Policy and Complex Systems
plementation options . While some of these policies will be easily defined and can be implemented using traditional approaches , other policies will be very complex and need to be implemented using approaches suited to complexity .
As shown in Figure 2 , through categorizing policies ( and their components ) into one ofthe three types ( Bespoke , Evolutionary , or Emergent ), governments can better plan the policy design , implementation , and management strategies .
The paper brings together theory and practice from public policy , complexity , and innovative work from the U . S . and Australian Departments of Defense in the design and management of complexity . Many of the terms and language used in this paper draw from these disciplines and experience .
This paper provides a valuable foundation for governments and researchers to develop the strategies , methodologies , and capabilities necessary to develop strategies and action plans for successfully realizing complex policies .
2 . Introduction
The quality of life enjoyed by citizens
globally , both now and into the future , is dependent upon the success of today ’ s policies addressing complex issues in sustainability , poverty , health , economic development , defense , infrastructure , energy , education , etc . These complex world policy issues cannot be resolved by using the traditional strategy for policy design and implementation . Neither can they be resolved through attempting to use a Design School 3 approach in designing and implementing meta-policies that attempt to integrate multiple component policies .
Policies to realize the complex issues , such as SDGs , will be difficult to design and plan , as the issues facing the world are complex and are affected by ongoing social , political , financial , and technical change and emergence . Adding to this complexity will be the need to deliver the SDGs through multiple agents where the SDG owner often does not have directive control over the agents . Traditional management methodologies , where planning is completed by experts and then sequentially implemented and delivered , are inappropriate for complex policies .
The paper presents strategies and methodologies for the design , implementation , delivery , and emergent management of complex policies . The development of strategies and methodologies for the management of complexity has been a pivotal issue in defense , where asymmetric warfare and network-centric warfare are complex endeavors that cannot be designed , planned , implemented , and operated using traditional project management strategies and methodologies .
Complex policy , as with complex programs , are non-linear and recursive , and do not reflect the sequential planning of the traditional approach . This complexity is particularly evident in defense where complex programs operate as systems-of-systems within an emergent environment .
The United States Office of the Secretary of Defense ( U . S ., OSD ) Systems Engineering Guide 4 for systems-of-systems uses a recursive and non-linear Trapeze model ( refer Figure 3 ) with seven core elements as a mechanism to understand the behavior of complex systems .
While the Trapeze Model is a useful construct , it is not easily understood or
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M . Porter , Competitive Strategy : Techniques for Analysing Industries and Competitors ( New York : Free Press , 1980 ).
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