presidency’s Programme to Support Pro-Poor Policy Development (PSPPD which promotes evidence-based policy making (EBPM in South Africa. EBPM refers to norms, initiatives and methods aimed at improving evidence-based policy in countries from which South Africa traditionally borrows public service reforms, particularly the UK and Canada. The study provides a descriptive snapshot of attitudes to evidence-use in policy making. All 54 senior government officials interviewed felt that evidence-use is too limited to ensure relevant, effective policy responses. This includes policies on which complex results depend and those with long-term and high-resource implications. Although all respondents regarded EBPM as self-evidently desirable, there were different views on practical application. Examples provided suggest that, where evidence was used, it was very often related to a borrowed international policy without a prior evidencedrivenanalysis of successes and failures or its relevance and feasibility in terms of local issuesand context. Policy makers generally know they should be making optimal use of availableevidence, but highlighted systemic barriers beyond the influence of individual managersto resolve. The study suggests that improved use of evidence throughout the policy cycle,particularly in analysing problems and needs, is a requirement for learning through evidencebased policy development. It suggests that political and administrative leadership will need to agree on norms, ways of dealing with the barriers to effective use of evidence and on the role of each throughout the policy cycle in ensuring appropriate evidence is available and used.

Simulating Policy Processes through Electronic Mail.

Science.gov (United States)

Flynn, John P.

1987-01-01

Focuses on the use of electronic mail for teaching and learning about social welfare policy processes and compares electronic mail as a simulation medium to more structured computer applications. (Author)

Making health policy: networks in research and policy after 1945.

Science.gov (United States)

Berridge, Virginia

2005-01-01

Science and policy in health and medicine have interacted in new ways in Britain since 1945. The relationship between research and policy has a history. The changing role of social medicine, the rise of health services research and "customer contractor" policies in government have been important. The relationship between research and policy has been analysed by different schools of thought. This chapter categorises them as several groups: "evidence-based", "journalism", "sociology of scientific knowledge" and "science policy studies". The chapters in the book illuminate aspects of these changing relationships. The role of chronic disease epidemiology, of new networks in public health, of media-focussed activism, and of health technology and its advocates have been more important than political interest.

Making drug policy together: reflections on evidence, engagement and participation.

Science.gov (United States)

Roberts, Marcus

2014-09-01

This commentary considers the relationship between evidence, engagement and participation in drug policy governance. It argues that the use of various forms of evidence (for example, statistical data and service user narratives) is critical for meaningful stakeholder engagement and public participation in drug policy, as well as effective policy design and implementation. The respective roles of these different kinds of evidence in consultation processes need to be better understood. It discusses the limits of evidence, which it suggests is rarely conclusive or decisive for drug policy. This is partly because of the incompleteness of most research agendas and the lack of consensus among researchers, but also because issues in drug policy are inherently contestable, involving considerations that lie outside the competency of drug policy specialist as such. In particular, this is because they involve normative and evaluative issues that are properly political (for example, about the relative weight to be accorded to different kinds of harm and benefit). It concludes by supporting calls for a more nuanced understanding of the relationship between evidence, engagement and politics than is implicit in the term 'evidence based policy'. It also argues that we should view the inherent contestability of drug policy not as something that can or should be resolved by 'objective' evidence, but as a source of vitality and creativity in policy development and evaluation. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

PUBLIC POLICIES AND STRATEGIES TO ENHANCE THE ECONOMIC POTENTIAL OF A COUNTRY . CASE OF MOLDOVA

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Eugenia BUŞMACHIU

2012-06-01

Full Text Available The study of concepts applied in the decision - making process aims to investigate the functioning of mechanisms to develop and implement the central public administration policies. A modern decision - making process includes the whole procedure of decision making: setting the priorities of public policies, choosing options, instruments of public policy implementation, developing and adopting the respective legislative and normative acts, funding to implement these policies, conducting implementation actions and monitoring the impact of public policy decisions. Often the decision - making process in public administration is interpreted as a simple organization of the information and documents circuit. Therefore there arises the need to analyze the concept of decision making and propose solutions to improve it.

The Role of Science in Advising the Decision Making Process: A Pathway for Building Effective Climate Change Mitigation Policies in Mexico at the Local Level

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Roberto Barraza

2016-04-01

Full Text Available This study examines a pathway for building urban climate change mitigation policies by presenting a multi-dimensional and transdisciplinary approach in which technical, economic, environmental, social, and political dimensions interact. Now, more than ever, the gap between science and policymaking needs to be bridged; this will enable judicious choices to be made in regarding energy and climate change mitigation strategies, leading to positive social impacts, in particular for the populations at-risk at the local level. Through a case study in Juarez, Chihuahua, Mexico, we propose a multidimensional and transdisciplinary approach with the role of scientist as policy advisers to improve the role of science in decision-making on mitigation policies at the local level in Mexico.

Mothers' process of decision making for gastrostomy placement.

Science.gov (United States)

Brotherton, Ailsa; Abbott, Janice

2012-05-01

In this article we present the findings of an exploration of mothers' discourses on decision making for gastrostomy placement for their child. Exploring in-depth interviews of a purposive sample, we analyzed the mothers' discourses of the decision-making process to understand how their experiences of the process influenced their subsequent constructions of decision making. Mothers negotiated decision making by reflecting on their personal experiences of feeding their child, either orally or via a tube, and interwove their background experiences with the communications from members of the health care team until a decision was reached. Decision making was often fraught with difficulty, resulting in anxiety and guilt. Experiences of decision making ranged from perceived coercion to true choice, which encompasses a truly child-centered decision. The resulting impact of the decision-making process on the mothers was profound. We conclude with an exploration of the implications for clinical practice and describe how health care professionals can support mothers to ensure that decision-making processes for gastrostomy placement in children are significantly improved.

A Biological Security Motivation System for Potential Threats: Are There Implications for Policy-Making?

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Erik Z Woody

2013-09-01

Full Text Available Research indicates that there is a specially adapted, hard-wired brain circuit, the security motivation system, which evolved to manage potential threats, such as the possibility of contamination or predation. The existence of this system may have important implications for policy-making related to security. The system is sensitive to partial, uncertain cues of potential danger, detection of which activates a persistent, potent motivational state of wariness or anxiety. This state motivates behaviours to probe the potential danger, such as checking, and to correct for it, such as washing. Engagement in these behaviours serves as the terminating feedback for the activation of the system. Because security motivation theory makes predictions about what kinds of stimuli activate security motivation and what conditions terminate it, the theory may have applications both in understanding how policy-makers can best influence others, such as the public, and also in understanding the behavior of policy-makers themselves.

A Proposal for a UK Ethics Council for Animal Policy: The Case for Putting Ethics Back into Policy Making.

Science.gov (United States)

McCulloch, Steven P; Reiss, Michael J

2018-06-07

Substantial controversy is a consistent feature of UK animal health and welfare policy. BSE, foot and mouth disease, bovine TB and badger culling, large indoor dairies, and wild animals in circuses are examples. Such policy issues are inherently normative; they include a substantial moral dimension. This paper reviews UK animal welfare advisory bodies such as the Animal Health and Welfare Board of England, the Farm Animal Welfare Council and the Animals in Science Committee. These bodies play a key advisory role, but do not have adequate expertise in ethics to inform the moral dimension of policy. We propose an "Ethics Council for Animal Policy" to inform the UK government on policy that significantly impacts sentient species. We review existing Councils (e.g., the Nuffield Council on Bioethics and The Netherlands Council on Animal Affairs) and examine some widely used ethical frameworks (e.g., Banner's principles and the ethical matrix). The Ethics Council for Animal Policy should be independent from government and members should have substantial expertise in ethics and related disciplines. A pluralistic six-stage ethical framework is proposed: (i) Problematisation of the policy issue, (ii) utilitarian analysis, (iii) animal rights analysis, (iv) virtue-based analysis, (v) animal welfare ethic analysis, and (vi) integrated ethical analysis. The paper concludes that an Ethics Council for Animal Policy is necessary for just and democratic policy making in all societies that use sentient nonhuman species.

Beyond policy networks: policy framing and the politics of expertise in the 2001 Foot and Mouth Disease crisis.

Science.gov (United States)

Wilkinson, Katy; Lowe, Philip; Donaldson, Andrew

2010-01-01

For the past decade, the policy community/issue network typology of pressure group interaction has been used to explain policy outcomes and the policy-making process. To re-examine the validity of this typology, the paper focuses on the UK government's response to the 2001 Foot and Mouth Disease (FMD) crisis, and in particular the decision to pursue contiguous culling rather than vaccination to overcome the epidemic. Rather than illustrating the emergence of an issue network in agricultural policy, the decision-making process of the FMD outbreak demonstrates continuity with prior crises. In addition, the politicization of scientific expertise is identified as an emerging trend in crisis management. Policy framing is used to explain the impetus behind the contiguous cull decision, concluding that the legacy of previous policy choices conditioned the crisis response to a far greater degree than contemporaneous pressure group action.

Assessment of policy makers' individual and organizational capacity to acquire, assess, adapt and apply research evidence for maternal and child health policy making in Nigeria: a cross-sectional quantitative survey.

Science.gov (United States)

Uneke, Chigozie Jesse; Sombie, Issiaka; Keita, Namoudou; Lokossou, Virgil; Johnson, Ermel; Ongolo-Zogo, Pierre; Uro-Chukwu, Henry Chukwuemeka

2017-09-01

Throughout the world, there is increasing awareness and acknowledgement of the value of research evidence in the development of effective health policy and in quality health care practice and administration. Among the major challenges associated with the lack of uptake of research evidence into policy and practice in Nigeria is the capacity constraints of policymakers to use research evidence in policy making. To assess the capacity of maternal and child health policy makers to acquire, access, adapt and apply available research evidence. This cross-sectional quantitative survey was conducted at a national maternal, newborn and child health (MNCH) stakeholders' engagement event. An evidence to policy self-assessment questionnaire was used to assess the capacity of forty MNCH policy makers to acquire, assess, adapt and apply research evidence for policy making. Low mean ratings were observed ranging from 2.68-3.53 on a scale of 5 for knowledge about initiating/conducting research and capacity to assess authenticity, validity, reliability, relevance and applicability of research evidence and for organizational capacity for promoting and using of research for policy making. There is need to institute policy makers' capacity development programmes to improve evidence-informed policymaking.

Legality, legitimacy and formal and informal decision-making processes: when does a decision become legitimate?

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Zwetkoff, C.

2004-01-01

A few words on the purpose of this paper are given by way of introduction. A brief analysis will be made of the relationship between legality and legitimacy in relation to decision-making processes and within the context of the policies concerning the public management of technological risks. The aim is to raise questions and outline some reflections based on the theory of the state, from the perspective of the conditions of the institutionalization of power. I shall first clarify a few conceptual points. The notion of legality refers to the notion of compliance with legal standards, that is to say, with the law. Is the decision made by a person empowered by law so do to (legal competence)? Is it taken in compliance with legal procedure? And are the effects implicitly in keeping with the spirit of the law? The legitimacy of the power of those who govern, or the legitimacy of their decisions, is not determined solely by legal standards but rather, is a matter of individual and social representation or view. As Hobbes says, in essence, to govern is to convince: to convince people of the rightfulness of the source of the power of those who govern and of the action or public policies that they formulate. The paper is organised around three propositions: 1. The role of the legitimacy or social acceptability of public policies has always been an element of the way all political systems function. This role, however, occupies an increasingly important place on the political agenda in a societal decision-making context that has undergone irreversible changes. 2. Although the essence of the social legitimacy of public policies remains the same, the conditions, mechanisms and criteria evolve. 3. The critical centrality of social legitimacy, together with the evolution of the criteria for legitimate decision, today modify the decision-making mechanisms that were established in response to the requirements of classical democracy. We observe a political organisation i n the

Appropriating Public Private Partnership in Senior High School Program: A Socio-Cultural Approach to Policy Making

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Peter G. Romerosa

2018-05-01

Full Text Available The implementation of the Senior High School program in the Philippines illuminates the State’s response to the changing landscape of the global market economy. Its salient features focus on the additional two year-senior high school program which highlights the development of middle level skills for national development and global competitiveness. In order to concretize the implementation of the program, the State entered into collaboration with the private schools which is commonly known as Public Private Partnership (PPP. In this collaboration, the government provides the guidelines and financing while the private educational institutions provide the academic service. Framed from a socio-cultural approach to policy making in education, this study aimed to unpack a particular implementation of PPP of a private institution in an urban area, examine the institutional policies that were created in response to PPP, and interrogate the impacts of these policies on micro social processes. Using interviews and focus group discussions for methodology, the researcher drew narratives and insights from on-the-ground actors. Further, the investigation looked into how authorized policy actors (school administrators and nonauthorized policy actors (teachers, parents, and students are appropriating policies within the operational framework of the PPP in the implementation of the senior high school program. The results demonstrated that multi- layered appropriation and exercise of the agency were explicitly and implicitly deployed in diverse social spaces by actors as a pragmatic and creative response to the new educational arrangement. The paper provides a lens to further develop under-standing on how policy appropriation and production from the local context can inform institutional approaches in facilitating relevant student experience within the realm of PPP in education.

