Can Mandated Participatory Planning Promote Collective Learning?

• In Event: The Politics of Collaborative Governance

Abstract

Mandated participatory planning (MPP) is a policy implementation approach that requires the collaborative development of implementation plans at subnational levels (Newig & Koontz, 2014). In MPP processes, subnational authorities are required to engage local stakeholders in on-going policy planning processes. MPP is expected to promote collective policy learning through two interrelated mechanisms: 1) participatory governance that facilitates the flow of information to improve vertical and horizontal coordination; and 2) iterative planning cycles that require participants to regularly monitor, evaluate, and redesign plans as they accumulate information and evidence about the effectiveness of policies and programs. This study examines whether MPP promotes collective learning through an analysis of the implementation of the Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA) in two U.S. states. Under ESSA, the lowest performing schools in each state must participate in school improvement processes that engage state education agencies, school districts, schools, and other local stakeholders in the process of collaboratively developing and implementing school improvement plans. Drawing on data collected through content analysis of policies and improvement plans, semi-structured interviews with state and district personnel, and surveys of participants in school improvement processes, preliminary findings indicate that MPP primarily creates vertical linkages that increase information flows up and down levels of governance.

Author

• Jordyn Elizabeth Green, University of Nevada, Reno