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Article
Publication date: 19 August 2021

Brigid Freeman, Peodair Leihy, Ian Teo and Dong Kwang Kim

This study aims to explain the primacy that rapid, centralised decision-making gained in higher education institutions during the COVID-19 pandemic, with a particular focus on…

Abstract

Purpose

This study aims to explain the primacy that rapid, centralised decision-making gained in higher education institutions during the COVID-19 pandemic, with a particular focus on Australian universities.

Design/methodology/approach

This paper draws on discussions regarding policy problems of an international, purpose-convened on-line policy network involving over 100 registrations from multiple countries. It analyses emerging institutional policy governance texts and documents shared between network participants, applies policy science literature regarding traditional institutional policy-making routines and rapid decision-making, and references media reportage from 2020. The paper traces how higher education institutions rapidly adjusted to pandemic conditions and largely on-line operations.

Findings

The study finds that higher education institutions responded to the COVID-19 crisis by operationalising emergency management plans and introducing rapid, centralised decision-making to transition to remote modes of operation, learning and research under state-imposed emergency conditions. It highlights the need to ensure robust governance models recognising the ascendance of emergency decision-making and small-p policies in such circumstances, notwithstanding longstanding traditions of extended collegial policy-making routines for big-P (institutional) Policy. The pandemic highlighted practice and policy problems subject to rapid reform and forced institutions to clarify the relationship between emergency planning and decision-making, quality and institutional policy.

Practical implications

In covering a range of institutional responses, the study advances the possibility of institutions planning better for unexpected, punctuated policy shifts during an emergency through the incorporation of rapid decision-making in traditionally collegial environments. At the same time, the paper cautions against the normalisation of such processes. The study also highlights key practices and policies that require urgent reconsideration in an emergency. The study is designed as a self-contained and freestanding narrative to inform responses to future emergencies by roundly addressing the particularities of the 2020 phase of the COVID-19 pandemic as it affected higher education.

Originality/value

There is only limited research on policy-making in higher education institutions. This research offers an original contribution on institutional policy-making during a prolonged emergency that deeply changed higher education institution’s governance, operations and outlook. Particularly significant is the synthesis of experiences from a wide range of sector personnel, documenting punctuated policy shifts in policy governance (meta-policy), institutional policy-making routines and quality assurance actions under great pressure. This paper is substantially developed from a paper given at the Association for Tertiary Education Management Institutional Policy Seminar, 26th October 2020.

Details

Quality Assurance in Education, vol. 29 no. 4
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0968-4883

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 15 February 2011

Farhana Sajjad, Habin Lee, Muhammad Kamal and Zahir Irani

This paper aims to gauge the feasibility of workflow technology as a potential solution to facilitating citizen participation in policymaking processes. The gaps in and future…

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Abstract

Purpose

This paper aims to gauge the feasibility of workflow technology as a potential solution to facilitating citizen participation in policymaking processes. The gaps in and future direction of a current workflow models to be used to automate policymaking processes are to be discussed.

Design/methodology/approach

A thorough review on the principles and philosophies of policymaking processes and process models is performed to extract the core constructs of the processes. This follows critical analysis of existing workflow models to identify gaps of the models to be used to support policymaking processes. An e‐participation perspective is also taken to identify additional modelling constructs that are required when a large number of citizens is involved in a workflow task for opinion gathering.

Findings

While workflow technology has been adopted in the public sector, the use of the technology is mostly limited to supporting administrative business processes, leaving the potential to automate policymaking processes. There are some studies that take a life‐cycle approach for policy making and they can be the starting‐point of applying workflow technology to policymaking process automation. The application of workflow technology to policymaking processes is expected to facilitate the participation of citizens in these processes through the automatic delivery of relevant policy issues into citizens' lives. A new type of workflow model is required to reflect factors specific to the public sector, including rules for role resolution, considering large‐scale citizen participation and modelling constructs to penetrate into citizens' everyday lives for proactive stimulation for e‐participation.

Research limitations/implications

The analysis is based on a literature review, and empirical data collection could complement the analysis results of the paper. This is included in the future research agenda.

Practical implications

The findings provide policy makers with a stimulus for adopting workflow technology in the public sector. Gap analysis and future directions of a workflow model for policymaking processes are expected to be informative for any practitioners who are intending to develop workflow management systems in the public sector.

Originality/value

This paper is one of the first efforts to gauge the potential of using workflow technology from an e‐participation perspective to engage a wide spectrum of stakeholders, including citizens, in policymaking processes.

Details

Journal of Enterprise Information Management, vol. 24 no. 2
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1741-0398

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 1 January 1983

R.G.B. Fyffe

This book is a policy proposal aimed at the democratic left. It is concerned with gradual but radical reform of the socio‐economic system. An integrated policy of industrial and…

10994

Abstract

This book is a policy proposal aimed at the democratic left. It is concerned with gradual but radical reform of the socio‐economic system. An integrated policy of industrial and economic democracy, which centres around the establishment of a new sector of employee‐controlled enterprises, is presented. The proposal would retain the mix‐ed economy, but transform it into a much better “mixture”, with increased employee‐power in all sectors. While there is much of enduring value in our liberal western way of life, gross inequalities of wealth and power persist in our society.

