From Process to Structure: Developing a Reliable and Valid Tool for Policy Network Comparison

Abstract

AbstractOne of the major shortcomings for the use of Social Network Analysis (SNA) in comparative public policy research is the lack of valid, reliable and – maybe most important for people not really familiar with SNA – practical procedures to generate comparable network data. In this research note, we suggest an easy to follow, non‐technical solution for transferring information from decision‐making case studies into policy networks. Focusing on the actors’ participation in decision‐making processes, we visualize in a first step the description of a policy process in an ‘Actor‐Process‐Event Scheme’ (APES). In a second step, the data formalized in the APES can be transformed into two matrices on a) the actors’ event participation and b) the process links between the actors. Joining the two matrices allows us finally to analyze the decision‐making process in the form of a policy network. Furthermore, the generated network data can be used for more formalized comparative methods.