Leadership in Collaborative Policy-Making: An Analysis of Agency Roles in Regulatory Negotiations

In: Policy sciences: integrating knowledge and practice to advance human dignity ; the journal of the Society of Policy Scientists, Band 34, Heft 3-4, S. 221-245

Abstract

Explores the roles that an agency plays in a collaborative policy-making process such as regulatory negotiation. Three regulatory negotiation cases are examined to determine the perceived roles of the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) officials & other participants, & the study suggests a number of findings. (1) The EPA fulfills a number of different roles (Expert, Analyst, Stakeholder, Facilitator & Leader) in a negotiation process. (2) The EPA is expected to be an active participant in the negotiations, not simply an overseer or facilitator of interests. (3) The EPA interprets its primary role much more narrowly -- as that of an expert -- than do other participants. Nonagency participants view EPA's primary role as a leader, which combines technical, substantive, &process components. Where previously & in the theoretical literature, agencies exercise leadership through statutory authority or technical expertise, this study suggests that there are additional dimensions to that leadership role. In a collaborative process such as regulatory negotiation, the agency finds itself in a realm that demands that it effectively merge the roles of expert, analyst, & stakeholder into a more complex leadership role than has been suggested in the past. 1 Table, 81 References. Adapted from the source document.