Investigating Policy Processes: The Governance Analytical Framework (GAF)

RESEARCH FOR SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT: FOUNDATIONS, EXPERIENCES, AND PERSPECTIVES, pp. 403-424, U. Wiesmann, H. Hurni, ed., Geographica Bernensia, 2011

22 Pages Posted: 9 Mar 2012

See all articles by Marc Hufty

Marc Hufty

Graduate Institute of International and Development Studies (IHEID)

Date Written: 2011

Abstract

Societies develop ways of making decisions regarding collective problems, thereby creating norms, rules, and institutions; this is what governance is about. In policy research, governance has become an important focus of attention; but debates show a lack of clarity at the conceptual level and a confusion between the use of the concept for prescriptive and analytical purposes. The present article is based on the hypothesis that using a clarified, non-normative governance perspective in policy research can contribute to an improved understanding of political processes, including formal and unrecognised ones, those embedded in larger and smaller social systems, as well as both vertical and horizontal political arrangements. The paper is the result of a collaborative engagement with the concept of governance within several networks, leading to the development of the Governance Analytical Framework (GAF). The GAF is a practical methodology for investigating governance processes, based on five analytical tools: problems, actors, social norms, processes, and nodal points. Besides describing the conceptual sources and analytical purpose of these five tools, the paper presents examples of how the GAF can be operationalised.

Keywords: Governance, governance processes, social norms, institutions, nodal points

JEL Classification: D23, D70, O20

Suggested Citation

Hufty, Marc, Investigating Policy Processes: The Governance Analytical Framework (GAF) (2011). RESEARCH FOR SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT: FOUNDATIONS, EXPERIENCES, AND PERSPECTIVES, pp. 403-424, U. Wiesmann, H. Hurni, ed., Geographica Bernensia, 2011, Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=2019005

Marc Hufty (Contact Author)

Graduate Institute of International and Development Studies (IHEID) ( email )

PO Box 136
Geneva, CH-1211
Switzerland

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