Institutional policy learning and public consultation: The Canadian xenotransplantation experience

Mavis Jones, Edna Einsiedel

Résultat de recherche: Articleexamen par les pairs

22 Citations (Scopus)

Résumé

Attempts to evaluate public consultations, participatory technology assessment, and deliberative democracy have typically considered impacts on either policy or participants. The determination of impacts on policy institutions has been limited due to the challenges of tracing effects through the policy process, or penetrating bureaucratic walls. This paper presents findings from a retrospective study exploring the institutional lessons learned from a 2001 Canadian national public consultation on xenotransplantation. The consultation was conducted through an arm's-length process and involved the use of citizen juries in six regional sites. We conducted in-depth interviews of regulatory and policy actors who were engaged in early policy discussions and the consultation process. We reviewed evaluations of this process, both internal and external, which gave us richer insights into what institutional actors saw as the impacts of this consultative experience on their policy environment. Participants in our research identified a broader shift toward openness in policy culture which they linked specifically to the innovative consultation process employed for xenotransplantation. We argue that beyond input into policy decisions, a consultation may have an impact in terms of its contribution to overall shifts in institutional culture (related to institutional learning), such as an " opening" of technological decision processes to a broader range of actors, knowledge, and values.

Langue d'origineEnglish
Pages (de-à)655-662
Nombre de pages8
JournalSocial Science and Medicine
Volume73
Numéro de publication5
DOI
Statut de publicationPublished - sept. 2011
Publié à l'externeOui

Note bibliographique

Funding Information:
The authors wish to acknowledge the support of the European Commission Framework 7 study , Citizen Participation in a Knowledge Intensive Policy Field (CIT-PART) ( SSH-CT-2008-225327 ), Genome Canada’s GE3LS project on Genomics and knowledge translation in health systems, the invaluable contribution of Meaghan Brierley, and the anonymous reviewers whose suggestions greatly improved this manuscript.

ASJC Scopus Subject Areas

  • Health(social science)
  • History and Philosophy of Science

PubMed: MeSH publication types

  • Journal Article
  • Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

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