Policy mix: mess or merit?

Bouma, J.; Verbraak, M.; Dietz, Frank; Brouwer, Roy

doi:10.1080/21606544.2018.1494636

Cited by 76 publications

(46 citation statements)

References 99 publications

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“…Such changes would, however, only represent further 'layering' of incremental modifications onto existing policy instruments. Bouma et al (2019) caution that developing policy in this way brings risks of creating a 'policy mess' rather than necessarily improving the 'policy mix'. Given that problems highlighted in this article are intrinsically linked to the current contours of policy design, a more fundamental policy change should be an aspiration for the PESSPA sector.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…The absence of such analyses in the fields of PE and sport is despite the early emergence, in the 1970s, of wider frameworks for examining and differentiating between ‘policy instruments’ that may be utilised to achieve policy goals. While some of these frameworks remain relevant, policy design research has broadly developed over time to consider and evaluate ‘policy mixes’, that is the ‘(complex) combination of multiple policy instruments that serve a single or multiple goals’ (Bouma et al, 2019: 34). The recognition of the complexity of contemporary policy designs has led to researchers giving further conceptual and empirical attention to the extent of coherence or contradiction across multiple policy goals, between policy goals and the policy instruments utilised to achieve them, and arising from the concurrent use of different policy instruments (Howlett and Rayner, 2013).…”

Section: Undertaking Policy Design Analysismentioning

confidence: 99%

“…This literature, therefore, identifies the importance of considering both policy goals and the instruments utilised to achieve them as separate, but connected, aspects of policy design (Bouma et al, 2019). As policy goals tend to be specific to particular sectors (such as PESSPA), common conceptual tools to analyse them have not been developed within the literature.…”

Section: Undertaking Policy Design Analysismentioning

confidence: 99%

“…As policy goals tend to be specific to particular sectors (such as PESSPA), common conceptual tools to analyse them have not been developed within the literature. Bouma et al (2019) also recognise that choices of policy goals are inherently political, which militates against identifying optimal approaches to their design even if identification of synergies or conflicts between multiple policy goals remains possible. On the other hand, different frameworks are available for analysing and differentiating policy instruments.…”

Section: Undertaking Policy Design Analysismentioning

confidence: 99%

See 3 more Smart Citations

Simplistic policy, skewed consequences: Taking stock of English physical education, school sport and physical activity policy since 2013

Lindsey

Metcalfe

Gemar

et al. 2020

European Physical Education Review

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The period from 2013 to 2019 was one of relative continuity in policies for physical education (PE), school sport and physical activity (PESSPA) in England. Starting from the advent of the government’s flagship PE and Sport Premium (PES Premium) initiative in 2013, the end of the period was reached 20 with renewed uncertainty in 2020 about the future of PESSPA policy. It is therefore an appropriate point for this article to ‘take stock’ of PESSPA policies and their consequences since 2013. The political science literature on policy design underpins the approach to considering the mix of both policy goals and those instruments used by governments to achieve them. To do so, a comprehensive set of policy documents, published reports, academic literature and empirical research on schools’ use of the PES Premium was interrogated. Policy goals articulated by government since 2013 reinforced, rather than resolved, long-standing debates about the purpose of PESSPA. Health-related objectives rose in prominence, but sat uneasily alongside continued commitments to competitive sport. Only a narrow range of the policy instruments available to governments were used in pursuit of their policy goals. PES Premium funding was solely distributed to primary schools, with limited use of regulation and information systems to shape PESSPA provision. These aspects of policy design contributed to increasing reliance on external coaches in primary schools and indicators of a decline in secondary school provision and participation, resonant of prioritisation of short-term approaches over longer-term strategic development. Possibilities for improving future PESSPA policies are considered as a result.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Undertaking Policy Design Analysismentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Undertaking Policy Design Analysismentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Undertaking Policy Design Analysismentioning

confidence: 99%

See 2 more Smart Citations

Simplistic policy, skewed consequences: Taking stock of English physical education, school sport and physical activity policy since 2013

