Abstract
This paper begins with a simple normative model of the policy process in terms of the information and authority relationships and flows required to meet two assumed criteria: those of democracy (informed citizen participation) and intelligence (anticipation and learning). The model contains four actors: elite, public, anticipatory unit, and monitoring unit. The paper continues with a descriptive summary of the major characteristics of the four actors which work against the realization of the information and authority connections which our criteria require. The final section suggests general ways in which computers, especially interactive computing using graphics, can lessen the force of the inhibiting characteristics The general suggestions are supplemented by three illustrative applications: inductive data analysis (IDEA), mapping the urban system (the Kankakee project), and eliciting and enriching citizen preferences (the Smithsonian and the PLATO projects).
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Bobrow, D.B. Computers and a normative model of the policy process. Policy Sci 1, 123–134 (1970). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00145197
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00145197