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Abstract Government-based policy labs have established themselves across the Canadian policy landscape. This article argues these labs contribute to public value management. We begin by reviewing the public value management [...]

Introduction After Canada committed to the 2016 Paris climate agreement, the federal and provincial governments announced the Pan-Canadian Framework on Clean Growth and Climate Change. This broad governance document outlined [...]

In scarcely a decade, a "labification" phenomenon has taken hold globally. The search for innovative policy solutions for social problems is embedded within scientific experimental‐like structures often referred to as policy innovation labs (PILs). With the rapid technological changes (e.g., big data, artificial intelligence), data‐based PILs have emerged. Despite the growing importance of these PILs in the policy process, very little is known about them and how they contribute to policy outcomes. This study analyzes 133 data‐based PILs and examines their contribution to policy capacity. We adopt policy capacity framework to investigate how data‐based PILs contribute to enhancing analytical, organization, and political policy capacity. Many data‐based PILs are located in Western Europe and North America, initiated by governments, and employ multi‐domain administrative data with advanced technologies. Our analysis finds that data‐based PILs enhance analytical and operational policy capacity at the individual, organizational and systemic levels but do little to enhance political capacity. It is this deficit that we suggest possible strategies for data‐based PILs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Despite all the attention paid to the topic of policy analysis, the actual work of policy analysts in government is little investigated and little known (Colebatch 2005, 2006a, 2006b; Colebatch and Radin 2006). This is true not only at the national level, which has been the subject of most existing studies, but especially at the sub-national level, where substantial powers rest. In order to address this gap, this article presents evidence from the first, large-scale set of surveys of Canadian federal, provincial and territorial policy analysts, examining the similarities and differences in their policy work. While many similarities exist in areas related to overall governance trends, such as consultation and participation work overtaking more technical policy evaluations, there are significant differences in the nature of policy work and attitudes, which are linked to the lesser autonomy from political masters experienced by sub-national analysts. The results suggest that sub-national policy work must be studied carefully in its own right. Sommaire : Malgre toute l'attention accordee a l'analyse des politiques, le travail des analystes de politiques au gouvernement n'a ete que tres peu etudie et est peu connu (Colebatch 2005, 2006a, 2006b; Colebatch et Radin 2006). Cela est vrai non seulement a l'echelle nationale, ce qui a fait l'objet de la plupart des etudes existantes, mais plus particulierement a l'echelle infranationale, ou les gouvernements detiennent d'enormes pouvoirs. Pour remedier a cette lacune, cet article presente des temoignages de la premiere serie de sondages a grande echelle menee aupres des analystes de politiques federaux, provinciaux et territoriaux du Canada, qui examine les similarites et les differences dans le travail d'eleaboration des politiques. Alors que de nombreuses similarites existent dans les domaines lies aux tendances de gouvernance en general, comme le travail de consultation et de participation depassant des evaluations de politiques plus techniques, il existe egalement d'importantes differences dans la nature du travail d'elaboration de politiques et dans les attitudes, qui sont liees au fait que les analystes infranationaux jouissent de moins d'autonomie que les maitres politiques. Les resultats laissent entendre que les etudes de politiques a l'echelle infranationale doivent etre examinees attentivement en tant que tel., Introduction: Gaps in knowledge of policy work in multi-level states Despite having been a matter of academic attention for over half a century, the working world of policy analysts is [...]

Thirty-five years ago Arnold Meltsner observed that professional policy analysts in the U.S. government undertook several roles in the policymaking process, the most common of which involved 'technical' information processing while others were more 'political' in nature. Although still prescient, more recent empirical studies of professional policy work have found little evidence of the predominance of technicians in the ranks of analysts employed in public policy bureaucracies. However, only very weak and partial information exists on the situation in most countries, and descriptions of the nature of policy work often remain primarily normative and lacking in empirical referents. This article reexamines the duties and nature of contemporary professional policy analysis in the Canadian bureaucracy. It reveals that contemporary policy work is constituted by more complex and multisided practices than Meltsner and his followers described. These findings are significant for those wishing to understand, and improve, the nature of policy work in contemporary government. Keywords: Public Policy, Theories of Public Policy, Public Administration, Bureaucracy, Policy Analysis, Policy Analytical Capacity. Hace treinta y cinco anos Arnold Meltsner observo que los analistas legislativos profesionales en el gobierno de los Estados Unidos se encargan de diferentes tareas en el proceso legislativo, el mas comun involucraba el proceso de informacion 'tecnica' mientras que otros eran de una naturaleza mas 'politica'. Estudios empiricos mas recientes del trabajo profesional legislativo han encontrado poca evidencia del predominio de tecnicos en puestos analiticos en las burocracias del sector publico. Sin embargo, existe tenue y parcial informacion sobre la situacion de la mayoria de los paises y la descripcion de la naturaleza del trabajo legislativo permanece normativa y carente de referentes empiricos. Este estudio reexamina los deberes y naturaleza de analistas legislativos profesionales en la burocracia Canadiense y revela que el trabajo legislativo contemporaneo esta constituido por practicas mas complejas de las que Meltsner y sus partidarios describieron. Estos hallazgos son significativos para aquellos que deseen comprender y mejorar la naturaleza del trabajo legislativo en la gobernabilidad contemporanea., Studying the Nature of Policy Work Professional policy work in government is a difficult subject to categorize and define (Colebatch, Hoppe, and Noordegraaf 2011). At its heart, policy analysis is [...]

The idea of 'think tanks' is one of the oldest in the policy sciences. Although the topic has been studied for decades, recent works dealing with advocacy groups, policy and behavioural insight labs and into the activities of think tanks themselves have led to discontent with the definitions used in the field, and especially with the way the term may obfuscate rather than clarify important distinctions between the different kinds of knowledge‐based policy influence organisations (KBPIO) operating in the contemporary policy landscape. In this paper, we examine the traditional and current definitions of think tanks utilised in the discipline and point out their weaknesses. We then develop a new framework to better capture the variation in the kinds of knowledge‐based organisations which operate in many sectors. We examine and critique popular academic definitions of think tanks. An additional challenge has been the rise of new kinds of knowledge‐based policy influence organizations (KBPIO) across the policy advice landscape (e.g., research institutes, policy labs, and behavioural insight teams). A diagnostic framework is introduced that captures these distinctions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Both policy entrepreneur and policy implementer play critical roles in the policy process. Little attention has been devoted to how the identity overlap may influence policy change. This paper addresses this gap using a case-study approach and explores the vertical-greening policymaking in Shanghai (1992–2016), China. Three conclusions are advanced. The identity of policy implementer prompts entrepreneurial tactics to remove the implementation barriers. The discrepancy in perception of the policy-goal ambiguity between the policy implementer and policymaker may compromise policy adoption. The dual identity does not prevent the policy entrepreneur from accepting compromises in order to have the policy passed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]