Policy Windows: What They Are And When They Occur

Policy Windows: What They Are And When They Occur

This text is about so-called policy windows, situations in which three streams of activity – the problem, policy, and politics streams – align to create an opportunity for policy change within organizations.

How a Decision Process Can Create Evidence of Compliance

How a Decision Process Can Create Evidence of Compliance

When a decision process is adapted to comply with a policy, it will include new components – new actions, roles, responsibilities, among others. At the same time, the process needs to be further adapted to ensure that when it is executed, data is collected that can be used as evidence of compliance later on.

Adapting a Decision Process to Comply with a Policy

Adapting a Decision Process to Comply with a Policy

Given a specific policy that an organization needs to comply with, how can we adapt the organization’s decision processes to comply with that policy? Or, how does that organization’s decision governance change to help ensure compliance?

How Does Public Policy Influence Decision-Making?

How Does Public Policy Influence Decision-Making?

This text outlines how the mechanisms for public policy compliance influence various stages of decision-making. If we understand how this influence can occur, we can build decision governance in ways that ensure compliance with the right amount of resources.

Dynamics of Public Policy Development

Dynamics of Public Policy Development

Public policies shape decisions and consequently incorporate decision governance. It is interesting to understand how public policy develops and changes, as this helps understand how decision governance can develop and change.

Individual Decision-Making: Common Models in Psychology

Individual Decision-Making: Common Models in Psychology

Models of individual decision-making in psychology identify psychological factors that shape individual decision-making. Decision governance will influence these factors, which makes it necessary to at the very least be aware of them, as a basis of thinking about how they may interplay with guidelines and processes introduced through governance.

Group Decision-Making: Common Models in Economics

Group Decision-Making: Common Models in Economics

This text is an outline of common approaches in economics research for modeling group decision-making, focusing on their main concepts, applications, and the questions they raise for the design of decision governance.

How to Price Distraction in Decision Making?

How to Price Distraction in Decision Making?

If the decision maker is distracted, they should pay the price of reaching their goal after more effort. A simple simulation can be done to show just how much distraction may cost relative to a case when the agent’s attention is directed to the goal.

Drawing Attention to Known vs Unknown Goals

Drawing Attention to Known vs Unknown Goals

If we need to design governance that influences attention, then it matters if we know or not the goal of the decision maker. This text provides a simple simulation that illustrates the differences between the time it takes for the decision maker to reach the goal in both cases, all else being equal.

How Can Governance of Attention and Memory Change Choice?

How Can Governance of Attention and Memory Change Choice?

Three decision governance strategies are compared in terms of how they influence the ability of an agent to reach their goal in a simple problem: the first strategy involves no governance, the second complement’s agent’s memory, and the third draws their attention.

Emotions Mediate Decisions Always and Everywhere

Emotions Mediate Decisions Always and Everywhere

Decision governance can be designed to make decision makers aware of their and others’  emotions in a decision situation, and to help everyone move to a more neutral stance, if that can lead to a better outcome. This text outlines common strategies for doing so.

Selective Memory Can Be Desirable

Selective Memory Can Be Desirable

Ease at which memory will be accessed, accuracy of memories, association of stimuli with memories they lead to, will all influence the information that a decision maker will use. Decision governance can to some extent influence what is recalled, how that is related to the choice at hand, and where attention is drawn.

Attention Depends on Stimuli & Goals

Attention Depends on Stimuli & Goals

Decision governance can neutralize or amplify factors driving attention in a decision situation. The choice of strategy depends on the observed or anticipated behavior of the decision maker and the desired outcome.