Strategies to enhance the impact of research on human resources for health on policy making

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Taghreed Adam

2011-06-01

Full Text Available Despite global recognition of the importance of human resources for health (HRH in achieving health system goals, very little is known about what works, for whom and under what circumstances, especially for low-income and middleincome countries. Several important events and reports have called for increased funding and capacity for HRH research in recent years and several initiatives have started as a result. Progress has been slow, however. The following strategies can be most valuable in ensuring the relevance of the generated evidence for decision making and its contribution to stronger health systems. The first is to promote national processes to set priorities for HRH research with active participation from decision makers. The second is to make conscious efforts to scale up primary research to address priority questions and to develop sustainable mechanisms to evaluate the impact of current or new HRH strategies to feed into the policy making process. The third is to invest in the development of systematic reviews to synthesize available evidence and in the adaptation of the underlying methods to make them more responsive to the type of questions and the nature of research involving HRH issues. The fourth and most important is to consistently use a systems approach in framing and addressing research questions. While a narrow approach may be more attractive and simple, health systems and the problems facing them are not. Increasing the body of evidence that takes into account the complexity of health systems, and particularly human resources for health, will advance knowledge in this area and will make big strides in the quality and usefulness of the generated evidence.

Descriptive analysis of immunization policy decision making in the Americas Análisis descriptivo de la toma de decisión sobre políticas de vacunación en las Américas

OpenAIRE

Julianne E. Burns; Rachel C. Mitrovich; Barbara Jauregui; Cuauhtémoc Ruiz Matus; Jon K. Andrus

2009-01-01

OBJECTIVES: Reducing and eliminating vaccine-preventable diseases requires evidence-based and informed policy decision making. Critical to determining the functionality of the decision-making process for introduction of a new vaccine is understanding the role of the national immunization technical advisory group (ITAG) in each country. The aim of this study is to document the current situation of national level immunization policy decision making for use in the Pan American Health Organizatio...

The role of organizational culture in policy mobilities – the case of South Korean climate change adaptation policies

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

S. Schäfer

2017-07-01

Full Text Available The conceptualization of policies as mobile and mutable knowledge is the key feature of the recent debate on policy mobilities. Policy mobility studies have focused on the movement and translation of policies as well as on the impact of mobile policies on policy-making processes and governed spaces. Given that policy mobilities have mainly been examined in comparable institutional contexts, the current debate has neglected the role of organizational culture in the translation of policies. Organizational culture is understood as a set of shared assumptions that guide what happens in organizations by defining appropriate practices of policy making. The case study, South Korean adaptation policy, illustrates that organizational culture has a significant impact on the translation of mobile adaptation policy. Besides the claim to consider organizational culture more prominently in the field of policy mobility studies, this paper illustrates the translation process of adaptation policy in the South Korean political system. The practices in South Korean political institutions dealing with climate change adaptation are highly characterized by the avoidance of risks. The propensity to avoid risks leads policy makers to focus on technical solutions to climate change adaptation and to neglect the participation of civil society.

Theorising the State and Globalisation in Education Politics and Policy (English version

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Guy Burton

2014-07-01

Full Text Available The essay aims to overturn much conventional (and generally critical thinking which emphasises neoliberal prominence in policy and policy making. Two main policy making processes are noted: (1 a rational, systematic process or (2 an incoherent, incremental version. The latter account is perceived as more realistic model and accounted for by making use of particular perspectives regarding the nature and role of the state in today’s globalised world. Using Dunleavy and O’Leary’s Theories of the State (1987 and its update, Theories of the Liberal Democratic State (2009 by Dryzek and Dunleavy, four main theories are identified: the pluralist/neopluralist, Marxist, elitist and New Right/market liberal. Three perspectives on globalisation – the neoliberal, radical and transformationalist – are analysed with the latter providing insights into the varied impact of globalisation on the policy making process and its outcome. The essay concludes with an appeal for future research to acknowledge the complex nature of policy making, thereby using more nuanced analysis.

Joint federal research and development process to meet state and local needs. Part 1. Science and technology and political decision making

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Wise, H F; Smith, L K; Einsweiler, R C; Jensen, D E

1980-10-01

This part of the handbook addresses the basic how to do it - how states and local governments can identify complex and cross-cutting issues and develop and manage scientific and technical resources in seeking policy solutions to such issues. The following subjects are discussed: background statement of the issue; the research/decision-making process; defining problems and identifying research components; research and decision-making strategies; how to identify existing knowledge or ongoing research in the area of policy concern; and managing multi-disciplinary research. The fourteen agencies involved in this effort include: US Departments of Energy, Agriculture, Transportation, Housing and Urban Development, Environmental Protection Agency, and National Science Foundation. (PSB)

Making Lists, Enlisting Scientists

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Jensen, Casper Bruun

2011-01-01

was the indicator conceptualised? How were notions of scientific knowledge and collaboration inscribed and challenged in the process? The analysis shows a two-sided process in which scientists become engaged in making lists but which is simultaneously a way for research policy to enlist scientists. In conclusion...

Detecting causality in policy diffusion processes

Science.gov (United States)

Grabow, Carsten; Macinko, James; Silver, Diana; Porfiri, Maurizio

2016-08-01

A universal question in network science entails learning about the topology of interaction from collective dynamics. Here, we address this question by examining diffusion of laws across US states. We propose two complementary techniques to unravel determinants of this diffusion process: information-theoretic union transfer entropy and event synchronization. In order to systematically investigate their performance on law activity data, we establish a new stochastic model to generate synthetic law activity data based on plausible networks of interactions. Through extensive parametric studies, we demonstrate the ability of these methods to reconstruct networks, varying in size, link density, and degree heterogeneity. Our results suggest that union transfer entropy should be preferred for slowly varying processes, which may be associated with policies attending to specific local problems that occur only rarely or with policies facing high levels of opposition. In contrast, event synchronization is effective for faster enactment rates, which may be related to policies involving Federal mandates or incentives. This study puts forward a data-driven toolbox to explain the determinants of legal activity applicable to political science, across dynamical systems, information theory, and complex networks.

Large Spatial and Temporal Separations of Cause and Effect in Policy Making - Dealing with Non-linear Effects

Science.gov (United States)

McCaskill, John

There can be large spatial and temporal separation of cause and effect in policy making. Determining the correct linkage between policy inputs and outcomes can be highly impractical in the complex environments faced by policy makers. In attempting to see and plan for the probable outcomes, standard linear models often overlook, ignore, or are unable to predict catastrophic events that only seem improbable due to the issue of multiple feedback loops. There are several issues with the makeup and behaviors of complex systems that explain the difficulty many mathematical models (factor analysis/structural equation modeling) have in dealing with non-linear effects in complex systems. This chapter highlights those problem issues and offers insights to the usefulness of ABM in dealing with non-linear effects in complex policy making environments.

A Proposal for a UK Ethics Council for Animal Policy: The Case for Putting Ethics Back into Policy Making

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Steven P. McCulloch

2018-06-01

Full Text Available Substantial controversy is a consistent feature of UK animal health and welfare policy. BSE,~foot and mouth disease, bovine TB and badger culling, large indoor dairies, and wild animals in circuses are examples. Such policy issues are inherently normative; they include a substantial moral dimension. This paper reviews UK animal welfare advisory bodies such as the Animal Health and Welfare Board of England, the Farm Animal Welfare Committee and the Animals in Science Committee. These bodies play a key advisory role, but do not have adequate expertise in ethics to inform the moral dimension of policy. We propose an “Ethics Council for Animal Policy” to inform the UK government on policy that significantly impacts sentient species. We review existing Councils (e.g., the Nuffield Council on Bioethics and The Netherlands Council on Animal Affairs and examine some widely used ethical frameworks (e.g., Banner’s principles and the ethical matrix. The Ethics Council for Animal Policy should be independent from government and members should have substantial expertise in ethics and related disciplines. A pluralistic six-stage ethical framework is proposed: (i Problematisation of the policy issue, (ii utilitarian analysis, (iii animal rights analysis, (iv virtue-based analysis, (v animal welfare ethic analysis, and (vi integrated ethical analysis. The~paper concludes that an Ethics Council for Animal Policy is necessary for just and democratic policy making in all societies that use sentient nonhuman species.

[Influenza A from the rational choice theory: proposals for decision making in prevention policies].

Science.gov (United States)

Peña, Francisco Garrido; Fernández, Luís Andrés López; García, Eugenia Gil

2009-01-01

This article is a reflection on the social uncertainty caused by Influenza A and on the consequences that it can have on decision making in health promotion policies. We use concepts and metaphors of the Rational Choice Theory, among them, the "in gratitude effect" or the "distrust effect", as we analyse how these can become obstacles for the efficiency of prevention policies. Then, we focus on the information asymmetry of the principal-agent relationship, and we propose measures to diminish the "moral risk" that they cause. We finish by advancing some proposals for designing lines and strategies of action in health promotion policies.

Connecting reason to power : Assessments, learning, and environmental policy integration in Swedish energy policy

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Nilsson, M.A.

2005-01-01

The purpose of this thesis is to contribute to understanding what makes a policymaking system better at integrating sustainability concerns into its processes. Three questions are in focus. First, how can policy integration be understood analytically and what is its actual status in sector policy?

Pricing Policy and the College Choice Process.

Science.gov (United States)

Chapman, Randall G.

1979-01-01

A marketing management paradigm for academe is discussed along with aspects of the pricing policy process. The two most important factors affecting the college choice process are shown to be college quality and price-related considerations. Implications for marketing are discussed. (Author/LBH)

Environmental science-policy interactions

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Kamelarczyk, Kewin Bach Friis

+ (Reduced Emissions from Deforestation and forest Degradation and enhancement of forest carbon stocks) process and the phenomenon of deforestation in Zambia as research examples. The research was carried out from mid 2008 and to mid 2013 and applies a mixed methods research design. Fieldwork was carried out...... to science? This PhD thesis contributes to answering this questions; however it does this by questioning the conceptions of science that contribute to political decision-making and by exploring the relationship between scientific knowledge, other types of knowledge and policy. This PhD study employs the REDD...... in future REDD+ design and implementation. To curtail potential negative consequences of the identified mode of science-policy interaction in Zambia, the study concludes by making a number of proposals. The proposals are generic in nature and may be found relevant in environmental policy processes outside...

How do external donors influence national health policy processes? Experiences of domestic policy actors in Cambodia and Pakistan.

Science.gov (United States)

Khan, Mishal S; Meghani, Ankita; Liverani, Marco; Roychowdhury, Imara; Parkhurst, Justin

2018-03-01

Although concerns have historically been raised about the influence of external donors on health policy process in recipient countries, remarkably few studies have investigated perspectives and experiences of domestic policymakers and advisers. This study examines donor influence at different stages of the health policy process (priority setting, policy formulation, policy implementation and monitoring and evaluation) in two aid-dependent LMICs, Cambodia and Pakistan. It identifies mechanisms through which asymmetries in influence between donors and domestic policy actors emerge. We conducted 24 key informant interviews-14 in Pakistan and 10 in Cambodia-with high-level decision-makers who inform or authorize health priority setting, allocate resources and/or are responsible for policy implementation, identifying three routes of influence: financial resources, technical expertise and indirect financial and political incentives. We used both inductive and deductive approaches to analyse the data. Our findings indicate that different routes of influence emerged depending on the stage of the policy process. Control of financial resources was the most commonly identified route by which donors influenced priority setting and policy implementation. Greater (perceived) technical expertise played an important role in donor influence at the policy formulation stage. Donors' power in influencing decisions, particularly during the final (monitoring and evaluation) stage of the policy process, was mediated by their ability to control indirect financial and political incentives as well as direct control of financial resources. This study thus helps unpack the nuances of donor influence over health policymaking in these settings, and can potentially indicate areas that require attention to increase the ownership of domestic actors of their countries' health policy processes. © The Author(s) 2017. Published by Oxford University Press in association with The London School of

Dual processing model of medical decision-making

OpenAIRE

Djulbegovic, Benjamin; Hozo, Iztok; Beckstead, Jason; Tsalatsanis, Athanasios; Pauker, Stephen G

2012-01-01

Abstract Background Dual processing theory of human cognition postulates that reasoning and decision-making can be described as a function of both an intuitive, experiential, affective system (system I) and/or an analytical, deliberative (system II) processing system. To date no formal descriptive model of medical decision-making based on dual processing theory has been developed. Here we postulate such a model and apply it to a common clinical situation: whether treatment should be administe...

