Project
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Background
Utilising a unique partnership between INCORE and CSVR, this study
will focus on the development and implementation of policy in the
negotiated transitions in Northern Ireland and South Africa. Two key
areas of policy initiatives will be explored. The Northern Ireland
focus will be on the Victims Commission and Policing Reform. In South
Africa, the National Crime Prevention Strategy, community policing
and the Truth and Reconciliation Commission will be investigated.
These two societies in particular have shared similar negotiation
practices, and looked to each other and elsewhere for model solutions
to fill similar policy vacuums.
Research
objectives
This comparative international study will provide new information
on the gap between the drafting of policy in countries in transition
and the actual implementation of policy and its delivery. Factors
that have influenced policy development and/or implementation during
these negotiated transitions will be explored, namely the role of
bureaucracy and the old civil service, the skills and training of
politicians, inertia or resistance to change and the effect of local
and national policy approaches. The study will also assess factors
particular to transition that have an impact on policy implementation:
disaggregated bodies i.e. commissions, amnesty and the need to manage
societies' expectations.
A key component
of the study is the degree of lesson drawing and policy transfer taking
place between these societies. Given the political context of this
cross national comparison, research will take place on motivations
for transfer and information exchange and facilitators of transfer
- and in particular research and practice transfer - at the development
stage of public policy. The study will supplement the limited literature
on transfer between and exported from Southern countries, and the
particular resonance of transfer during transition. The project will
assess the degree and impact of transfer, the success of transferred
policy and consequent implications for other post conflict societies.
Research
design
After initial literature reviews and consultation with the SA team,
primary interviews with key players will be held to establish policy
areas, determine a standard structured interview schedule, retrieve
dominant themes, and establish further contacts. Secondary interviews
with stakeholders in each country across a range of policy making
levels including civil servants, elected officials, policy advisors
and academics will be conducted. Typical response sets and qualitative
information will be obtained and analysed as material is collated.
Two educational workshops with influential policy makers and interviewees
will be held six months prior to the end of the project to provide
further analysis and to practically develop a final report and resulting
publications.
Academic
and policy implications
The project will have engaged with and have implications for both
researchers and practitioners concerned with public policy and transition.
The project will contribute to understanding why policy development
and implementation blockages occur and trace policy transfer as a
factor of policy success or failure. The material gathered will form
a unique and valuable resource for local and international networks
of policy makers and voluntary and community sectors. It is anticipated
that the project will form the basis for an edited book on Drawing
Lessons in Public Policy in Societies in Transition and several journal
articles. The results of the project will also be made available as
a report/manual on comparative experiences of policy making and implementation.
Summary of
the findings
A one thousand
word summary of the intial research report is available from here.
Project Team
Developing
and Implementing Public Policy
