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Open Policy Making in the UK – to Whom Might Policy Formulation be ‘Opening Up’?

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  01 June 2020

SONIA EXLEY Open the ORCID record for SONIA EXLEY [Opens in a new window]
SONIA EXLEY*
Affiliation:
Department of Social Policy, London School of Economics and Political Science, Houghton Street, London, WC2A 2AE, email: s.exley@lse.ac.uk
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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.

Keywords

open policy makingcitizen participationcivil servicegovernance

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Type
Article
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Journal of Social Policy , Volume 50 , Issue 3 , July 2021 , pp. 451 - 469
Copyright
© The Author(s), 2020. Published by Cambridge University Press

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