Special issue on Policy Success and Failure as Evaluation Challenges

Guest editors: Erica Melloni, Robert P. Shepherd, Giancarlo Vecchi, Dominika Wojtowicz

The guest editors are glad to share the call for papers for their upcoming special issue titled “Policy Success and Failure as Evaluation Challenges” at the International Review of Public Policy

Special Issue Overview

The focus on the goals and outcomes of public policy challenges policymakers and civil servants by requiring judgments on the success or failure of public programs (Bovens et al., 2001; Compton & t’Hart, 2019; McConnell et al., 2020). Although the shift toward outcomes has been welcomed by the evaluation community, practical shortcomings often arise, complicating policy advice and stakeholder communication. The appreciation of outcomes may prove unsatisfactory or misplaced due to factors such as flawed or conflicting policy design (Compton et al., 2021), uneven implementation processes (Shepherd, 2011), shifts in political priorities, or external shocks which alter intervention salience or resource availability (McConnell, 2010).

Assessing policy success or failure becomes particularly challenging when interventions are inconsistent or complex, as in multilevel governance contexts where responsibilities are dispersed across administrative levels. Such complexity is moreover evident in cross-cutting issues and "wicked problems" (Rittel and Webber 1974).

Several scholars argue that linear and predictable policy designs are ill-suited for complex domains (Funnell & Rogers 2011; Peters 2018), and similarly, evaluation scholars have often highlighted the limited appropriateness of a summative approach to assess such cases (Steele-Gray & Shaw 2019).

Evaluation literature offers various approaches, each with strengths and limitations. Theory-based evaluation (Chen, 1990; Weiss, 1997; Mayne, 2015) and realist evaluation (Pawson & Tilley, 1997) aims at opening the black box of programs, but risk neglecting unexpected or unsatisfied outcomes. Advocates of formative evaluations (Scriven, 1991; Stame, 2004) favour open-ended designs but risk providing less definitive judgments on program results. On the other hand, quasi-experimental and formal evaluations, rooted in positivist traditions (Shadish et al., 1991; Cook et al., 1979), struggle to account for implementation processes and may overlook the most relevant outcomes for beneficiaries. Despite the highlighted limitations, this multiplicity of approaches enriches the observation of the policy process and expands the tools available for making a judgment.

This Special Issue highlights the need to bridge policy evaluation and policy process studies. By presenting policy exemplars, it aims to illuminate more nuanced criteria for assessing policy success and failure.

Interested contributors are invited to submit abstracts for manuscripts that can enhance the understanding of the elements of success and failure in public policy processes and how to assess them, with reference to specific policy phases, sectors, external contexts, etc. Abstracts of up to 200 words should be directly submitted by email by the 28th February 2025 to one of the Special Issue editors:

Erica Melloni: erica.melloni@polimi.it
Giancalo Vecchi: giancarlo.vecchi@polimi.it
Robert Shepherd: RobertP.Shepherd@Carleton.ca
Dominika Wojtowicz: dominika.wojtowicz@kozminski.edu.pl
 

Special issue planned timeline:

February 28th: abstracts sent to one of the editors.
March 16th: decision on abstracts
June 29th: submissions of full papers to the journal for double-blind peer review.
Expected Full issue publication date: End of 2025.
 

Guest Editors  

Erica Melloni, PhD, is a research assistant at Politecnico  di Milano and a policy scientist with more than twenty years of experience in applied policy analysis and policy evaluation. erica.melloni@polimi.it

Robert P. Shepherd (Carleton University, Canada). Shepherd is full professor in the School of Public Policy & Administration, Supervisor of the graduate Diploma in Policy and Program Evaluation, and Editor of Canadian Public Administration. robertpshepherd@cunet.carleton.ca

Giancarlo Vecchi, Politecnico di Milano, is Associate Professor at Politecnico di Milano, School of Management. giancarlo.vecchi@polimi.it

Dominika Wojtowicz, Ph.D. in Economics, Associate Professor at Kozminski University, Department of Economics and Sustainable Development Center; research interests focus on the effectiveness of public policies and interventions; conducts research on the design and implementation of public policies. doma@kozminski.edu.pl

Main steps:

February 28th: abstracts sent to one of the editors.
March 16th: decision on abstracts
June 29th: presentation of full papers to undergo the double-review process.