introducing the STRATEGIC CHOICE APPROACH A practical approach

introducing the STRATEGIC CHOICE APPROACH A practical approach to Planning under Pressure which is found especially helpful where: • people of different outlooks and allegiances • are working together with a shared concern to • move rapidly towards commitments to action • or to changes of policy • on difficult issues of shared concern This approach took shape within research on public planning and has found application within many different public policy arenas SCAintro 1

the value of the STRATEGIC CHOICE APPROACH The value of the approach lies in the way in which it focuses attention: • on the important cand urgent decisions to be made; • on the significant sources of uncertainty that can make it hard for people to agree how to move forward – whether these be technical, political or structural; • on the choice of a strategy for progress at the current stage of a dynamic planning process. 2 SCAintro

the Strategic Choice Approach: five key emphases more emphasis on: facilitating DECISIONS than on investigating SYSTEMS managing UNCERTAINTY than on acquiring INFORMATION sustaining PROGRESS than on projecting FUTURES structuring COMMUNICATION than on reinforcing EXPERTISE supporting NEGOTIATION than on exercising CONTROL SCAintro Agenda focus Knowledge focus Time focus Skill focus Influence focus 3

Managing Uncertainty in Decisionmaking: a general view Uncertainties about sources of Evidence UV “WE NEED CLEARER POLICIES” Uncertainties about Value judgements CONSULT? “WE NEED DEEPER KNOWLEDGE” INVESTIGATE? UE WHAT ARE WE TO DO NOW about this choice? • “WE NEED BROADER PERSPECTIVES”” UR NEGOTIATE? Uncertainties about choices on Related agendas SCAintro People tend to respond to a state of difficulty in making decisions in different ways …. These can be seen as responses to different kinds of UNCERTAINTY The question then becomes: should we agree now to invest in any of these types of action in response to uncertainty as a means of moving on? These choices about how to manage uncertainty can be seen as strategic; for they influence not only the decisions made, but also the future course of the process. 4

Building a progress package who now DECISIONS UNCERTAINTIES A action UNCERTAINTIES exploration B C future …… DECISIONS ---- …… exploration action …… SCAintro ------ 5

A starting point: a view of a simple process of serial choice DECISION THIS CURRENT ISSUE opportunity to reconsider options preferences & uncertainties DEVISING COMPARING options SCAintro 6

An extended view of strategic choice ISSUES progress package any role for expert mapping methods? CHOOSIN G facilitation DEVIGNIN DEVISING G any role for expert design methods? any role for expert project planning methods? explorations SHAPING problem focus DECISIONS actions + preferences & uncertainties COMPARIN G range of possible strategies SCAintro any role for expert evaluation methods? 7

Managing a strategic decision agenda CHOOSING a course of action can present challenges where people must grapple with diverse sources of uncertainty, balancing pressures for early commitment against concerns to retain flexibility of future choice SHAPING problems can present challenges where people view the choices ahead from different perspectives, and find it hard to agree on a shared focus DEVISING strategies can present challenges where people may find it hard not only to agree on options, but also to explore ways of combining them in broader schemes DEVISING COMPARING alternatives can present challenges where people may be uncertain about their impacts, and may differ over their relative importance SCAintro 8

The Story behind the Approach Started with a 4 -year research project to explore the processes of policy planning in local government – and where possible to suggest directions for improvement • hosted by Coventry City Council (in 1960’s) • sponsored by the Nuffield Foundation • conducted by a team of OR scientists and social scientists from the Tavistock Institute in London There were also significant influences from a parallel project on communications in the building industry SCAintro 9

Progress of the Coventry project Mixture of project methods (after initial confusion): • observing many meetings (open access) • tracing progress on some strategic issues • listening and talking to the people involved • struggling to develop relevant “models” • seeking opportunities to help/advise – risky! Published outcome 1969: “Local Government and Strategic Choice”: SCAintro offered (as yet untested) 10

testing & development Early projects with town planning professionals & others in UK – using parallel action research designs Experiences of training & planning workshops overseas – Canada, Brazil, Netherlands, later Japan, Venezuela. …. Growing focus on inter-organisational processes, leading to insights on appropriate ways of organising Extensions to fields of application: community planning, social policy, international SCAintro 11 development, environmental management,

How and where is SCA now used? Many recent examples in Planning under Pressure III: - variations in levels of application: local to national – cultures – public/private, language differences – variations in technology – low vs. (relatively) high… – trials in combining with other SCAintro methods/approaches 12

A Strategic Choice workshop Snapshot from an early strategic choice workshop in north-east Brazil (1984) • strategy for an offshore island close to a city • 17 participants including 3 facilitators • group progress recorded via flipcharts on walls SCAintro 13

Recording progress by computer Illustration of use of software in recording progress • Closely modelled on low-tech workshop methods • Practical alternative to a workshop for small groups working informally • Poses similar challenges of facilitation skill SCAintro 14

What’s in a name? The phrase Strategic Choice was introduced in the late 1960’s to describe situations of nonsimple decision-making, avoiding unhelpful distinctions between responsibilities for … management planning policy HOWEVER since then the growth of business schools has given rise to other different concepts of strategic choice and strategic management which are as much to do with corporate control as managing complexity. Hence the emergence of alternative phrases – for example STRATEGIC PROGRESS PLANNING in place of THE STRATEGIC CHOICE APPROACH. SCAintro 15