A Collaborative Approach to Study Policy Modelling Research and Practice from Different Disciplines

Authors: Dragana Majstorovic and Maria A. Wimmer, University of Koblenz-Landau, Germany

Abstract

An OECD study of 2009 argues that open and inclusive policy making helps to improve policy performance and to meet citizens rising expectations. An important aspect shaping the success of policy making is the use of appropriate tools and instruments to model (public) policy, i.e. to use theories, methods and tools that support the process of transforming data and information inputs into conceptual and formal models, which contribute to transparency, a better understanding of policy options (the causes and effects), and better informed decision-making to improve public performance. Accordingly, policy modelling has recently emerged as a multi-disciplinary research domain advancing distinct approaches to policy development and governance through the use of innovative information and communication technologies (ICT). The complexity encompassed with modelling public policies demands for different - often distinct - political, economic, social and technical disciplines to work together to leverage the benefits of different approaches of understanding policy and designing innovative policy. This paper presents an approach to scientific collaboration in advancing the research field and in collaborating across distinct disciplines, while performing comparative analyses in the area of policy modelling. The comparative analyses are organised in the context of an international network of policy modelling called eGovPoliNet, whose aim is to overcoming the existing research fragmentation between disciplines, thereby driving evolution in the field.

Keywords

Collaborative research, comparative analysis, policy modelling, multi-disciplinary research

DOI 10.3233/978-1-61499-429-9-153

Publisher IOS Press

Citation

Majstorovic, D. and Wimmer, M. A. 2014. A Collaborative Approach to Study Policy Modelling Research and Practice from Different Disciplines. In Janssen et. Al (Eds.). Electronic Government and Electronic Participation. Joint Proceedings of Ongoing Research, Posters, Workshop and Projects of IFIP EGOV and ePart 2014. Innovation and the Public Sector nr. 21, IOS Press, Amsterdam, pp. 153-162 (open access proceedings)