Deliberative Policy Analysis as Democratic Innovation

Abstract

The papers in this panel propose different forms of democratic innovation to extend the concept and practice of DPA. By introducing democratic deliberation and a practice-orientation as elements of policy analysis, DPA eroded the boundary between policy making and the analysis of public policy. In the traditional, technocratic approach to policy analysis, these two activities were strictly separated into different professional roles, different techniques, and different remits. Developments since 2003, the year of publication of DPA’s original statement, confirmed this trend in policy ‘analysis’. In approaches such as collaborative governance, conflict mediation, governance-driven democratization, and democracy-driven governance, the roles between authorities, stakeholders and policy analysts became increasingly blurred in complex processes of democratic participation. Deliberation, participation and collaboration between stakeholders and policy makers became part of the repertoire of techniques and practices to make policy making more effective. The background to this convergence of professional roles is an attempt to overcome the ‘pluralised ungovernability’ that characterizes many policy domains. The papers in this panel describe democratic innovation as a way to improve policy making in a practice-oriented and deliberative way. The advantages and disadvantages of this blurring of boundaries and remits are central in this panel.

Title	Details
The classroom as a civic arena: empowering youth through deliberative democracy	View Paper Details
Is NGOs’ engagement in policy formulation a pathway for participation in policy implementation? A case-study of non-profits in Spain	View Paper Details
From DPA to Commoning: Creating a Political, Social and Economic Paradigm Shift	View Paper Details