Networked Policy Making Avenues: Assessing the Role of Academics in Digital Policy

Abstract

There are a growing number of examples that point toward a change in the way public policy is made in the digital age. This new context, which we refer to as networked policymaking, involves a greater variety of actors and voices, often collaborating in formal and informal networks, taking part in a public consideration and debate of policy questions via digital media. In this document, we seek to (1) describe the different avenues and modalities in which academics can influence policy, and (2) offer a framework to help researchers and other constituents assess the role of academics in policymaking. We hope that this may serve to help researchers build research agendas and policy roadmaps for engagement in specific locales and around salient policy issues.