Conflict, Uncertainty, and the Role of Planning and Analysis in Public Policy Innovation |
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Authors: | Robert E Deyle |
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Institution: | Robert E. Deyle;is an assistant professor in the Department of Urban and Regional Planning at Florida State University. His research has focused on policy change, organizational decisionmaking, and environmental policy in water and coastal resources and solid and hazardous waste management. |
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Abstract: | Innovation by "groping along," in which appointed public officials experiment during program implementation after little, if any, initial planning and analysis, has been promoted as a more accurate model of policy innovation than the rational comprehensive model of policy change. Analysis of two cases of environmental regulatory policy innovation suggests that administrative agencies may be more likely to follow the conventional model of the policy cycle when high levels of conflict are likely to accompany policy initiatives. The cases also suggest, however, that public officials will experiment during the innovation process when they are uncertain about the nature of the problem and the probable impacts of alternative solutions. |
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