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Policy learning and the public inquiry

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  • Alastair Stark

    (University of Queensland)

Abstract

Can public inquiries learn lessons in ways which can reduce the likelihood of future failure? Political science research has consistently stated that the answer to this question should be an emphatic no and defined the public inquiry as an ineffectual lesson-learning mechanism. This article, however, contends that this conventional wisdom needs to be revisited. Drawing upon policy learning research for its theory, and 100 interviews across four international cases for its evidence, this article returns to the question above and finds that inquiries regularly produce ‘instrumental’ and ‘cognitive organisational’ forms of learning, which propel substantive reform agendas. By contrasting these outcomes against the types of learning that inquiries struggle to produce, the article delivers a nuanced evaluation that indicates that we need to reconsider what we think we know about these important institutions.

Suggested Citation

  • Alastair Stark, 2019. "Policy learning and the public inquiry," Policy Sciences, Springer;Society of Policy Sciences, vol. 52(3), pages 397-417, September.
    • Handle: RePEc:kap:policy:v:52:y:2019:i:3:d:10.1007_s11077-019-09348-0
    DOI: 10.1007/s11077-019-09348-0
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    Cited by:

    1. Alastair Stark & Sophie Yates, 2021. "Public inquiries as procedural policy tools [Policy tools theory and implementation networks: understanding state enterprise zone partnerships]," Policy and Society, Darryl S. Jarvis and M. Ramesh, vol. 40(3), pages 345-361.
    2. Heather Millar, 2020. "Problem Uncertainty, Institutional Insularity, and Modes of Learning in Canadian Provincial Hydraulic Fracturing Regulation," Review of Policy Research, Policy Studies Organization, vol. 37(6), pages 765-796, November.
    3. Azad Singh Bali & Michael Howlett & Jenny M Lewis & M Ramesh, 2021. "Procedural policy tools in theory and practice [The stick, the carrot, and other strategies: A theoretical analysis of governmental intervention]," Policy and Society, Darryl S. Jarvis and M. Ramesh, vol. 40(3), pages 295-311.

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