Language Policy in Slovenia

Science.gov (United States)

Novak-Lukanovic, Sonja; Limon, David

2012-01-01

The historical background, political changes, migration processes, EU membership and the current socio-linguistic situation have all influenced language policy and language planning in Slovenia. This article presents the most important aspects of language policy in Slovenia with a focus on the concept of linguistic diversity. The ethnic make-up of…

Making the Connection between Environmental Science and Decision Making

Science.gov (United States)

Woodhouse, C. A.; Crimmins, M.; Ferguson, D. B.; Garfin, G. M.; Scott, C. A.

2011-12-01

As society is confronted with population growth, limited resources, and the impacts of climate variability and change, it is vital that institutions of higher education promote the development of professionals who can work with decision-makers to incorporate scientific information into environmental planning and management. Skills for the communication of science are essential, but equally important is the ability to understand decision-making contexts and engage with resource managers and policy makers. It is increasingly being recognized that people who understand the linkages between science and decision making are crucial if science is to better support planning and policy. A new graduate-level seminar, "Making the Connection between Environmental Science and Decision Making," is a core course for a new post-baccalaureate certificate program, Connecting Environmental Science and Decision Making at the University of Arizona. The goal of the course is to provide students with a basic understanding of the dynamics between scientists and decision makers that result in scientific information being incorporated into environmental planning, policy, and management decisions. Through readings from the environmental and social sciences, policy, and planning literature, the course explores concepts including scientific information supply and demand, boundary organizations, co-production of knowledge, platforms for engagement, and knowledge networks. Visiting speakers help students understand some of the challenges of incorporating scientific information into planning and decision making within institutional and political contexts. The course also includes practical aspects of two-way communication via written, oral, and graphical presentations as well as through the interview process to facilitate the transfer of scientific information to decision makers as well as to broader audiences. We aspire to help students develop techniques that improve communication and

Public policy processes and getting physical activity into Alberta's urban schools.

Science.gov (United States)

Gladwin, Catherine P; Church, John; Plotnikoff, Ronald C

2008-01-01

Public policies impact the amount of physical activity (PA) that children receive at school. These policies are of interest because overweight and obesity among Canadian children have grown at significant rates, and increasing PA among children is one way to reverse this trend. This research investigates the public policy processes that have resulted in Alberta's education system adopting in-school daily physical activity (DPA) and not supporting walk-to-school (WTS) initiatives. Using the policy process described by Kingdon and others as a conceptual framework, this research reviews literature and documents on public policy relating to PA in schools and interviews key individuals (N = 20) to identify the policy-related facilitators and barriers in Alberta, Canada to increasing PA in school-aged children. DPA was mandated because Kingdon's three policy streams (problem, solution and politics) became joined or linked. DPA was the most viable solution because literature supports and teachers believe in the educational benefits of PA. As well, a physician with personal beliefs about the benefits of PA became the minister of education and coupled the solution with the political stream through his ministerial power. Reasons that WTS programs have not become school or health policy include advocacy led by politically weak organizations, lack of a supportive policy entrepreneur and poor saliency among educators. This research illuminates the inner workings of the policy process shaping PA in schools, identifying the unseen forces of the policy process that move issues forward. The findings provide valuable insight for building other healthy public policies.

Communicating climate information: travelling through the decision-making process

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Stoverinck, F.; Dubois, G.; Amelung, B.

2013-01-01

Climate change forces society to adapt. Adaptation strategies are preferably based on the best available climate information. Climate projections, however, often inform adaptation strategies after being interpreted once or several times. This process affects the original message put forward by climate scientists when presenting the basic climate projections, in particular regarding uncertainties. The nature of this effect and its implications for decision-making are as yet poorly understood. This paper explores the nature and consequences of a) the communication tools used by scientists and experts, and b)changes in the communicated information as it travels through the decision-making process. It does so by analysing the interpretative steps taken in a sample of 25 documents, pertaining to the field of public policies for climate change impact assessment and adaptation strategies. Five phases in the provisioning of climate information are distinguished: pre-existing knowledge (i.e. climate models and data), climate- change projection, impact assessment, adaptation strategy, and adaptation plan. Between the phases, climate information is summarized and synthesised in order to be passed on. The results show that in the sample information on uncertainty is under-represented: e.g. studies focus on only one scenario, and/or disregard probability distributions. In addition, visualization tools are often used ineffectively, leading to confusion and unintended interpretations. Several recommendations are presented. A better training of climatologists to communication issues, but also a training to climatology for decision makers are required, as well as more cautious and robust adaptation strategies, accounting for the uncertainty inherent to climate projections. (authors)

Big Data: transforming drug development and health policy decision making.

Science.gov (United States)

Alemayehu, Demissie; Berger, Marc L

The explosion of data sources, accompanied by the evolution of technology and analytical techniques, has created considerable challenges and opportunities for drug development and healthcare resource utilization. We present a systematic overview these phenomena, and suggest measures to be taken for effective integration of the new developments in the traditional medical research paradigm and health policy decision making. Special attention is paid to pertinent issues in emerging areas, including rare disease drug development, personalized medicine, Comparative Effectiveness Research, and privacy and confidentiality concerns.

Mapping ecosystem services for policy support and decision making in the European Union

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Maes, J.; Egoh, B.; Willemen, L.; Liquete, C.; Vihervaara, P.; Schägner, J.P.; Grizzetti, B.; Drakou, E.G.; Notte, La A.; Zulian, G.; Bouraoui, F.; Parcchini, M.L.; Braat, L.C.

2012-01-01

Mainstreaming ecosystem services into policy and decision making is dependent on the availability of spatially explicit information on the state and trends of ecosystems and their services. In particular, the EU Biodiversity Strategy to 2020 addresses the need to account for ecosystem services

The influence of bureaucrats on the policy-making process in the former Soviet Union: The case of Chernobyl

Science.gov (United States)

Kerner, Lucy Alexandra

The events that started to unfurl in the former Soviet Union in the beginning of the 1990s and that ended with the disintegration of the USSR caught many sovietologists, and specialists on former communist and socialist regimes by surprise. Major theories and analyses developed and successfully used in such areas as Comparative Politics, International Relations, and Comparative Socialism turned out to be impotent to foresee the approach of the dramatic changes. Noticing the growing significance of and influence on the policy making process of numerous bureaucracies, this study has applied alternative approaches that were developed in such fields as Organizational Theory, Bureaucratic Behavior, and Public Policy. The issue of bureaucratic performance in the former USSR became the central focal point of the study. Methods suggested by specialists in these fields permitted measurement of the performance of different bureaucratic medical institutions during and after the Chernobyl crisis. Utilization of performance measurements helped uncover several important phenomena. One, that performance of the Soviet medical institutions/organizations and bureaucracies that they housed reached an ultimate dysfunctional stage. It became counterproductive to the point that we can brand it pathological. The characteristic feature of pathological performance is that its outcomes (final results) have a totally counterproductive effect on the external environment and on the community which uses its services and/or products. In the case of Chernobyl it was medical services that were either very poorly provided to the victims of the accident or totally withheld from them The result was a manifold increase in different illnesses and deaths among the population affected by the accident. Second, behavior and performance of the medical bureaucracies in comparison with the behavior and performance of other Soviet bureaucracies has shown that it was not unique. This counterproductive behavior

A novel method for feasibility testing urban sustainable development policies

OpenAIRE

O’Doherty Travis; Fitzgerald Brian G.; Moles Richard; O’Regan Bernadette

2013-01-01

Policy making to promote more sustainable development is a complex task due in part to the large number of both stakeholders and potential policies. Policy feasibility testing provides a guide to the viability and practicality of policy implementation and forms an important part of an evidence based policy making process. An extensive literature review has identified no standardized approach to feasibility testing. This paper addresses this knowledge gap by...

European experiences as guidelines for public, private and civil sector role redefinition in spatial policy formulation process in Serbia

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Maksić Milica

2012-01-01

Full Text Available The period of post-socialist transition in Serbia brings more complex actors environment compared to socialistic period, while institutional arrangements are not enough developed to actively involve different groups of actors in spatial policy formulation process. In order to gather certain knowledge as guidelines for redefining institutional practices in Serbia, institutional framework of Serbia was compared in this paper with institutional framework of three developed European countries, especially in relation to the roles of public, private and civil sector in spatial policy formulation process. The European countries selected for the analysis are United Kingdom, Netherlands and Germany because of diverse national administrative traditions, so different institutional arrangements could be researched. By comparing institutional framework in Serbia with the ones in developed European countries following questions are researched: which actors are missing in Serbia, what are the ways institutional arrangements for different groups inclusion into spatial policy formulation process are formed, what are the differences between the roles of certain groups of actors in decision-making process. Current roles of actors in spatial policy formulation process in Serbia are reviewed and possible directions for public, private and civil sector role redefinition in Serbia are discussed in accordance with experiences of developed European countries.

Dual processing model of medical decision-making

Science.gov (United States)

2012-01-01

Background Dual processing theory of human cognition postulates that reasoning and decision-making can be described as a function of both an intuitive, experiential, affective system (system I) and/or an analytical, deliberative (system II) processing system. To date no formal descriptive model of medical decision-making based on dual processing theory has been developed. Here we postulate such a model and apply it to a common clinical situation: whether treatment should be administered to the patient who may or may not have a disease. Methods We developed a mathematical model in which we linked a recently proposed descriptive psychological model of cognition with the threshold model of medical decision-making and show how this approach can be used to better understand decision-making at the bedside and explain the widespread variation in treatments observed in clinical practice. Results We show that physician’s beliefs about whether to treat at higher (lower) probability levels compared to the prescriptive therapeutic thresholds obtained via system II processing is moderated by system I and the ratio of benefit and harms as evaluated by both system I and II. Under some conditions, the system I decision maker’s threshold may dramatically drop below the expected utility threshold derived by system II. This can explain the overtreatment often seen in the contemporary practice. The opposite can also occur as in the situations where empirical evidence is considered unreliable, or when cognitive processes of decision-makers are biased through recent experience: the threshold will increase relative to the normative threshold value derived via system II using expected utility threshold. This inclination for the higher diagnostic certainty may, in turn, explain undertreatment that is also documented in the current medical practice. Conclusions We have developed the first dual processing model of medical decision-making that has potential to enrich the current medical

Dual processing model of medical decision-making.

Science.gov (United States)

Djulbegovic, Benjamin; Hozo, Iztok; Beckstead, Jason; Tsalatsanis, Athanasios; Pauker, Stephen G

2012-09-03

Dual processing theory of human cognition postulates that reasoning and decision-making can be described as a function of both an intuitive, experiential, affective system (system I) and/or an analytical, deliberative (system II) processing system. To date no formal descriptive model of medical decision-making based on dual processing theory has been developed. Here we postulate such a model and apply it to a common clinical situation: whether treatment should be administered to the patient who may or may not have a disease. We developed a mathematical model in which we linked a recently proposed descriptive psychological model of cognition with the threshold model of medical decision-making and show how this approach can be used to better understand decision-making at the bedside and explain the widespread variation in treatments observed in clinical practice. We show that physician's beliefs about whether to treat at higher (lower) probability levels compared to the prescriptive therapeutic thresholds obtained via system II processing is moderated by system I and the ratio of benefit and harms as evaluated by both system I and II. Under some conditions, the system I decision maker's threshold may dramatically drop below the expected utility threshold derived by system II. This can explain the overtreatment often seen in the contemporary practice. The opposite can also occur as in the situations where empirical evidence is considered unreliable, or when cognitive processes of decision-makers are biased through recent experience: the threshold will increase relative to the normative threshold value derived via system II using expected utility threshold. This inclination for the higher diagnostic certainty may, in turn, explain undertreatment that is also documented in the current medical practice. We have developed the first dual processing model of medical decision-making that has potential to enrich the current medical decision-making field, which is still to the

Alcohol policy in South Africa: a review of policy development processes between 1994 and 2009.

