Policy Analytical Capacity Inside and Outside of Government: A Case Study of Colorado Climate and Energy Issues

This paper examines the policy analytical capacity of government compared to the non-profit and private sectors and to the research/academic community. Based on original data from a 2011 questionnaire administered to policy actors in the context of energy and climate issues in the state of Colorado, the findings show that government is not as “hollowed out” as expected. While individuals from academia and consulting firms may have higher analytical capacity than government in conducting research, government is higher across most other measures. Nonetheless, nearly all respondents agree that government needs higher levels of policy analytical capacity to address climate and energy issues

Policy Analytical Capacity and Policy Activities

The study of policy process involves the study of policy actors - people involved in the development of public policy in a particular geographic area. This paper investigates policy actors in the context of Colorado climate and energy issues with a particular emphasis on the types and levels of their engagement in policy activities. The conceptual framework guiding this study centers on policy analytical capacity, the ability to acquire and use information in the policy process. High policy analytical capacity is expected to be associated with high levels, and more diverse kinds, of policy activities. The findings partly confirm the expectations. Actors from government and the non-profit sector report the highest policy analytical capacity and highest and most diverse range of policy activities. However, researchers, despite relatively high levels of policy analytical capacity, report involvement in just a few activities beyond conducting research. Actors with strong educational backgrounds in the physical sciences are more likely to be involved in conducting research whereas those with strong backgrounds in the social sciences are more likely to be involved in evaluating and appraising policies and working with the public. The conclusion contextualizes the findings by focusing on the relationship between technical and scientific complexity of climate and energy issues and the necessity for participating actors to possess high levels of policy analytical capacity

Policy Analytical Capacity and Policy Activities

Abstract. The study of policy process involves the study of policy actors -people involved in the development of public policy in a particular geographic area. This paper investigates policy actors in the context of Colorado climate and energy issues with a particular emphasis on the types and levels of their engagement in policy activities. The conceptual framework guiding this study centers on policy analytical capacity, the ability to acquire and use information in the policy process. High policy analytical capacity is expected to be associated with high levels, and more diverse kinds, of policy activities. The findings partly confirm the expectations. Actors from government and the non-profit sector report the highest policy analytical capacity and highest and most diverse range of policy activities. However, researchers, despite relatively high levels of policy analytical capacity, report involvement in just a few activities beyond conducting research. Actors with strong educational backgrounds in the physical sciences are more likely to be involved in conducting research whereas those with strong backgrounds in the social sciences are more likely to be involved in evaluating and appraising policies and working with the public. The conclusion contextualizes the findings by focusing on the relationship between technical and scientific complexity of climate and energy issues and the necessity for participating actors to possess high levels of policy analytical capacity. Keywords. Information processing, expert-based information, climate change, policy processes Résumé. L'étude du processus de politiques publiques implique l'étude des acteurs de politiques publiques -les personnes impliquées dans le développement de politiques publiques dans une aire géographique donnée. Cet article analyse les acteurs de politiques publiques dans le contexte des questions de climat et d'énergie du Colorado, en mettant l'accent sur les types et les niveaux de leur implication dans des activités de politiques publiques. Le cadre conceptuel qui oriente cette étude est centré sur la capacité d'élaboration des politiques publiques, l'aptitude acquérir et à utiliser des informations dans le processus de politiques publiques. Une capacité analytique élevée des politiques publiques devrait hypothétiquement être associée avec des niveaux élevés ainsi que des formes plus variées d'activités de politiques publiques. Les résultats confirment en partie cette hypothèse. Les acteurs du gouvernement et du secteur à but non-lucratif signalent la capacité analytique d'élaboration de politiques publiques la plus élevée, et le registre le plus pointu et varié d'activités de politiques publiques. Cependant, les chercheurs, en dépit d'une capacité analytique d'élaboration de politiques publiques relativement élevée, signalent une implication dans seulement quelques activités, au-delà de la conduite de leurs recherches. Les acteurs avec un bagage éducatif solide en sciences physiques ont plus de chances d'être impliqués dans de la recherche, tandis que ceux dont le bagage est en sciences sociales ont plus de chances d'être impliqués dans l'évaluation des politiques publiques et de travailler avec le public. La conclusion de cet article contextualise les résultats en se penchant sur la relation entre, d'une part, la complexité technique et scientifique des questions de climat et d'énergie et, d'autre part, la nécessité pour les acteurs engagés de posséder des niveaux élevés de capacité analytique de politiques publiques. Mots clefs. Traitement d'information, information fondée sur l'expertise, changement climatique, processus de politiques publique

Examining the role of resources, beliefs, and behavior in the policy process: A study of Colorado climate and energy politics and policy

As they strive to influence the selection and adoption of public policies, the individuals most active within a given policy area ("policy actors") display a variety of behaviors. These behaviors include utilizing policy-related information, engaging in political activities, and interacting with other actors to realize their policy goals. Beliefs and resources offer two different rationales for explaining policy actor behavior. To influence policy, actors utilize resources in an attempt to sway decision makers, influence public opinion, recruit allies, or attract additional resources. Beliefs are considered to be a primary factor affecting behavior, with actors seeking out others with similar beliefs and then sharing resources and engaging in political activities to realize their policy preferences. This dissertation utilizes three theoretical frameworks, the Advocacy Coalition Framework (ACF), Resource Dependence Theory (RDT), and Policy Analytical Capacity (PAC), to develop an improved understanding of the comparative effects of resources and beliefs on behavior. These frameworks are used as theoretical lenses to conduct a detailed study of the Colorado climate and energy policy subsystem. This dissertation offers a collection of contributions to the existing policy process literature. Methodological contributions include a new approach for understanding political landscapes that places a greater focus on the role of resources and political activities, and a collection of best practices for using hyperlink networks to study policy actors online. In addition, the dissertation provides important theoretical contributions to the three theoretical frameworks. Contributions to the ACF include developing the framework's theory about the interactions and effects of resources, extreme beliefs, and political activities. Contributions to PAC include relating capacity to political activities, while contributions to the RDT framework include relating organizational resource dependence to friend and foe interactions. Finally, this dissertation furthers the collective knowledge on climate politics and policy by expanding our understanding of the beliefs, policy preferences, information sources, political activities, and the interactions of climate policy supporters and opponents