Details

International Journal of Sociology and Social Policy, vol. 3 no. 1/2
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0144-333X

Keywords

Open Access
Article
Publication date: 23 July 2019

Rushdi Aziz Abdullah

The purpose of this paper is to examine empirically the relevance and impact of a number of factors on the role of local councils in local policy-making in Erbil province/Iraq.

4207

Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to examine empirically the relevance and impact of a number of factors on the role of local councils in local policy-making in Erbil province/Iraq.

Design/methodology/approach

This research theoretically based on literature review and adopted an analytical approach to clarify the related concepts through the policy cycle approach. On the empirical side, the research adopted a descriptive analysis for research questions and used statistical analysis to test the research hypotheses.

Findings

The results of the study reveal that variables of the local policy-making process, political factors, interaction patterns and the role of other actors have relevance in the role of local councils. In addition, the study concludes that technical feasibility, budgetary considerations, public opinion, coalition building, civil society, executive bodies, administrative organs and non-governmental organizations have a positive effect on the role of local councils in local policy-making in Erbil province, while interest groups have a negative effect on the role of local councils in local policy-making in Erbil province.

Practical implications

The findings and recommendations of this research can practically use by the local councils to achieve effective local policy, particularly in Erbil province/Iraq.

Originality/value

This research has interesting implications in theory and practice, as it provides several contributions to the literature, as well as the practical contribution for local councils in the local policy-making process.

Details

Review of Economics and Political Science, vol. 4 no. 4
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 2356-9980

Keywords

Book part
Publication date: 13 March 2020

Julinda Hoxha

This chapter examines factors that maximize collaboration among various stakeholders with the purpose of health policy making in Turkey. The field research reveals that policy

Abstract

This chapter examines factors that maximize collaboration among various stakeholders with the purpose of health policy making in Turkey. The field research reveals that policy networks have been formed in the sub-areas of public health, healthcare construction, and health tourism in the years between 2011 and 2015. Content analysis of 24 semi-structured interviews with policy and professional experts is conducted to assess Network Collaborative Capacity, built upon three dimensions, namely, structural, relational, and institutional. The findings reveal that networks differ in their capacity to collaborate as well as their impact on policy making resulting in three distinct models of network policy making. In the cases under investigation, network impact takes the form of (a) policy innovation through expertise sharing and evidence-based policy making associated with particularly high levels of relational capacity; (b) policy effectiveness through contract enforcement within a clear legal framework associated with particularly high levels of institutional capacity; and (c) policy coherence through organizational-knowledge-sharing and actor coordination. Findings also suggest that institutionalization in the form of network embeddedness in the surrounding political and economic environment is crucial for maintaining a collaborative momentum as well as achieving policy effectiveness at the stage of policy implementation. Based on these findings, further studies should focus on the institutionalization of policy networks, particularly in those middle-income countries such as Turkey that aim and often fail to address various policy challenges through short-lived practices of multi-stakeholder action. Finally, this study emphasizes the importance of incorporating neo-institutional approaches to network analysis.

Details

Network Policy Making within the Turkish Health Sector: Becoming Collaborative
Type: Book
ISBN: 978-1-83867-095-5

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 1 February 1983

HELEN CREIGHTON

In this article, an analytical framework that can be used by educational administrators to evaluate and modify policy development in curriculum innovation is presented. The…

Abstract

In this article, an analytical framework that can be used by educational administrators to evaluate and modify policy development in curriculum innovation is presented. The framework is applicable to curriculum innovation of varying types and magnitudes, being relevant both to small‐scale innovation at individual schools and tertiary institutions as well as to large‐scale innovation emanating from centralised educational bureaucracies. Three criteria guided the generation of the analytical framework. Firstly, the framework must be sufficiently comprehensive to permit analysis of all the major components in policy development. Secondly, it should be systematic and enable orderly examination of issues and behaviour. Thirdly, it should facilitate objectivity in analysis. In producing the framework, a considerable volume of literature in areas such as administration, politics, decision‐making and policymaking, educational planning and educational change was scrutinised. On the basis of this literature review, broad and generalised questions were generated so that diverse manifestations of policy development in curriculum innovation can be analysed. The framework derived relates to the four major interacting variables found to be operative in policy development in curriculum innovation, namely, the participants, the decision‐making and policymaking processes, the innovation and the environment. It is also designed to allow examination of the interaction of the variables.

Details

Journal of Educational Administration, vol. 21 no. 2
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0957-8234

Article
Publication date: 25 June 2019

S. Sepehr Ghazinoory, Shiva Tatina and Mehdi Goodarzi

Innovation and technology development policy-making naturally encounters numerous uncertainties and complexities, especially in developing countries, for the sake of the…

Abstract

Purpose

Innovation and technology development policy-making naturally encounters numerous uncertainties and complexities, especially in developing countries, for the sake of the prevailing prospect of decision makers focusing on hard evidences, and neglecting key and effective social ones; in this research, a context-based method by means of Q-methodology was designed to facilitate policy-making for complex systems by bridging between policy and practices (latent in viewpoints) through providing context-based evidences.

