Stakeholder participation in the policy process: what are the effects on the implementation of policy instruments?

Kerstin Åstrand, Joakim Nordqvist, and Jamil Khan, Lund university

Keywords

policy instruments, implementation, policy formation, stakeholder participation, decision making, policy process, energy efficiency, renewable energy

Abstract

The objective of this paper is to contribute to the understanding of how to study problems that appear in the implementation of policy instruments related to energy efficiency and renewable energy. The focus is on the participation of different stakeholder groups in the policy formation phase, and the significance this has on implementation. A central argument is that it is essential to analyse who participates and what participation looks like, in order to understand later challenges during implementation. In the paper, different aspects of the nature and degree of stakeholder participation in policy formation are discussed. The paper has a mainly theoretical perspective, though examples from ongoing empirical research on the formation and implementation of policy instruments in Sweden are referred to. It is shown that a lack of participation in policy formation can lead to problems both in the implementation of policy instruments and in the realisation of stated policy goals. It is essential to study who participates in policy formation and to analyse power relations between actors. The results show, however, that it is equally important to ask who does not participate and analyse the consequences on policy implementation of non-participation. The paper ends with a short discussion about important issues concerning further research on the topic.