Interactive policy analysis – the implications of the interactive part on the analysis part

Since government policy is no longer the result of an authoritative decision, paying attention to the many views held by stakeholders has become increasingly important in policy analysis. This has resulted in the development of interactive policy analysis, which is characterised by seeking supported knowledge and acknowledging the importance of multiplism. Multiplism implies multiple problem perceptions, data sources and techniques accepted for analysis. Exploration of all this, noting that the new process is still experimental, took place within a study for the Dutch Ministry of Transport, Public Works and Water Management. Lessons learnt that are relevant to the further development of interactive policy analysis are discussed in this paper.