TOPIC 4.3: Policy communities

Policy processes have become ‘democratised’ and ‘networked’ as more diverse groups of actors have sought to become involved. Policy is the product of a complex interplay of people and organisations. Policies are made within ‘communities’ in which a group of actors is focused on a public problem. Policy communities comprise all those who play a part in the generation, dissemination and evaluation of policy ideas.

Actors come from both within and outside government; as well as those who have formal authority to make decisions, they include interest groups, academics, think tanks, researchers, journalists and others. These actors are bound by their common interest in a specific area, for example, housing, education, health or transport.

The concepts of policy communities and policy learning recognise the importance of personal interactions and relationships in shaping the perspectives and policy preferences of policy actors, and influencing their views about the relative priority of problems and issues. The community’s composition will vary across time, polity and policy subsystem. Some, like education, are fairly open, with members from a broad cross-section of society. Others are rather closed, tending to be dominated by technical, professional or other specialist interests.

Although members of policy communities share an interest in a common set of issues and problems, they do not necessarily agree about the nature of the problems or about the policy instruments that might help to solve them. For example, there is an almost infinite variety of views and perspectives on the problems, causes and consequences associated with public hospital management, and even more ideas about how government might respond.

Policy networks have created opportunities for bodies such as national institutes, policy advocacy groups, interest groups, think tanks, party organisations, peak bodies and consumer groups. They are often active participants in policy debates – contributing substantial research and expertise, and through their knowledge and experience can assist governments to develop policies and services more appropriate to the needs of their constituency. When searching for and utilising research and evidence, policy-makers should be aware of the relationships, sources of information, and modes of information distribution that take place in policy networks and communities, in order to fully accommodate and appreciate the knowledge that is being fed into the policy process.

Not all members of a policy community are equally influential. Those with a demonstrated capacity to shape ideas, initiate or block proposals, or affect implementation are known as policy influential. These are often, but not always, located within government. For example, an academic or researcher who is influential under one government or minister may find themselves on the outer when the government or minister changes. While the pattern of participation is becoming democratised, the political executive still has substantial power to determine the distribution of policy influence.