Open policy making in the UK – to whom might policy formulation be opening up

Exley, Sonia ORCID: 0000-0003-4240-3070 (2020) Open policy making in the UK – to whom might policy formulation be opening up. Journal of Social Policy. pp. 1-19. ISSN 0047-2794

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Abstract

This article explores recent UK government aspirations towards ‘open policy making’ (OPM). Against a backdrop of scholarly literatures on power inequalities in policy making, I consider to whom processes of policy formulation under a banner of OPM are expected to be ‘opening up’. The article draws on an analysis of government documents from 2012-2018 plus some supplementary data from expert interviews. It notes aspirations towards ‘opening up’ policy formulation to new experts and a particular preoccupation with encouraging private sector involvement. Ideas which may boost ordinary citizens’ input are also part of what ‘makes up’ UK Government OPM, though citizen involvement appears restricted, sitting uneasily alongside commitments to austerity influencing how ‘openness’ is understood.

Item Type:	Article
Official URL:	https://www.cambridge.org/core/journals/journal-of...
Additional Information:	© 2020 The Author
Divisions:	Social Policy
Subjects:	J Political Science > JN Political institutions (Europe) > JN101 Great Britain H Social Sciences > H Social Sciences (General)
Date Deposited:	25 Mar 2020 16:00
Last Modified:	12 Dec 2024 02:05
URI:	http://eprints.lse.ac.uk/id/eprint/103840

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