Science.gov (United States)

Parry, Charles D H

2010-08-01

Implementation of effective policies to reduce harmful alcohol consumption requires both a good understanding of the policy development process and which strategies are likely to work. To contribute to this understanding by reviewing four specific policy development initiatives that have taken place in South Africa between 1994 and 2009: restrictions on alcohol advertising and counter-advertising, regulation of retail sales of alcohol, alcohol taxation and controls on alcohol packaging. Material was drawn from a record of meetings and conferences held between 1994 and 2009 and a database of reports, newspaper clippings and policy documentation. When the policy process resulted in a concrete outcome there was always a clear recognition of the problem and policy alternatives, but success was more likely if there was an alignment of 'political' forces and/or when there was a determined bureaucracy. The impact of the other factors such as the media, community mobilization, non-governmental organizations (NGOs), the liquor industry and research are also discussed. Future avenues for policy research are identified, including the need for more systematic studies that give greater consideration to economic factors. Alcohol policy development in South Africa takes place in a piecemeal fashion and is the product of various competing influences. Having a comprehensive national alcohol strategy cutting across different sectors may be a better way for other developing countries to proceed.

Nonrational Processes in Ethical Decision Making

Science.gov (United States)

Rogerson, Mark D.; Gottlieb, Michael C.; Handelsman, Mitchell M.; Knapp, Samuel; Younggren, Jeffrey

2011-01-01

Most current ethical decision-making models provide a logical and reasoned process for making ethical judgments, but these models are empirically unproven and rely upon assumptions of rational, conscious, and quasi-legal reasoning. Such models predominate despite the fact that many nonrational factors influence ethical thought and behavior,…

The process of developing policy based on global environmental risk assessment

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Fisk, D.J.

1995-01-01

A brief presentation is given on developing policy based on a global environmental risk assessment. The author looks at the global warming issue as if it were a formal problem in risk assessment. He uses that framework to make one or two suggestions as to how the interaction of policy and research might evolve as the climate convention progresses

Educational Policy-Making as Power Struggle in a Multi-Cultural Society: The Malaysian Case. Revised Draft.

Science.gov (United States)

Hsu, Philip, Jr.

This essay demonstrates how politics affected educational policy making at the national level in Malaysia. A historical and social overview describes the country's ethnic diversity and the passage of legislation that was designed to promote universal access to education. The government's higher education policies are evaluated, based on a process…

NIGERIAN NATION-BUILDING AND PUBLIC POLICY ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

NGOZI

Political phase, that is, acceptable formulation, meaning that the entertained ... term 'policy-making' for the entire process, 'policy formulation' for the initial part of ..... rule of argumentation is grounded in terms of the substance of the pragmatic ...

Theoretical aspects of cellular decision-making and information-processing.

Science.gov (United States)

Kobayashi, Tetsuya J; Kamimura, Atsushi

2012-01-01

Microscopic biological processes have extraordinary complexity and variety at the sub-cellular, intra-cellular, and multi-cellular levels. In dealing with such complex phenomena, conceptual and theoretical frameworks are crucial, which enable us to understand seemingly different intra- and inter-cellular phenomena from unified viewpoints. Decision-making is one such concept that has attracted much attention recently. Since a number of cellular behavior can be regarded as processes to make specific actions in response to external stimuli, decision-making can cover and has been used to explain a broad range of different cellular phenomena [Balázsi et al. (Cell 144(6):910, 2011), Zeng et al. (Cell 141(4):682, 2010)]. Decision-making is also closely related to cellular information-processing because appropriate decisions cannot be made without exploiting the information that the external stimuli contain. Efficiency of information transduction and processing by intra-cellular networks determines the amount of information obtained, which in turn limits the efficiency of subsequent decision-making. Furthermore, information-processing itself can serve as another concept that is crucial for understanding of other biological processes than decision-making. In this work, we review recent theoretical developments on cellular decision-making and information-processing by focusing on the relation between these two concepts.

Holding Government Accountable: Tobacco Policy Making in California, 1995-1997

OpenAIRE

Balbach, Edith D. Ph.D.; Monardi, Fred M. Ph.D.; Fox, Brion J. J.D.; Glantz, Stanton A. Ph.D.

1997-01-01

January 1, 1996 through May 31, 1997 was an active period for tobacco policy making in California. The fight in Spring, 1996, over the allocation of Proposition 99 revenues was more public and aggressive than it had been in the past, an increased level of public scrutiny was brought to bear on the implementation of the media campaign, the state of California’s failure to sue the tobacco industry for recovery of medical costs became a political issue, and the tobacco industry continued to give...

Environmental policy implementation in developing countries

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Gamman, J.K.

1990-01-01

This study examines why national and international policies intended to protect limited natural resources in developing countries are not effectively implemented. It employs a comparative-policy implementation in three developing countries, Barbados, St. Lucia and St. Kitts, and three foreign assistance agencies, the US Agency for International Development, the Inter-American Development Bank and the Organization of American States. The decision-making process within the countries and donor agencies is closed, preventing key stakeholders from participating. In two instances, the mutually reinforcing behavior of top officials in the countries and the donor agencies led to decisions that prevented natural resources from being protected. In all three cases, strategies to implement environmental policies failed to account for four major elements: national politics, behavior in the donor agency, the culture of decision making, and economic necessity. The existing-decision making process in both developing countries and donor agencies is dysfunctional

Policy Brief: Governance of mining in India: responding to policy deficits

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Ganeshan, Swati; Khanna, Arpita Asha; Srivastava, Nidhi; Noronha, Ligia

2012-06-15

The reform in the minerals sector has been in response to both global and national pressures. Internationally, there was a need for India to make credible commitments to the world that it would do things differently in terms of approval, transparency, greater efficiency, more incentives to attract investment in exploration, and development activity. Nationally, there was need for greater exploration information; improved allocation processes; increased resource revenues from mineral rich states; and greater compensation for externalities created by mining. Over the last few years new initiatives have been put in place. The National Mineral Policy (NMP) and the Minerals and Metals Development and Regulation (MMDR) Bill have sought to address many of the industry and community concerns and also the issue of graft by making the process of allocation and clearances more transparent and less discretionary. The Policy and the Bill have many pro-people clauses that relate to benefit sharing, minimizing the ecological footprint, improved participation in decision-making and grievance redressal mechanisms.

Tobacco Industry interference in TAPS policy making in Bulgaria

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Pavel P Antonov

2017-05-01

Full Text Available Tobacco industry (TI has a powerful grasp of politics and the media in Bulgaria, but there is limited knowledge of its methods and communication messages. To explore and analyse them, we are using a recent case from the policy advocacy practice of the Smoke-free Life Coalition, ENSP member in Bulgaria. A mixed social research methodology was employed, involving: a case study; qualitative content analysis of documented communication; ethnographic participant observation; and semi-structured interviews with TAPS advocacy campaigners, policy makers and TI representatives, in the action research tradition. The case study analyses TI reaction to a surprising proposal for a complete ban of tobacco advertising, promotion and sponsorship, submitted to Bulgaria’s Parliament in November 2016 – and consecutively withdrawn. Being involved in all stages of the case and present at meetings between TI and MPs enables the researchers to gather rich information and analyse it, to cast light on: the methods for successful interference with democratic decision making, applied by industry representatives; the specific communication messages and arguments they employ to suppress smoke-free legislation. The paper observes how TI speculates with the interests of different groups, affected by and involved in its operations, to successfully contradict health concerns voiced by MPs. Democratically elected representatives appear unable to uphold the social and health interests of their voters and succumb to TI priorities. The paper concludes that a pro-industry discourse, which favours corporate incomes over concerns for people’s health and life, dominates democratic decision making mechanisms in Bulgaria’s post-socialist political landscape. Funding The Union Against Tuberculosis and Lung Diseases

Making the business case for process safety using value-at-risk concepts

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Fang, Jayming S.; Ford, David M.; Mannan, M. Sam

2004-01-01

An increasing emphasis on chemical process safety over the last two decades has led to the development and application of powerful risk assessment tools. Hazard analysis and risk evaluation techniques have developed to the point where quantitatively meaningful risks can be calculated for processes and plants. However, the results are typically presented in semi-quantitative 'ranked list' or 'categorical matrix' formats, which are certainly useful but not optimal for making business decisions. A relatively new technique for performing valuation under uncertainty, value at risk (VaR), has been developed in the financial world. VaR is a method of evaluating the probability of a gain or loss by a complex venture, by examining the stochastic behavior of its components. We believe that combining quantitative risk assessment techniques with VaR concepts will bridge the gap between engineers and scientists who determine process risk and business leaders and policy makers who evaluate, manage, or regulate risk. We present a few basic examples of the application of VaR to hazard analysis in the chemical process industry

The rise and fall of GO trading in European renewable energy policy. The role of advocacy and policy framing

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Nilsson, Maans [Stockholm Environment Institute (SEI), Kraeftriket 2B, SE 10691 Stockholm (Sweden); Nilsson, Lars J.; Ericsson, Karin [Environmental and Energy Systems Studies, Lund University, Box 118, SE 22100 Lund (Sweden)

2009-11-15

This paper examines policy processes surrounding the rise and fall of the proposed EU-wide policy instrument designed to help achieve the EU's renewable energy targets - the trading of Guarantees of Origin (GO). It discusses its origins and examines factors in the policy processes over time leading first to its development and then to its abandonment. A first analysis looks at the near-term policy-making process before and after the proposal on GO trading in January 2008, focusing on the European policy-making institutions and influences of interest groups and member state governments. It then takes a step back and looks over a longer time period at how competing policy frames have shaped the agendas underlying the debate. Results show how a strong internal market frame acted as a primary driving force in the Commission to promote the GO trading instrument. The rejection of the GO trading proposal in the Council and Parliament can be largely attributed to the lack of a strong lobby in favour of GO, the accumulated experience with and institutionalisation of national RES support policies such as feed-in tariffs, and growing general political concerns for supply security, innovation and competitiveness. (author)

The rise and fall of GO trading in European renewable energy policy: The role of advocacy and policy framing

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Nilsson, Mans, E-mail: mans.nilsson@sei.s [Stockholm Environment Institute (SEI), Kraeftriket 2B, SE 10691 Stockholm (Sweden); Nilsson, Lars J.; Ericsson, Karin [Environmental and Energy Systems Studies, Lund University, Box 118, SE 22100 Lund (Sweden)

2009-11-15

This paper examines policy processes surrounding the rise and fall of the proposed EU-wide policy instrument designed to help achieve the EU's renewable energy targets-the trading of Guarantees of Origin (GO). It discusses its origins and examines factors in the policy processes over time leading first to its development and then to its abandonment. A first analysis looks at the near-term policy-making process before and after the proposal on GO trading in January 2008, focusing on the European policy-making institutions and influences of interest groups and member state governments. It then takes a step back and looks over a longer time period at how competing policy frames have shaped the agendas underlying the debate. Results show how a strong internal market frame acted as a primary driving force in the Commission to promote the GO trading instrument. The rejection of the GO trading proposal in the Council and Parliament can be largely attributed to the lack of a strong lobby in favour of GO, the accumulated experience with and institutionalisation of national RES support policies such as feed-in tariffs, and growing general political concerns for supply security, innovation and competitiveness.

Moving towards tangible decision-making tools for policy makers: Measuring and monitoring energy access provision

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Bhanot, Jaya; Jha, Vivek

2012-01-01

Access to energy services has been recognised as central to achieving economic growth and sustainable development. However, almost 1.3 billion people in the world still lack access to electricity and 2.7 billion lack access to clean cooking facilities. In this backdrop, the issue of energy access is receiving more interest than ever before and this has brought to the fore, the need for a robust decision support tool for policy makers to measure the progress of energy access provision and also to provide direction for future policy making. The paper studies existing definitions of energy access and identifies the key requirements for an appropriate decision-making tool to measure and monitor energy access provision. In this context the paper assesses the strengths and weaknesses of the metrics currently being used to measure energy access in policy, as well as of contemporary monitoring and evaluation frameworks being used in other sectors. Based on these insights, a dashboard of indicators is proposed as an alternate decision support tool for policy makers to measure energy access. The paper concludes with a discussion on what is needed to operationalise this proposed framework. - Highlights: ► No one indicator or metric can successfully capture progress on energy access. ► A service oriented approach is necessary to measure energy access. ► Socio-economic and political contexts influence success of energy access policies.

