By James Pitman
In the contemporary landscape of governance, the complexity and intricacy of policy challenges have escalated, necessitating the evolution of public and stakeholder engagement mechanisms. The traditional "ask and tell" approach to consultation is increasingly inadequate for addressing what are often termed "wicked" policy problems—issues that are multifaceted, with no clear solution and often interdependent. To navigate these complexities, governments must adopt more collaborative and dynamic engagement strategies that not only explore issues thoroughly but also validate or invalidate assumptions and integrate multidisciplinary insights into policy solutions.
The Need for Evolved Engagement Mechanisms
Complex policy challenges, such as climate change, public health crises, and economic inequality, demand a holistic approach that transcends conventional consultation methods. Governments are increasingly posed with new policy challenges with no ‘right’ answer, and broad disagreement amongst experts, which further challenge public servants to meaningfully engage with stakeholders who are looking at problems from different angles.
Traditional engagement often involves predetermined questions with limited scope for deeper inquiry, potentially overlooking valuable insights and the application of a broader range of subject matter expertise. What is required is an engagement model that is iterative, inclusive, and capable of bringing together a broad spectrum of perspectives.
Benefits of Collaborative Consultation
Collaborative consultation mechanisms offer several benefits:
- Diverse Perspectives: Incorporating views from various stakeholders, including the public, experts, and interest groups, ensures a more comprehensive understanding of the issue at hand.
- Enhanced Problem-Solving: Collaborative methods foster creative solutions by allowing for the cross-pollination of ideas from different disciplines.
- Validation of Assumptions: Engaging stakeholders iteratively helps in validating or invalidating assumptions, leading to more robust and resilient policy outcomes.
Introducing the Policy Delphi Panel
One innovative mechanism that stands out in the realm of collaborative consultation is the Policy Delphi Panel. Originating from the Delphi method used in forecasting and decision-making, the Policy Delphi Panel is specifically tailored for policy formulation and evaluation. It is an iterative process involving a panel of experts and stakeholders who provide their opinions over multiple rounds of questioning, with feedback being summarized and shared between rounds via surveys which protect expert’s identities.
With increasingly ‘wicked’ problems requiring diverse policy and program responses from a range of sectors, the Policy Delphi Panel presents a unique way to overcome what can often be combative stakeholder engagement.
How Policy Delphi Panels Work
The process typically involves the following steps:
- Selection of Panellists: A diverse group of experts and stakeholders is chosen based on their knowledge and relevance to the policy issue. This could include a mix of academic experts as well as front line experts or known leaders in a field.
- Initial Questionnaire: Panellists respond to an initial set of questions, providing their insights and perspectives on the issue. This can help set areas of consensus and disagreement which you refine through further iterations of questions.
- Feedback and Iteration: Responses are summarized and shared with the panel, prompting further reflection and refinement in subsequent rounds of questioning. Through each round further options or considerations may be identified which can help you navigate a range of complex implementation challenges.
- Consensus Building: Through iterative rounds, the panel converges on a set of recommendations or insights, highlighting areas of agreement and divergence.
Advantages of Policy Delphi Panels
The Policy Delphi Panel offers several distinct advantages:
- Structured Exploration: The iterative nature of the process allows for a thorough exploration of complex issues and allows you to gain and develop evidence – especially useful in emerging fields of policy such as AI etc.
- Multidisciplinary Insights: By involving experts from various fields, the panel brings a wealth of multidisciplinary insights that enrich the policy formulation process.
- Dynamic Feedback: The feedback loop enables continuous improvement of ideas, testing and experimentation, fostering a dynamic and adaptive approach to policy development that you can not do in standard consultation approaches.
Implementing Better Practices in Public Engagement
Governments aiming to tackle complex policy challenges must move towards more sophisticated and inclusive engagement mechanisms to ensure that all elements of a policy or reform have been considered.
A Policy Delphi presents a new way of engaging with expert groups, and provides the additional confidence of a structured and defensible mechanism for policy positions. It is also relatively cheap using digital platforms to conduct the engagement, and accessible to a range of expert groups, including international subject matter experts where Australia may lack key knowledge or experience. Policy Delphi’s also ensure that the engagement process is inclusive, drawing on diverse voices from across the community and expert domains.
In conclusion, the complexity of modern policy challenges necessitates a shift from traditional engagement methods to more innovative and collaborative approaches. The Policy Delphi Panel exemplifies how governments can harness diverse insights and iterative feedback to formulate robust policies. By adopting such mechanisms, we can better navigate the intricacies of wicked policy problems and develop solutions that are both effective and resilient.