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Can learning sets help policy managers with their wicked problems?
Gleeson, Deborah Dwyer, Judith Lin, Vivian Legge, David Hughes, Alison
Gleeson, Deborah
Dwyer, Judith
Lin, Vivian
Legge, David
Hughes, Alison
Abstract
This paper reports on an evaluation of a national action learning set for health policy managers from three Australian state/territory health authorities, conducted during 2010–2011. We collected and analysed qualitative data about the major problems the participants encountered in their work, their experiences of the learning set and their perceptions of the outcomes. The predominant concerns of participants were ‘wicked problems’ in four areas: managing the environment, managing the policy process, managing the self and managing the policy team. Participants reported that the learning set had assisted them to gain greater awareness of and ability to navigate their environment, developed their judgement, strategic and problem-solving skills, contributed to empowerment and self-efficacy, and assisted them in providing support for their staff and building capacity in their organisation. Aspects of the method that contributed to learning included engaging with problems experienced by other members and discussing one’s own problems and strategies; and gaining new insight into ways of framing, analysing and responding to problems. The findings suggest that learning sets can be a powerful method for building policy capacity amongst middle-senior policy managers.
Keywords
learning sets, policy capacity, policy workers
Date
2016
Type
Journal article
Journal
Health Services Management Research
Book
Volume
29
Issue
1-2
Page Range
2-9
Article Number
ACU Department
Relation URI
Source URL
Event URL
Open Access Status
License
All rights reserved
File Access
Controlled