Openness in participation, assessment, and policy making upon issues of environment and environmental health: a review of literature and recent project results.

Science.gov (United States)

Pohjola, Mikko V; Tuomisto, Jouni T

2011-06-16

Issues of environment and environmental health involve multiple interests regarding e.g. political, societal, economical, and public concerns represented by different kinds of organizations and individuals. Not surprisingly, stakeholder and public participation has become a major issue in environmental and environmental health policy and assessment. The need for participation has been discussed and reasoned by many, including environmental legislators around the world. In principle, participation is generally considered as desirable and the focus of most scholars and practitioners is on carrying out participation, and making participation more effective. In practice also doubts regarding the effectiveness and importance of participation exist among policy makers, assessors, and public, leading even to undermining participatory practices in policy making and assessment.There are many possible purposes for participation, and different possible models of interaction between assessment and policy. A solid conceptual understanding of the interrelations between participation, assessment, and policy making is necessary in order to design and implement effective participatory practices. In this paper we ask, do current common conceptions of assessment, policy making and participation provide a sufficient framework for achieving effective participation? This question is addresses by reviewing the range of approaches to participation in assessment and policy making upon issues of environment and environmental health and some related insights from recent research projects, INTARESE and BENERIS.Openness, considered e.g. in terms of a) scope of participation, b) access to information, c) scope of contribution, d) timing of openness, and e) impact of contribution, provides a new perspective to the relationships between participation, assessment and policy making. Participation, assessment, and policy making form an inherently intertwined complex with interrelated objectives and

Reimbursement decisions in health policy--extending our understanding of the elements of decision-making.

Science.gov (United States)

Wirtz, Veronika; Cribb, Alan; Barber, Nick

2005-09-08

Previous theoretical and empirical work on health policy decisions about reimbursement focuses on specific rationales such as effectiveness, economic considerations and equal access for equal needs. As reimbursement decisions take place in a social and political context we propose that the analysis of decision-making should incorporate factors, which go beyond those commonly discussed. As an example we chose three health technologies (sildenafil, rivastigmine and statins) to investigate how decisions about reimbursement of medicines are made in the United Kingdom National Health Service and what factors influence these decisions. From face-to-face, in-depth interviews with a purposive sample of 20 regional and national policy makers and stakeholders we identified two dimensions of decision-making, which extend beyond the rationales conventionally cited. The first dimension relates to the role of 'subjectivity' or 'the personal' in the decisions, including personal experiences of the condition and excitement about the novelty or potential benefit of the technology-these factors affect what counts as evidence, or how evidence is interpreted, in practice. The second dimension relates to the social and political function of decision-making and broadens what counts as the relevant ends of decision-making to include such things as maintaining relationships, avoiding organisational burden, generating politically and legally defensible decisions and demonstrating the willingness to care. More importantly, we will argue that these factors should not be treated as contaminants of an otherwise rational decision-making. On the contrary we suggest that they seem relevant, reasonable and also of substantial importance in considering in decision-making. Complementing the analysis of decision-making about reimbursement by incorporating these factors could increase our understanding and potentially improve decision-making.

The Meaning of Green: Values and Energy Policy in Sweden

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Nilsson, Maans

2003-01-01

Values, and the way they are represented, have strong implications for environmental policy. Mapping of how values, perceptions, scientific facts and professional judgments interact and function in the process will contribute to understanding the policy process. However, although a systematic, reasoned and critical examination of values underpinning policy choices and expressions is an essential part of policy analysis, values are rarely scrutinised (Dunn 1994). As a result, their role in environmental policy making is not well understood. This paper addresses this gap by asking: How are values represented in the policy arena and the processes within it? What changes do values undergo over time and as they go through the policy-making process? Value concepts are discussed as a basis to understand and describe the values at play in a process. The paper also draws on theories of the policy process to support the analysis of the empirical material. The analysis is then delimited to a selected set of value issues. The empirical material includes public debate documents such as bills, hearings, motions, presentation, statements and their commentaries. Semi-structured interviews, designed as in-depth interviews with open-ended probing, were held to complernent the material. Respondents were identified in the policy committees, career professionals and representatives of important interest groups

Gender in the New Education Policy 2016 in the Making: Process and Outcome

Science.gov (United States)

Chanana, Karuna

2017-01-01

There is no doubt that until now significant progress has been made to include gender in the Indian education policy. Further, it is also recognized that investment in the education of both boys and girls with focus on equity is consistently the most powerful and important indicator of national development, as well as being a vehicle for the…

Changing policy and practice: making sense of national guidelines for osteoarthritis.

Science.gov (United States)

Ong, Bie Nio; Morden, Andrew; Brooks, Lauren; Porcheret, Mark; Edwards, John J; Sanders, Tom; Jinks, Clare; Dziedzic, Krysia

2014-04-01

Understanding uptake of complex interventions is an increasingly prominent area of research. The interplay of macro (such as changing health policy), meso (re-organisation of professional work) and micro (rationalisation of clinical care) factors upon uptake of complex interventions has rarely been explored. This study focuses on how English General Practitioners and practice nurses make sense of a complex intervention for the management of osteoarthritis, using the macro-meso-micro contextual approach and Normalisation Process Theory (NPT), specifically the construct of coherence. It is embedded in a cluster RCT comprising four control practices and four intervention practices. In order to study sense-making by professionals introduction and planning meetings (N = 14) between researchers and the practices were observed. Three group interviews were carried out with 10 GPs and 5 practice nurses after they had received training in the intervention. Transcripts were thematically analysed before comparison with NPT constructs. We found that: first, most GPs and all nurses distinguished the intervention from current ways of working. Second, from the introduction meeting to the completion of the training the purpose of the intervention increased in clarity. Third, GPs varied in their understanding of their remit, while the practice nurses felt that the intervention builds on their holistic care approach. Fourth, the intervention was valued by practice nurses as it strengthened their expert status. GPs saw its value as work substitution, but felt that a positive conceptualisation of OA enhanced the consultation. When introducing new interventions in healthcare settings the interaction between macro, meso and micro factors, as well as the means of engaging new clinical practices and their sense-making by clinicians needs to be considered. Copyright © 2014 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Ltd.. All rights reserved.

Fiscal policy lags and income adjustment processes

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

De Cesare, Luigi; Sportelli, Mario

2012-01-01

Highlights: ► There are delays either in the government expenditure or in the tax system. ► Both delays affect fiscal policy outcomes. ► The system of differential equations with two delays may be chaotic. ► Fiscal policy outcomes might be inconsistent with their stabilization purposes. - Abstract: The interest in the impact of fiscal policy lags on economic stability increased in the last decade. Several studies have been made on delays either in the government expenditure or in the tax system, where lags exist between the accrual and the payment of taxes. Nevertheless there is in the literature no model where time delays in government expenditures and in tax revenues are considered together as it happens in the real world. In this paper we remedied this defect and proposed a macro-dynamic model where two delays appear: the first pertains to the public expenditure, the second, to the tax revenue. The resulting system of delayed differential equations is studied qualitatively and numerically. The analysis suggests that only particular combinations of the two delays make the system stable. Prevalently the system is unstable and chaotic motions may arise. This implies that the economy may need appropriate structural changes in the public sector to improve fiscal policy outcomes in such a way they may really be consistent with their stabilization purposes.

Dual processing model of medical decision-making

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Djulbegovic Benjamin

2012-09-01

Full Text Available Abstract Background Dual processing theory of human cognition postulates that reasoning and decision-making can be described as a function of both an intuitive, experiential, affective system (system I and/or an analytical, deliberative (system II processing system. To date no formal descriptive model of medical decision-making based on dual processing theory has been developed. Here we postulate such a model and apply it to a common clinical situation: whether treatment should be administered to the patient who may or may not have a disease. Methods We developed a mathematical model in which we linked a recently proposed descriptive psychological model of cognition with the threshold model of medical decision-making and show how this approach can be used to better understand decision-making at the bedside and explain the widespread variation in treatments observed in clinical practice. Results We show that physician’s beliefs about whether to treat at higher (lower probability levels compared to the prescriptive therapeutic thresholds obtained via system II processing is moderated by system I and the ratio of benefit and harms as evaluated by both system I and II. Under some conditions, the system I decision maker’s threshold may dramatically drop below the expected utility threshold derived by system II. This can explain the overtreatment often seen in the contemporary practice. The opposite can also occur as in the situations where empirical evidence is considered unreliable, or when cognitive processes of decision-makers are biased through recent experience: the threshold will increase relative to the normative threshold value derived via system II using expected utility threshold. This inclination for the higher diagnostic certainty may, in turn, explain undertreatment that is also documented in the current medical practice. Conclusions We have developed the first dual processing model of medical decision-making that has potential to

The decision-making process between rationality and emotions

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Alvino, Letizia; Franco, Massimo

2017-01-01

The decision-making process has been analyzed in several disciplines (economics, social sciences, humanities, etc.) with the aim of creating models to help decision-makers in strategy formulation. The Organizational theory takes into account both the decision-making process of individuals and groups

Introduction of male circumcision for HIV prevention in Uganda: analysis of the policy process.

Science.gov (United States)

Odoch, Walter Denis; Kabali, Kenneth; Ankunda, Racheal; Zulu, Joseph Mumba; Tetui, Moses

2015-06-20

Health policy analysis is important for all health policies especially in fields with ever changing evidence-based interventions such as HIV prevention. However, there are few published reports of health policy analysis in sub-Saharan Africa in this field. This study explored the policy process of the introduction of male circumcision (MC) for HIV prevention in Uganda in order to inform the development processes of similar health policies. Desk review of relevant documents was conducted between March and May 2012. Thematic analysis was used to analyse the data. Conceptual frameworks that demonstrate the interrelationship within the policy development processes and influence of actors in the policy development processes guided the analysis. Following the introduction of MC on the national policy agenda in 2007, negotiation and policy formulation preceded its communication and implementation. Policy proponents included academic researchers in the early 2000s and development partners around 2007. Favourable contextual factors that supported the development of the policy included the rising HIV prevalence, adoption of MC for HIV prevention in other sub-Saharan African countries, and expertise on MC. Additionally, the networking capability of proponents facilitated the change in position of non-supportive or neutral actors. Non-supportive and neutral actors in the initial stages of the policy development process included the Ministry of Health, traditional and Muslim leaders, and the Republican President. Using political authority, legitimacy, and charisma, actors who opposed the policy tried to block the policy development process. Researchers' initial disregard of the Ministry of Health in the research process of MC and the missing civil society advocacy arm contributed to delays in the policy development process. This study underscores the importance of securing top political leadership as well as key implementing partners' support in policy development processes

International Organisations and Transnational Education Policy

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Moutsios, Stavros

2009-01-01

This paper focuses on the World Bank/IMF (International Monetary Fund), the OECD (Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development) and the WTO (World Trade Organisation) as institutions of transnational policy making. They are all at present making education policies which are decisively...... shaping current directions and developments in national education systems. The paper reviews the enhanced role of these institutions in producing education policies and investigates the ideological basis as well as the processes through which these policies are made. It is argued that decisions are taken...... largely through asymmetric, non-democratic and opaque procedures. It is also argued that the proposed policies purport to serve the principles of relentless economic competition. Taking into account similar policies and initiatives, the paper concludes that we are experiencing not only...

Identification of Optimal Policies in Markov Decision Processes

Czech Academy of Sciences Publication Activity Database

Sladký, Karel

46 2010, č. 3 (2010), s. 558-570 ISSN 0023-5954. [International Conference on Mathematical Methods in Economy and Industry. České Budějovice, 15.06.2009-18.06.2009] R&D Projects: GA ČR(CZ) GA402/08/0107; GA ČR GA402/07/1113 Institutional research plan: CEZ:AV0Z10750506 Keywords : finite state Markov decision processes * discounted and average costs * elimination of suboptimal policies Subject RIV: BB - Applied Statistics, Operational Research Impact factor: 0.461, year: 2010 http://library.utia.cas.cz/separaty/2010/E/sladky-identification of optimal policies in markov decision processes.pdf

'Penetrated system' or 'normal' state? An exploration of INF arms control policy, East-West economic relations, and inter-German policy in the Federal Republic of Germany, 1979-1987

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Fisher, C.S.

