Policy mobilities and the policy cycle: An analysis using two smart grid case studies

Abstract

This paper adds to scholarship on policy mobilities by borrowing a typology and set of ideas from political science about the different stages of the policy making process, namely agenda-setting, policy formulation, decision making, implementation, and evaluation. To date policy mobilities scholarship has mostly not been explicit about which stage of the policy process is being examined. We therefore provide a structure for analysing mobile policy inflows to, and outflows from, a policy over time, across the different stages, allowing the analysis of policy mobilities to be aligned more closely with government decision making processes. To test out our ideas we trace the policy mobilities associated with two Australian smart grid policies over their lifetime, i.e. in the lead up to the policy being implemented, and subsequently. The policies are the Advanced Metering Infrastructure (AMI) program in the State of Victoria, Australia (2009–2013) and the Australian federal government Smart Grid Smart City program (2010–14). We analyse a combination of codified and tacit forms of knowledge sharing, including through policy and industry reports, and interviews with policy practitioners. Key findings include a peak in policy mobilities during the implementation stage, and policy mobility inflows (learning from elsewhere) continuing even in later policy stages. In conclusion we advocate for greater attention to policy mobilities at different stages of the policy process, in order to broaden the scope of policy mobilities research and to develop a stronger understanding of the temporal dimensions of policy mobilities.