Design/methodology/approach

Due to the nature of knowledge-based systems, the performance of Innovation and Technology Development (ITD) systems is highly dependent on the standpoints of key players/stakeholders of the system. In consideration of Iran’s economy characteristics, Upstream Oil and Gas (UOG) Industry, which is one of the complex Large Technical Systems (LTS), was selected as a case study. Regarding the features of LTSs, the designed model was completed by adding hierarchical clustering method, as well as using the framework of innovation and technology learning transition model to analyze the results.

Findings

The results showed the capability of the model in providing credible evidences to inform policy-making processes.

Originality/value

This study is one of the first real experiences which used Q-method for providing evidence-based policy-making model in a complex Large Technical System, namely, Upstream Oil and Gas (UOG) Industry.

Details

Journal of Science and Technology Policy Management, vol. 11 no. 1
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 2053-4620

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 24 August 2021

Man Xu, Dan Gan, Ting Pan and Xiaohan Sun

Qualitative methods are not suitable to process high volumes of policy texts for exploring policy evolution. Therefore, it is hard to use qualitative methods to systematically…

Abstract

Purpose

Qualitative methods are not suitable to process high volumes of policy texts for exploring policy evolution. Therefore, it is hard to use qualitative methods to systematically analyze the characteristics of complex policy networks. So the authors propose a bibliometric research study for exploring policy evolution from time–agency–theme perspectives to excavate the rules and existing problems of China's medical informatization policy and to provide suggestions for formulating and improving the future medical informatization policies.

Design/methodology/approach

Initially, 615 valid samples are obtained by retrieving related China's medical informatization policy documents, and the joint policy-making agency network and the co-occurrence network models of medical informatization policies are defined, and then the authors research China's medical informatization policies from single-dimension and multi-dimension view.

Findings

The analysis results reveal that China's medical informatization policy process can be divided into four stages; the policy-making agencies are divided into four subgroups by community detection analysis according to the fast unfolding algorithm; the core policy theme keywords are identified based on the eigenvector centrality of the nodes in those networks; the focuses of theme terms are varied in different stages and the correlations between agencies and themes are gradually decentralized.

Practical implications

These findings provide experience and evidence on leveraging informatics in the medical and healthcare field of China. Also, they can help scholars and practitioners better understand the current status and future directions of medical and healthcare informatics development in China and provide a reference to formulate and improve China's future medical informatization policies.

Originality/value

This study proposes a quantitative bibliometric-based research framework to describe transitions and trends of China's medical informatization policy.

Details

Aslib Journal of Information Management, vol. 73 no. 5
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 2050-3806

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 1 June 2003

Robert Prus

Although the particular policies that groups establish may serve to differentiate those groups from others in the broader community, policies are better envisioned as aspects of…

1491

Abstract

Although the particular policies that groups establish may serve to differentiate those groups from others in the broader community, policies are better envisioned as aspects of group life in the making than as structures or rules that define the character or operations of the groups under consideration. Addressing instances of policy as humanly engaged ventures, this statement attempts to demystify policy by (a) examining organizational directives in process terms, (b) explicitly incorporating people into the study of the policymaking process. This paper also addresses policy in ways that (c) are more amenable to ethnographic research on actual instances of policy and (d) contribute to a sustained, comparative analysis of “policy in the making”.

Details

International Journal of Sociology and Social Policy, vol. 23 no. 6/7
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0144-333X

Keywords

Book part
Publication date: 13 March 2020

Julinda Hoxha

This chapter investigates the origins of cross-sectoral collaboration by exploring when and why policy networks form within the Turkish health sector – a least likely case for…

Abstract

This chapter investigates the origins of cross-sectoral collaboration by exploring when and why policy networks form within the Turkish health sector – a least likely case for network formation. The analysis presented here draws on information collected from a number of official documents, semi-structured interviews with professional experts, and two multi-stakeholder meetings. Timewise, networks entered the policy jargon during the introduction of the Health Transformation Program in 2003. Yet, the years between 2011 and 2015 were ground-breaking in producing concrete cross-sectoral collaborative instruments of policy making. The findings of the analysis reveal that policy networks form as a result of central government’s choice to devolve responsibility and expand the policy space with new issues and actors. Moreover, policy networks emerge not only during the times of policy change which has a reactionary, abrupt, and nature but also during the times of policy stability and legitimacy. These contextual factors are crucial in maintaining an atmosphere of trust among stakeholders, particularly between state and non-state actors. The refugee crisis and spreading securitization discourse in the post-2015 period explain the shifting policy and political agenda leading to public sector retrenchment from cross-sectoral projects within the field of health. This chapter intends to contribute to the literature of comparative public policy by examining the link between policy networks and policy change in addition to adding to the debates on network governance by exploring the processes of network formation. Finally, this chapter contributes to Turkish studies by examining the process of network formation within the Turkish health sector.

Details

Network Policy Making within the Turkish Health Sector: Becoming Collaborative
Type: Book
ISBN: 978-1-83867-095-5

Keywords

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