1991-01-01

The thesis explores policy-making processes in the Federal Republic from 1979-1987 in three areas: INF arms control policy, East-West economic relations, and inter-German policy. Each case study assesses the degree of complexity and domestic accountability in policy-making processes and evaluates the relative influence of domestic and external factors on policy choices. It argues that the trends in West German foreign policy toward greater assertiveness reflected the evolution of the FRG as a state, society, and polity. The 'maturation' of the Federal Republic has introduced greater complexity into foreign policy-making processes, and more frequent societal intervention into what heretofore were elite deliberations. Domestic actors have begun to demand greater accountability, while West German leaders, in turn, have become more assertive and confident in defending German national interests. As the FRG has gained respect and self-respect, it has begun to assume the international role that might be expected of a state of its size, population, geo-political importance, and level of political and economic development. The FRG has become a 'normal' state

Cognitive processes in anesthesiology decision making.

Science.gov (United States)

Stiegler, Marjorie Podraza; Tung, Avery

2014-01-01

The quality and safety of health care are under increasing scrutiny. Recent studies suggest that medical errors, practice variability, and guideline noncompliance are common, and that cognitive error contributes significantly to delayed or incorrect diagnoses. These observations have increased interest in understanding decision-making psychology.Many nonrational (i.e., not purely based in statistics) cognitive factors influence medical decisions and may lead to error. The most well-studied include heuristics, preferences for certainty, overconfidence, affective (emotional) influences, memory distortions, bias, and social forces such as fairness or blame.Although the extent to which such cognitive processes play a role in anesthesia practice is unknown, anesthesia care frequently requires rapid, complex decisions that are most susceptible to decision errors. This review will examine current theories of human decision behavior, identify effects of nonrational cognitive processes on decision making, describe characteristic anesthesia decisions in this context, and suggest strategies to improve decision making.

The Embargo of 1807: A Study in Policy-Making. Teacher and Student Manuals.

Science.gov (United States)

Beebe, Ralph K.

Focusing on the controversy which surrounded Thomas Jefferson and the Embargo of 1807, this social studies unit examines the numerous factors which affect presidential policy-making and leadership. The unit presents newspaper accounts of the boarding of the American frigate "Chesapeake" by the English in 1807 and enumerates the factors…

Stakeholder engagement in policy development: challenges and opportunities for human genomics.

Science.gov (United States)

Lemke, Amy A; Harris-Wai, Julie N

2015-12-01

Along with rapid advances in human genomics, policies governing genomic data and clinical technologies have proliferated. Stakeholder engagement is widely lauded as an important methodology for improving clinical, scientific, and public health policy decision making. The purpose of this paper is to examine how stakeholder engagement is used to develop policies in genomics research and public health areas, as well as to identify future priorities for conducting evidence-based stakeholder engagements. We focus on exemplars in biobanking and newborn screening to illustrate a variety of current stakeholder engagement in policy-making efforts. Each setting provides an important context for examining the methods of obtaining and integrating informed stakeholder voices into the policy-making process. While many organizations have an interest in engaging stakeholders with regard to genomic policy issues, there is broad divergence with respect to the stakeholders involved, the purpose of engagements, when stakeholders are engaged during policy development, methods of engagement, and the outcomes reported. Stakeholder engagement in genomics policy development is still at a nascent stage. Several challenges of using stakeholder engagement as a tool for genomics policy development remain, and little evidence regarding how to best incorporate stakeholder feedback into policy-making processes is currently available.

Characteristics of Teachers; A Survey Tool for Policy Making. A Descriptive Study in Liberia.

Science.gov (United States)

Reed, Rodney J.

This study examines the usefulness of survey instruments in educational policy making in Liberia, a developing country. The chapter, "Liberia, an Overview," summarizes available background information about Liberian education and introduces the complex issues facing educational planners. "Procedures," discusses the general…

Environmental policy in the European Union

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Barnes, Pamela M.; Barnes, Ian G.

2000-09-01

The development of environmental policy, including the policy making process, is analysed from an historical perspective. The authors then examine implementation and enforcement and present a critical appraisal of the impact of environment policy throughout Europe. Key issues discussed include: trade and the environment, environmental protection and the maintenance of industrial competitiveness, agriculture and the environment, energy and environmental policy, transport and the environment, tourism and the environment. (Author)

The Use of the Evidence from the Behavioral Sciences in the Organizational Decision-Making Process

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Bogdan MÎNJINĂ

2015-09-01

Full Text Available The important managerial decision-making and the development of policies, strategies, internal normative acts and procedures must be solid grounded for efficient achieving of their objectives. To this end, the evidence-based approach uses various types of evidence, a leading role having those scientific, and the critical thinking. The evidence from behavioral sciences is especially important when the decisions objectives involve behavioral elements. They also help to ensure the rationality of any decision-making process. The concern for the use of behavioral sciences research in the decision-making preceded the occurrence of evidence-based approach. The increased knowledge fund of organizations, the access to the best practices and to the relevant scientific research findings represent only the initial stages of the evidence-based approach implementation and functioning. The ensuring of their effective use calls for special skills training among staff, the creation of tools and organizational mechanisms and of a facilitating organizational culture. This paper argues the need to integrate two approaches that promote the decision-making based on scientific evidence, the evidence-based approach and the use of behavioral and social sciences in the decision-making, to potentiate the contribution of the behavioral sciences to the increasing of the decision-making efficiency. The efforts made in this paper had overall objective to prepare and facilitate the use of research evidence provided by behavioral sciences in the organizational decision-making process by presenting the main concepts and knowledge in the field and by proposing an outline procedure specifically developed.

Learning craft skills. Exploring preschoolers' craft making process

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Virpi Yliverronen

2016-06-01

Full Text Available The aim of this study was to explore a preschooler craft-making process in which 18 preschool novices cut pieces for fabric bags and designed and printed patterns to decorate the bags. Through the task, children were familiarised with a small-scale holistic craft process. The intention was to determine how preschoolers perceived, verbalised and interpreted the craft-making process and how children used bodily expressions when explaining a learned craft skill. The present study relies on the videographic method: two preschool groups’ stamp printing activities were recorded, and each child was interviewed individually. Children’s embodied expressions were particularly in focus in video analysis. The results reveal that all the children were able to sufficiently explain the making phase, however, some children compensated for missing words using bodily and facial expressions and gestures when talking about making. The results showed that children worked logically, and the skill learning phases of perceiving, making, and interpretation were revealed from their learning.

The Impact of Global Institutions on National Health HIV/AIDS Policy Making in Developing Countries

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Zhanat Mokushev

2013-09-01

Full Text Available This article explores the relationship of global institutions such as the International Monetary Fund, World Trade Organization, World Bank, and individual developing countries in social health policy making in terms of HIV and AIDS. We examine the role of IGOs and NGOs in regarding to HIV/AIDS issues then analyse the TRIPs agreement as a tool for developing countries to negotiate with International organisations in global health policy decisions.

Knowledge exchange in the Pacific: The TROPIC (Translational Research into Obesity Prevention Policies for Communities) project

Science.gov (United States)

2012-01-01

Background Policies targeting obesogenic environments and behaviours are critical to counter rising obesity rates and lifestyle-related non-communicable diseases (NCDs). Policies are likely to be most effective and enduring when they are based on the best available evidence. Evidence-informed policy making is especially challenging in countries with limited resources. The Pacific TROPIC (Translational Research for Obesity Prevention in Communities) project aims to implement and evaluate a tailored knowledge-brokering approach to evidence-informed policy making to address obesity in Fiji, a Pacific nation challenged by increasingly high rates of obesity and concomitant NCDs. Methods The TROPIC project draws on the concept of ‘knowledge exchange’ between policy developers (individuals; organisations) and researchers to deliver a knowledge broking programme that maps policy environments, conducts workshops on evidence-informed policy making, supports the development of evidence-informed policy briefs, and embeds evidence-informed policy making into organisational culture. Recruitment of government and nongovernment organisational representatives will be based on potential to: develop policies relevant to obesity, reach broad audiences, and commit to resourcing staff and building a culture that supports evidence-informed policy development. Workshops will increase awareness of both obesity and policy cycles, as well as develop participants’ skills in accessing, assessing and applying relevant evidence to policy briefs. The knowledge-broking team will then support participants to: 1) develop evidence-informed policy briefs that are both commensurate with national and organisational plans and also informed by evidence from the Pacific Obesity Prevention in Communities project and elsewhere; and 2) collaborate with participating organisations to embed evidence-informed policy making structures and processes. This knowledge broking initiative will be evaluated via

Who formulates renewable-energy policy? A Swedish example

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Uba, Katrin

2010-01-01

A broad participation by stakeholders and an extensive reliance on expert advice are often seen as preconditions for a legitimate and successfully implemented renewable energy policy. However, we have lacked systematic data for testing this argument. This article's contribution is to examine the actors who take part in the making of Swedish energy policy with the help of data on the composition of various committees of inquiry over the last twenty years (1988-2009). Swedish renewable energy policy is often characterised with words like 'pioneering' and 'forerunner', suggesting that the policy-making process in this area engages many different experts and stakeholders. Our data give only some support to this argument. Results point to a noteworthy predominance of politicians, civil servants, and representatives of state agencies within the policy-process. Producers of uranium and fossils based energy have been engaged more often than producers of renewable energy. Experts have played a prominent role, but this is mostly due to the participation of expert bureaucrats rather than of scientists. The study suggests that a better understanding of the making of energy policy, both in Sweden and elsewhere, requires greater attention to the networks and role of various state employees.

Financing Postsecondary Education: Policy Development and Decision Making. A Series of Conferences. Conference Handbook.

Science.gov (United States)

Education Commission of the States, Denver, CO.

This handbook attempts to improve policy development and decision making relative to financing postsecondary education. Sections cover: (1) descriptions and comparisons of selected reports relative to recommendations for postsecondary financing; (2) position statements and/or comments on postsecondary financing from certain cooperative sponsoring…

Youth, Privacy and Online Media: Framing the right to privacy in public policy-making

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Hasselbalch, Gry; Jørgensen, Rikke Frank

2015-01-01

debate. It presents the results of a qualitative study amongst 68 Danish high school students concerning how they perceive, negotiate and control their private sphere when using social media and builds a case for utilizing the results of studies as this to inform the ongoing policy discourses concerning...... policy making that the right to privacy is challenged in new ways in a structurally transformed online public sphere, the way in which it has been framed does not seem to acknowledge this transformation. This paper therefore argues for a reformulation of “online privacy” in the current global policy......The right to privacy is a fundamental human right defined in international and regional human rights instruments. As such it has been included as a core component of key legislature and policy proceedings throughout the brief history of the World Wide Web. While it is generally recognized in public...

Building a maintenance policy through a multi-criterion decision-making model

Science.gov (United States)

Faghihinia, Elahe; Mollaverdi, Naser

2012-08-01

A major competitive advantage of production and service systems is establishing a proper maintenance policy. Therefore, maintenance managers should make maintenance decisions that best fit their systems. Multi-criterion decision-making methods can take into account a number of aspects associated with the competitiveness factors of a system. This paper presents a multi-criterion decision-aided maintenance model with three criteria that have more influence on decision making: reliability, maintenance cost, and maintenance downtime. The Bayesian approach has been applied to confront maintenance failure data shortage. Therefore, the model seeks to make the best compromise between these three criteria and establish replacement intervals using Preference Ranking Organization Method for Enrichment Evaluation (PROMETHEE II), integrating the Bayesian approach with regard to the preference of the decision maker to the problem. Finally, using a numerical application, the model has been illustrated, and for a visual realization and an illustrative sensitivity analysis, PROMETHEE GAIA (the visual interactive module) has been used. Use of PROMETHEE II and PROMETHEE GAIA has been made with Decision Lab software. A sensitivity analysis has been made to verify the robustness of certain parameters of the model.

The Policy Formation Process: A Conceptual Framework for Analysis. Ph.D. Thesis

Science.gov (United States)

Fuchs, E. F.

1972-01-01

A conceptual framework for analysis which is intended to assist both the policy analyst and the policy researcher in their empirical investigations into policy phenomena is developed. It is meant to facilitate understanding of the policy formation process by focusing attention on the basic forces shaping the main features of policy formation as a dynamic social-political-organizational process. The primary contribution of the framework lies in its capability to suggest useful ways of looking at policy formation reality. It provides the analyst and the researcher with a group of indicators which suggest where to look and what to look for when attempting to analyze and understand the mix of forces which energize, maintain, and direct the operation of strategic level policy systems. The framework also highlights interconnections, linkage, and relational patterns between and among important variables. The framework offers an integrated set of conceptual tools which facilitate understanding of and research on the complex and dynamic set of variables which interact in any major strategic level policy formation process.

