The Policy Experimentation and Innovation Network aims to foster knowledge exchange and discussion on research and practice related to policy experimentation and innovation. Governments are increasingly turning to policy experimentation, which can be defined as a “purposeful and coordinated activity geared to producing novel policy options” (Heilmann 2008: 3), and/or innovation to explore new ways of problem solving and, in a bid to be agile and responsive to citizen needs. The design and implementation of policy experiments is political (Nair and Howlett, 2016; Mattocks, 2021a, 2021b). While policy experiments are expected to provide a safe space for trials and innovation, owing to their political nature, these are noted to be designed with caution, just as full policies (Nair, 2021). Policy experiments can lead to policy learning and change, but they do not by default, and require supportive leadership, resources, capacity, and political will (Mattocks, 2021)

In this Network, we focus on furthering empirical and theoretical knowledge on policy experimentation, including innovation, policy labs, participatory decision-making and engagement, co-creation, Design Thinking, Behavioural Insights, and beyond.

The goals of the network are to:

1. bring together academics (at all stages) and practitioners working on policy experiments globally;

2. generate empirical and theoretical knowledge on policy experiments and innovation, including collaborating on grant proposals;

3. facilitate peer learning and exchange by organizing conference sessions and workshops -- online and in-person -- where appropriate;

4. disseminate research with practitioners through knowledge exchange activities.

The Network is open to anyone studying or practicing in these areas, from across the globe, including graduate students, researchers, and practitioners.

Proposed activities for the Network :

● Mailing list: for members and access various activities of the Network and communicate with each other

● Newsletter- showcasing research from members and other research on policy experimentation and innovation.

● Blogs: Periodic blog items from the network members and invited guests on topics related to policy experimentation and innovation

● Reading group - Quarterly virtual discussion of new and/or classic publications in the field related to the Network’s focus

● Conference panels - Panels at key policy conferences such as the International Conference on Public Policy, Conference on Policy Process Research, Public Management Research Conference and other relevant regional policy conferences.

About the Network organizers : 

Dr. Kate Mattocks, Dalhousie University

Kate’s interests include policy experiments, especially as they relate to policy learning and change. Her published research focuses on policy experimentation undertaken at the federal level in Canada. In future work, she is interested in exploring the role of ethics in policy experiments as well as novel methods of engaging marginalized groups in policy innovation. Kate is an honorary research fellow at the University of East Anglia (UK) and currently teaches at Dalhousie University in Nova Scotia, Canada.

Dr. Sreeja Nair, Lee Kuan Yew School of Public Policy, National University of Singapore

Sreeja studies how governments design policies and learn under uncertainty in the policy context. Her research examines the application of anticipatory policy design tools such as experimentation and foresight in addressing policy uncertainty, focusing on the interplay of science and politics. Her research has focused on the South Asian and Southeast Asian policy contexts covering issues facing high policy uncertainty such as climate change, sustainability transitions and digital transformation. Sreeja is the author of Rethinking Policy Piloting: Insights from Indian Agriculture (Cambridge University Press, 2021) and co-editor of Emerging Pedagogies for Policy Education: insights from Asia (Palgrave Macmillan, 2022). She serves as an Associate Editor for the Australian Journal of Public Administration.

Targeted Network members :

● Academics working on policy experiments and innovation

● Public servants working on, or with an interest in, experiments and innovation

● PhD students and post-doctoral research scholars

● Policy lab-based practitioners

● International agencies such as OECD, World Bank