Risk Governance and the Role of Digital Communication in Policy Life-Cycle Management

Abstract

Public policies have to operate in complex, shifting environments structured by several intervening factors related to forces of change at global, national, and regional levels. Information and Communication Technologies (ICT) can support policymakers in modeling their policy design and implementation by capturing, analyzing, and acting upon a better assessment of their constituents' needs and expectations. This chapter suggests a way of dealing with the main challenges of applying ICT in policy modeling, emphasizing policy impact exploration, monitoring, and risk governance. The authors propose a conceptual framework for a policy modeling cycle that will support risk governance via continuous risk monitoring and enable proactive reactions in decision-making that go beyond currently available approaches. The chapter discusses the challenges of ICT utilization for policy modeling and the theoretical background of policy modeling. The authors propose a solution that systematically supports the policy modeling cycle and facilitates the stakeholders' activities.