Lindsey

Metcalfe

Gemar

et al. 2020

European Physical Education Review

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…In theory, optimal mixes maximise desired outcomes (Tinbergen 1952). In practice, wicked problems have no ideal solutions and evolve in response to interventions, so an "optimal" mix addresses market, governance and behavioural failures more effectively than feasible alternatives (Bouma et al 2019). Multiple configurations of mechanisms with comparable effectiveness ("fitness") may be possible (Freeman 2000).…”

Section: Tackling Contextual Complexity By Designing Mixes Of Mechanismsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Tackling the “wicked” conservation problem of tropical deforestation in global commodity supply chains using mixes of mechanisms

Lyons‐White¹,

Jespersen²,

Gallemore³

et al. 2021

Preprint

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Tropical deforestation in global agricultural commodity supply chains is a “wicked” problem. Attempted solutions to wicked conservation problems like tropical deforestation often involve idealised, technical mechanisms. For example, company commitments to “zero deforestation” have become a mainstay of global forest conservation efforts. To be resolved, however, wicked conservation problems require strategically-developed, context-specific mixes of mechanisms. Drawing on interdisciplinary literature from the policy sciences, energy and land-use policy, and conservation, we examine why the contextual complexity of wicked conservation problems demands mixes of mechanisms. We present an operational model of conservation that incorporates the mechanism mix concept. We then explore how the dynamism and uncertainty of wicked problems means mixes of mechanisms must be continually reconfigured. Drawing the concepts of contextual complexity, dynamism and uncertainty together, we propose a conceptual model – the “M3 Model” – which aids understanding of how mechanism mixes can be reconfigured to sustain progress towards a desired outcome. The M3 model has four practical implications, which we discuss with reference to supply chain initiatives to reduce deforestation. First, it makes the need to address multiple interacting variables explicit, countering the tendency to seek panaceas. Second, it emphasises the importance of analysing mechanisms’ contributions to problem amelioration, instead of their shortcomings as idealised solutions. Third, it highlights the possibility of failure, reorienting conservation practice towards learning. Fourth, it emphasises polycentric governance, reinforcing the need for distributed mechanism deployment across stakeholder groups. Our synthesis provides tools to support a holistic, systemic approach to tackling wicked conservation problems.

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The importance of calibration in policy mixes: Environmental policy integration in the implementation of the European Union's Common Agricultural Policy in Germany (2014–2022)

Grohmann

Feindt

2023

Env Pol Gov

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Environmental policy integration (EPI), that is, the incorporation of environmental concerns in non‐environmental policy areas, has been widely adopted in public policies. However, EPI research has found much discrepancy between environmental objectives and actual implementation. This paper argues that analyzing EPI in the context of policy mixes with multiple objectives, multiple instruments and their calibrations helps to better understand unavoidable tensions and limitations. We develop a framework to assess EPI at these three levels of policy output, synthesizing the EPI and policy mix literatures. We further distinguish four analytical dimensions to assess calibrations: stringency, specificity, flexibility, and temporality. A case study of the national implementation of the European Union's Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) in Germany 2014–2022 is used to elaborate the conceptual argument. The CAP has saliently incorporated environmental objectives, while implementation, including the calibrations of most instruments within predetermined corridors, is left to member states. A systematic meta‐review of 142 texts evaluating policy instruments and calibrations in the CAP 2014–2022, focusing on Germany, found that several CAP instruments link most farm income support to pro‐environmental behavior. These instruments could potentially have high environmental effectiveness and efficiency. But actual policy calibrations delivered weak EPI due to low stringency and specificity, while high flexibility and temporal accommodation of farmers' needs might support EPI by increasing acceptance. Weak EPI resulted from instrument calibrations in the face of unavoidable trade‐offs between competing objectives. Our results demonstrate that calibrations can significantly affect the strength of EPI adoption, and the priorities within policy mixes more generally.

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Policy mix: mess or merit?

Cited by 76 publications

References 99 publications

Simplistic policy, skewed consequences: Taking stock of English physical education, school sport and physical activity policy since 2013

Simplistic policy, skewed consequences: Taking stock of English physical education, school sport and physical activity policy since 2013

Tackling the “wicked” conservation problem of tropical deforestation in global commodity supply chains using mixes of mechanisms

The importance of calibration in policy mixes: Environmental policy integration in the implementation of the European Union's Common Agricultural Policy in Germany (2014–2022)

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