Regional industrial policy and the new agenda for growth

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Gjerding, Allan Næs

2005-01-01

Even though the structural reform of the Danish administrative three-tier system in general implies a centralisation of the policy decision-making process, centralisation may not apply entirely to the field of industrial policy as the result of the implementation of the new national law on indust......Even though the structural reform of the Danish administrative three-tier system in general implies a centralisation of the policy decision-making process, centralisation may not apply entirely to the field of industrial policy as the result of the implementation of the new national law...... on industrial development. Describing the implications of the law in terms of the changes of the regional setting for industrial policy and the ensuing focus on a new agenda for growth, the paper devotes its attention to the region of North Jutland that has been designated as a test case for the organisational...... coalitions rather than centralising the decision mak-ing power. However, since the political bodies involved in industrial policy will become fewer, more powerful and more focussed on industrial policy, goal conflicts are likely to oc-cur in the future....

Towards improved policy processes for promoting innovation in renewable electricity technologies in the UK

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Foxon, T.J.; Pearson, P.J.G.

2007-01-01

This paper analyses recent, current and potential future relations between policy processes and substantive outcomes in UK low carbon innovation policy, focussing on policies relating to renewable electricity generation technologies. It examines the development of policy processes relating to the adoption and implementation of the Renewables Obligation and how these may affect the current and likely future success of the Obligation in promoting low carbon innovation. It examines the new policy and institutional processes put in place in the 2003 Energy White Paper and argues that these are unlikely to provide the strategic long-term framework needed to realise the ambitious goals for UK energy policy set out in the White Paper. Finally, it outlines some suggestions for further development of policy processes to facilitate improved delivery of these goals, based on guiding principles for sustainable innovation policy processes, developed by the authors and their colleagues

Policy issues arising from the judgmental nature of risk-based decision making

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Mcquaid, J.

1998-01-01

The regulation of risks is pervaded by the need to exercise judgement. The scientific basis for characterising risk problems and judging the effectiveness of possible controls is often uncertain, lacking information and understanding of the processes involved. However, the risk management measures adopted will not be determined by science alone, but must reflect sociological, economic, ethical and political considerations. These in turn are in themselves judgmental, informed to a greater or lesser extent by empirical evidence and influenced by the prevailing climate of public opinion. The overall process provides a rich source of confusion for the public as to the status of the eventual policy decision, with important implications for the manner in which the process of communication is managed. The important role of judgement, as distinct from formal analysis, at every stage needs to be reflected in risk communication. The engagement of those who bear the risks, and of other interested parties in the exercise of judgement must be tailored to nature of the judgement and to the decision to be made. Appropriate procedures need to be adopted to enable that engagement. Although the issue has come into particular prominence in recent years, it is not a new phenomenon. The presentation will describe the arrangements that have been developed in the UK over the past 25 years, and will be illustrated by some specific examples of risk decision making on issues of high public concern. (author)

Are Sexual and Reproductive Health Policies Designed for All?

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Ivanova, Olena; Dræbel, Tania; Tellier, Siri

2015-01-01

BACKGROUND: Health policies are important instruments for improving population health. However, experience suggests that policies designed for the whole population do not always benefit the most vulnerable. Participation of vulnerable groups in the policy-making process provides an opportunity fo...

Assessing the influence of knowledge translation platforms on health system policy processes to achieve the health millennium development goals in Cameroon and Uganda: a comparative case study.

Science.gov (United States)

Ongolo-Zogo, Pierre; Lavis, John N; Tomson, Goran; Sewankambo, Nelson K

2018-05-01

There is a scarcity of empirical data on the influence of initiatives supporting evidence-informed health system policy-making (EIHSP), such as the knowledge translation platforms (KTPs) operating in Africa. To assess whether and how two KTPs housed in government-affiliated institutions in Cameroon and Uganda have influenced: (1) health system policy-making processes and decisions aiming at supporting achievement of the health millennium development goals (MDGs); and (2) the general climate for EIHSP. We conducted an embedded comparative case study of four policy processes in which Evidence Informed Policy Network (EVIPNet) Cameroon and Regional East African Community Health Policy Initiative (REACH-PI) Uganda were involved between 2009 and 2011. We combined a documentary review and semi structured interviews of 54 stakeholders. A framework-guided thematic analysis, inspired by scholarship in health policy analysis and knowledge utilization was used. EVIPNet Cameroon and REACH-PI Uganda have had direct influence on health system policy decisions. The coproduction of evidence briefs combined with tacit knowledge gathered during inclusive evidence-informed stakeholder dialogues helped to reframe health system problems, unveil sources of conflicts, open grounds for consensus and align viable and affordable options for achieving the health MDGs thus leading to decisions. New policy issue networks have emerged. The KTPs indirectly influenced health policy processes by changing how interests interact with one another and by introducing safe-harbour deliberations and intersected with contextual ideational factors by improving access to policy-relevant evidence. KTPs were perceived as change agents with positive impact on the understanding, acceptance and adoption of EIHSP because of their complementary work in relation to capacity building, rapid evidence syntheses and clearinghouse of policy-relevant evidence. This embedded case study illustrates how two KTPs influenced

Soft regulations in pharmaceutical policy making : an overview of current approaches and their consequences

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Wettermark, B.; Godman, B.; Jacobsson, B.; Haaijer-Ruskamp, F.M.

2009-01-01

It is a challenge to improve public health within limited resources. Pharmaceutical policy making is a greater challenge due to conflicting interests between key stakeholder groups. This paper reviews current and future strategies to help improve the quality and efficiency of care, with special

Making Sense of Music Education Policy

Science.gov (United States)

Forari, Antonia

2007-01-01

This article looks at the way music education policy is realised in three curriculum contexts: the formation of the official music curriculum, its implementation by music teachers and its reception by students. Working from within the field of education policy studies, I have collected data on music education in Cyprus in order to explore what…

Psychosocial Risks: Is Risk Management Strategic Enough in Business and Policy Making?

Science.gov (United States)

Langenhan, Melissa K.; Leka, Stavroula; Jain, Aditya

2013-01-01

Background In times of continuous change and volatile markets, organizations are increasingly characterized by downsizing, work intensification, and resource rationalization. This has resulted in diversification, and the emergence of new risks within the field of occupational health and safety, with an important impact. This paper focuses on one such type of risk in the modern workplace—psychosocial risks. The current study aimed to explore stakeholder perspectives, regarding the extent to which psychosocial risks are incorporated into strategic risk management practices, at both the business and policy level. Methods Semi-structured interviews were conducted with 14 professionals, representing employer, expert, policy maker, and trade union stakeholder perspectives. Results It was found that the majority of organizations do not sufficiently, if at all, understand and incorporate psychosocial risks into strategic decision making, whereby the key barrier related to practical difficulties of not knowing how to manage psychosocial risks adequately. Conclusion The study found that there is a need to close the gap between policy and practice on a number of levels. Future recommendations comprise a policy framework and infrastructure underpinned by educational initiatives, partnerships, and networks to drive a shift in attitudes toward recognizing the duality of the concept of risk (including both potential negative and positive outcomes) and moving beyond simple regulatory compliance. PMID:23961331

Psychosocial risks: is risk management strategic enough in business and policy making?

Science.gov (United States)

Langenhan, Melissa K; Leka, Stavroula; Jain, Aditya

2013-06-01

In times of continuous change and volatile markets, organizations are increasingly characterized by downsizing, work intensification, and resource rationalization. This has resulted in diversification, and the emergence of new risks within the field of occupational health and safety, with an important impact. This paper focuses on one such type of risk in the modern workplace-psychosocial risks. The current study aimed to explore stakeholder perspectives, regarding the extent to which psychosocial risks are incorporated into strategic risk management practices, at both the business and policy level. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with 14 professionals, representing employer, expert, policy maker, and trade union stakeholder perspectives. It was found that the majority of organizations do not sufficiently, if at all, understand and incorporate psychosocial risks into strategic decision making, whereby the key barrier related to practical difficulties of not knowing how to manage psychosocial risks adequately. The study found that there is a need to close the gap between policy and practice on a number of levels. Future recommendations comprise a policy framework and infrastructure underpinned by educational initiatives, partnerships, and networks to drive a shift in attitudes toward recognizing the duality of the concept of risk (including both potential negative and positive outcomes) and moving beyond simple regulatory compliance.

Role of ideas and ideologies in evidence-based health policy.

Science.gov (United States)

Prinja, S

2010-01-01

Policy making in health is largely thought to be driven by three 'I's namely ideas, interests and institutions. Recent years have seen a shift in approach with increasing reliance being placed on role of evidence for policy making. The present article ascertains the role of ideas and ideologies in shaping evidence which is used to aid in policy decisions. The article discusses different theories of research-policy interface and the relative freedom of research-based evidence from the influence of ideas. Examples from developed and developed countries are cited to illustrate the contentions made. The article highlights the complexity of the process of evidence-based policy making, in a world driven by existing political, social and cultural ideologies. Consideration of this knowledge is paramount where more efforts are being made to bridge the gap between the 'two worlds' of researchers and policy makers to make evidence-based policy as also for policy analysts.

Experiences with a dialogue process between policy makers and global modellers

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Van Daalen, C.E.; Thissen, W.A.H.; Berk, M.M.

1998-01-01

Between 1995 and 1997, a series of five workshops, henceforth called the Delft process, took place with the aim to explore and enhance use of the IMAGE 2 model to support international climate negotiations. The IMAGE 2 model is a multi-disciplinary, integrated model designed to simulate the dynamics of the global society-biosphere-climate system. The workshops facilitated a dialogue between policy makers and scientists involved in the development and applications of the IMAGE 2 model. In this way, policy makers would benefit from the policy makers on how to improve the policy relevance of the IMAGE 2 model. The evaluation at the end of the workshop series showed that participants have used information from the workshop at international negotiation conferences and in preparation of policy documents. The process shows that creating a forum for direct science-policy interactions can be very useful and productive, and has confirmed the importance of creating an open and constructive atmosphere between policy makers, and between policy makers and analysts, to enhance utilisation of scientific knowledge. The authors' analysis also suggests that many factors have to be 'in the right position at the right time and place' to achieve such a success, and that it is difficult to prevent the occurrence of biases in processes like this. 33 refs

Penetrated system' or normal' state An exploration of INF arms control policy, East-West economic relations, and inter-German policy in the Federal Republic of Germany, 1979-1987

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Fisher, C.S.

1991-01-01

The thesis explores policy-making processes in the Federal Republic from 1979-1987 in three areas: INF arms control policy, East-West economic relations, and inter-German policy. Each case study assesses the degree of complexity and domestic accountability in policy-making processes and evaluates the relative influence of domestic and external factors on policy choices. It argues that the trends in West German foreign policy toward greater assertiveness reflected the evolution of the FRG as a state, society, and polity. The maturation' of the Federal Republic has introduced greater complexity into foreign policy-making processes, and more frequent societal intervention into what heretofore were elite deliberations. Domestic actors have begun to demand greater accountability, while West German leaders, in turn, have become more assertive and confident in defending German national interests. As the FRG has gained respect and self-respect, it has begun to assume the international role that might be expected of a state of its size, population, geo-political importance, and level of political and economic development. The FRG has become a normal' state.

National oil companies and state actors : an assessment of the role of Petronas and ONGC in the foreign policy decision-making process of Malaysia and India using the example of overseas investments in Sudan and South Sudan

OpenAIRE

Steinecke, Tim

2015-01-01

The thesis addresses the role of national oil companies and their overseas engagement in the foreign policy decision-making process of states. Over the past 40 years, national oil companies have gained importance in the international oil industry and currently control around 90 per cent of the global oil reserves. A number of political and economic factors – depleting domestic reserves, economic growth – have resulted in an increasing expansion of Asian national oil companies to Africa. Throu...

The Migrant Making Organization Gender, Labor and Agency in a New Migration Process

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Marit Aure

2011-04-01

Full Text Available Labor migration is increasing in scale and diversity and is characterized by a new feminization. Despite these transformations, a common theme remains unchanged: immigrant workers are employed in low-skilled jobs. This study of labor migration from Russia to Norway analyzes the establishment of a new migration process, who was involved in this migration, and why this migration from Russia to Norway became dominated by women. It also discusses the situation of the Russian workers in the Norwegian labor market. Analyses of the recruitment processes show how gender, sexuality, age, marital status, education, and motherhood construct women as suitable migrants and how cultural processes combined with immigration policy restricts the migrants and contributes to deskilling and ethnic/national subordination. Focusing on the situated migrants’ contextual practices acknowledges the migrants’ willingness to seek challenges, intra- and inter-household relations, the costs involved and individual strategies and goals. This prevents the victimizing of migrants’ experiences inherent in the “othering” of migrants and adds to the understanding of migrants’ decision-making processes.

