A relational approach to planning evaluation

Abstract

The increased interest in how policy and planning outcome is dependent on social processes has created demands for new approaches within the field of policy analysis and planning. We use a relational approach to investigate the development of policy communities and how policy actions are shaped through meaning-making processes and competition between discourses and priorities in two Swedish cases. The first case explores the implementation of the European landscape convention. The second, the final disposal of spent nuclear fuel, is an exceptional case with a nearly 40-years long planning process. The empirical material in both cases is document studies and in-depth interviews with actors involved in the implementation processes. The framework used for evaluation exposed challenges for inclusive policy strategies and actions, e.g. discursive tension between policy levels and policy actors and a lack of integrative public leadership. Other factors that impacted the policy processes were degree of openness of policy communities and inclusion or marginalization of perspectives and values. To conclude, our results indicates that if policy outcomes are expected to be in line with policy intentions there is a need to support implementation conditions. Doing this allows for a diversity of perspectives and values and strengthens management and public leadership.