Research Handbook of Policy Design

Reviews / Votes

'Arguably no more important question, in the global era, faces students of public policy than to understand the processes and approach for developing, and implementing, policy design. Understanding the conditions through which policy design emerges, shapes policy tools' considerations and, ultimately - as Peters and Fontaine's impressive collection of essays make clear - is not just about achieving goal attainment but also about understanding how competing and complementary approaches for doing so end up influencing how we view problems and consideration of their solutions. It is for these reasons that it is hard to overstate the importance of this book for students and practitioners of public policy. Not only does this book make contributions to those seeking to explain, and prescribe, public policy, but it also makes it clear that the turn toward "decision science" and universalist answers, and its corresponding reliance on "big data" and sophisticated algorithms, as illustrated in the Heikkilae, Wellstead and Wood chapter, provides an incomplete knowledge base required for a comprehensive interrogation of policy design. For these reasons the book's embracing of the contribution of different knowledge communities is not only refreshing, it is required for those who seek to advance societal deliberations over what it means to engage in "good policy", rather than advancing approaches that narrow these conversations. Required reading for students of public policy and practitioners who seek to improve an understanding of, and ameliorate, the myriad of vexing policy challenges facing governments, and civil society.' -- Benjamin William Cashore, National University of Singapore 'Originally a method for explaining the much more specific realm of product innovation, design thinking provides policy analysts with a strong focus on the user experience, instrument selection and on rapid prototyping of possible solutions. In this new Research Handbook we see an impressive range of new work on the diverse ways in which policy design can be conceptualised and applied. It makes clear that the overlap between deliberate or conscious design processes and an analytic lens using a design perspective, is far from complete. Practices can reflect design approaches without fully realising it. And design processes are themselves quite diverse. The editors favour viewing design as "a framework" and define this as a "non-formal model rather than an explanatory theory". But it is also true that some contributions to the volume offer stronger explanatory accounts of such things as policy instruments in order to suggest causal effects and co-related processes of getting things done. The Handbook allows many flowers to bloom, and like design itself, it will employ users to make better decisions.' -- Mark Considine, University of Melbourne, Australia 'The world has always needed effective policy design, though perhaps we need it now more than ever before. This impressive Handbook encompasses the state of the art showing where policy scholars and practitioners can draw inspiration and the blind spots we must aspire to do better. International in scope, it deserves to be widely read and cited.' -- Claire A. Dunlop, University of Exeter, UK and Vice Chair of the Political Studies Association