Avian Influenza Policy Analysis | CRDI - Centre de recherches pour ...

International Development Research Centre (IDRC) Digital Library (Canada)

This project aims to enhance understanding of national policy-making process with respect to two critical issues: poultry vaccination and antiviral drugs for humans. Researchers will examine the content, context and process of antiviral drug and poultry vaccination policies in Indonesia, Thailand and Viet Nam, comparing ...

Proposal for an integrated risk informed decision making process for German regulators

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Einarsson, Svante; Wielenberg, Andreas

2013-01-01

Regulatory decisions for German nuclear power plants (NPP) have traditionally been based on deterministic safety analyses. However, the IRRS-Mission of IAEA in 2008 proposed, among others, in 'Suggestion 25' to develop a national policy 'on the use of risk insights in the regulatory framework and decision making'. Consequently, the German Federal Ministry for the Environment, Nature Conservation and Nuclear Safety (BMU) launched a project with the goal of developing a proposal for a uniform federal approach on using risk information in decision making. To this end, the state of the application of probabilistic and risk informed methods has been investigated both on an international and a national level. On the international level, the concept of Integrated Risk Informed Decision Making (IRIDM) has been defined in INSAG-25. It is a structured process, in which all knowledge and requirements relevant to the issue in question are to be considered in a decision. Such knowledge and other requirements are e.g. deterministic and probabilistic safety analyses, regulatory requirements and other applicable findings (including cost-benefit analyses). The IRIDM concept according to INSAG-25 is the cornerstone of the proposal for a uniform federal German approach for IRIDM in the regulatory framework for nuclear installations in Germany. (orig.)

Supporting Biotechnology Regulatory Policy Processes in Southeast ...

International Development Research Centre (IDRC) Digital Library (Canada)

Supporting Biotechnology Regulatory Policy Processes in Southeast Asia. Biotechnology innovations or bio-innovations can provide solutions to problems associated with food security, poverty and environmental degradation. Innovations such as genetically engineered (GE) crops can increase food production and ...

Towards a Transparent, Credible, Evidence-Based Decision-Making Process of New Drug Listing on the Hong Kong Hospital Authority Drug Formulary: Challenges and Suggestions.

Science.gov (United States)

Wong, Carlos King Ho; Wu, Olivia; Cheung, Bernard M Y

2018-02-01

The aim of this article is to describe the process, evaluation criteria, and possible outcomes of decision-making for new drugs listed in the Hong Kong Hospital Authority Drug Formulary in comparison to the health technology assessment (HTA) policy overseas. Details of decision-making processes including the new drug listing submission, Drug Advisory Committee (DAC) meeting, and procedures prior to and following the meeting, were extracted from the official Hong Kong Hospital Authority drug formulary management website and manual. Publicly-available information related to the new drug decision-making process for five HTA agencies [the National Institute of Health and Care Excellence (NICE), the Scottish Medicines Consortium (SMC), the Australia Pharmaceutical Benefits Advisory Committee (PBAC), the Canadian Agency for Drugs and Technologies in Health (CADTH), and the New Zealand Pharmaceutical Management Agency (PHARMAC)] were reviewed and retrieved from official documents from public domains. The DAC is in charge of systemically and critically appraising new drugs before they are listed on the formulary, reviewing submitted applications, and making the decision to list the drug based on scientific evidence to which safety, efficacy, and cost-effectiveness are the primary considerations. When compared with other HTA agencies, transparency of the decision-making process of the DAC, the relevance of clinical and health economic evidence, and the lack of health economic and methodological input of submissions are the major challenges to the new-drug listing policy in Hong Kong. Despite these challenges, this review provides suggestions for the establishment of a more transparent, credible, and evidence-based decision-making process in the Hong Kong Hospital Authority Drug Formulary. Proposals for improvement in the listing of new drugs in the formulary should be a priority of healthcare reforms.

Foxes, hedgehogs, and greenhouse governance: Knowledge, uncertainty, and international policy-making in a warming World

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Michel, David

2009-01-01

Global environmental challenges like greenhouse warming are characterized by profound uncertainties about the workings of complex systems, high stakes as to the costs and benefits of various possible actions, and important differences concerning the values that should shape public choices, confounding ready resolution by conventional decision-making procedures. So-called adaptive or reflexive governance strategies provide policy-makers an alternative framework for tackling the greenhouse problem. Adaptive governance employs deliberate experimentation and continuous learning-by-doing to test and adjust ongoing policy responses. Yet pursuing such approaches poses particular challenges to global climate cooperation. In an increasingly interdependent world, coordinating multiple parties experimentally adopting different climate measures could prove contentious. Unequivocal policy lessons may be difficult to draw and apply. Timely collective revisions to ongoing policies may prove more difficult still to define and agree. Advocates must engage these issues directly and develop means of addressing them if adaptive governance approaches are to allow policy-makers to formulate better strategies for combating climate change. (author)

New vaccine adoption: qualitative study of national decision-making processes in seven low- and middle-income countries.

Science.gov (United States)

Burchett, H E D; Mounier-Jack, S; Griffiths, U K; Biellik, R; Ongolo-Zogo, P; Chavez, E; Sarma, H; Uddin, J; Konate, M; Kitaw, Y; Molla, M; Wakasiaka, S; Gilson, L; Mills, A

2012-05-01

As more new and improved vaccines become available, decisions on which to adopt into routine programmes become more frequent and complex. This qualitative study aimed to explore processes of national decision-making around new vaccine adoption and to understand the factors affecting these decisions. Ninety-five key informant interviews were conducted in seven low- and middle-income countries: Bangladesh, Cameroon, Ethiopia, Guatemala, Kenya, Mali and South Africa. Framework analysis was used to explore issues both within and between countries. The underlying driver for adoption decisions in GAVI-eligible countries was the desire to seize GAVI windows of opportunity for funding. By contrast, in South Africa and Guatemala, non-GAVI-eligible countries, the decision-making process was more rooted in internal and political dynamics. Decisions to adopt new vaccines are, by nature, political. The main drivers influencing decisions were the availability of funding, political prioritization of vaccination or the vaccine-preventable disease and the burden of disease. Other factors, such as financial sustainability and feasibility of introduction, were not as influential. Although GAVI procedures have established more formality in decision-making, they did not always result in consideration of all relevant factors. As familiarity with GAVI procedures increased, questioning by decision-makers about whether a country should apply for funding appeared to have diminished. This is one of the first studies to empirically investigate national processes of new vaccine adoption decision-making using rigorous methods. Our findings show that previous decision-making frameworks (developed to guide or study national decision-making) bore little resemblance to real-life decisions, which were dominated by domestic politics. Understanding the realities of vaccine policy decision-making is critical for developing strategies to encourage improved evidence-informed decision-making about new

Scientific Literacy for Democratic Decision-Making

Science.gov (United States)

Yacoubian, Hagop A.

2018-01-01

Scientifically literate citizens must be able to engage in making decisions on science-based social issues. In this paper, I start by showing examples of science curricula and policy documents that capitalise the importance of engaging future citizens in decision-making processes whether at the personal or at the societal levels. I elucidate the…

Positioning women's and children's health in African union policy-making: a policy analysis

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Toure Kadidiatou

2012-02-01

Full Text Available Abstract Background With limited time to achieve the Millennium Development Goals, progress towards improving women's and children's health needs to be accelerated. With Africa accounting for over half of the world's maternal and child deaths, the African Union (AU has a critical role in prioritizing related policies and catalysing required investments and action. In this paper, the authors assess the evolution of African Union policies related to women's and children's health, and analyze how these policies are prioritized and framed. Methods The main method used in this policy analysis was a document review of all African Union policies developed from 1963 to 2010, focusing specifically on policies that explicitly mention health. The findings from this document review were discussed with key actors to identify policy implications. Results With over 220 policies in total, peace and security is the most common AU policy topic. Social affairs and other development issues became more prominent in the 1990s. The number of policies that mentioned health rose steadily over the years (with 1 policy mentioning health in 1963 to 7 in 2010. This change was catalysed by factors such as: a favourable shift in AU priorities and systems towards development issues, spurred by the transition from the Organization of African Unity to the African Union; the mandate of the African Commission on Human and People's Rights; health-related advocacy initiatives, such as the Campaign for the Accelerated Reduction of Maternal Mortality in Africa (CARMMA; action and accountability requirements arising from international human rights treaties, the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs, and new health-funding mechanisms, such as the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria. Prioritization of women's and children's health issues in AU policies has been framed primarily by human rights, advocacy and accountability considerations, more by economic and health frames

Positioning women's and children's health in African union policy-making: a policy analysis.

Science.gov (United States)

Toure, Kadidiatou; Sankore, Rotimi; Kuruvilla, Shyama; Scolaro, Elisa; Bustreo, Flavia; Osotimehin, Babatunde

2012-02-16

With limited time to achieve the Millennium Development Goals, progress towards improving women's and children's health needs to be accelerated. With Africa accounting for over half of the world's maternal and child deaths, the African Union (AU) has a critical role in prioritizing related policies and catalysing required investments and action. In this paper, the authors assess the evolution of African Union policies related to women's and children's health, and analyze how these policies are prioritized and framed. The main method used in this policy analysis was a document review of all African Union policies developed from 1963 to 2010, focusing specifically on policies that explicitly mention health. The findings from this document review were discussed with key actors to identify policy implications. With over 220 policies in total, peace and security is the most common AU policy topic. Social affairs and other development issues became more prominent in the 1990s. The number of policies that mentioned health rose steadily over the years (with 1 policy mentioning health in 1963 to 7 in 2010).This change was catalysed by factors such as: a favourable shift in AU priorities and systems towards development issues, spurred by the transition from the Organization of African Unity to the African Union; the mandate of the African Commission on Human and People's Rights; health-related advocacy initiatives, such as the Campaign for the Accelerated Reduction of Maternal Mortality in Africa (CARMMA); action and accountability requirements arising from international human rights treaties, the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs), and new health-funding mechanisms, such as the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria.Prioritization of women's and children's health issues in AU policies has been framed primarily by human rights, advocacy and accountability considerations, more by economic and health frames looking at investments and impact. AU policies related

The Capacity to Integrate and Deal with Environmental Issues in Local Transport Policy and Planning

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Hansen, Carsten Jahn

2002-01-01

The article identifies and discuss the capacity to integrate and deal with environmental issues in local transport policy-making and planning processes.......The article identifies and discuss the capacity to integrate and deal with environmental issues in local transport policy-making and planning processes....

Europeanization in VET Policy as a Process of Reshaping the Educational Space

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Krista Loogma

2016-04-01

Full Text Available The EU represents a transforming educational space, where national and supranational boundaries in educational governance are becoming blurred. The EU has become an  important actor in educational governance and an important arena for policy learning and transfer. This paper explores how the process of reshaping the educational space manifests itself in the process of the Europeanization of VET policy in the case of Estonia. In Estonia, this process was followed by the growth of executive VET institutions and has developed from rather uncritical initial policy transfer to more active learning from the EU, although conformism can still be seen in cases of the introduction of standardizing policy tools.

Human cloning laws, human dignity and the poverty of the policy making dialogue.

Science.gov (United States)

Caulfield, Timothy

2003-07-29

The regulation of human cloning continues to be a significant national and international policy issue. Despite years of intense academic and public debate, there is little clarity as to the philosophical foundations for many of the emerging policy choices. The notion of "human dignity" is commonly used to justify cloning laws. The basis for this justification is that reproductive human cloning necessarily infringes notions of human dignity. The author critiques one of the most commonly used ethical justifications for cloning laws - the idea that reproductive cloning necessarily infringes notions of human dignity. He points out that there is, in fact, little consensus on point and that the counter arguments are rarely reflected in formal policy. Rarely do domestic or international instruments provide an operational definition of human dignity and there is rarely an explanation of how, exactly, dignity is infringed in the context reproductive cloning. It is the author's position that the lack of thoughtful analysis of the role of human dignity hurts the broader public debate about reproductive cloning, trivializes the value of human dignity as a normative principle and makes it nearly impossible to critique the actual justifications behind many of the proposed policies.