The document discusses wicked problems and policies for tackling complex public issues. It defines wicked problems as highly resistant to resolution, involving disagreement on causes and solutions. The Northern Territory Intervention is presented as a case study, where the Australian government rapidly implemented policies to address Aboriginal child abuse, though there was debate around the approach taken. The document outlines strategies for tackling wicked problems, including authoritative, competitive and collaborative approaches, and notes wicked problems often require innovative, flexible multi-agency responses and community engagement to effectively address the challenges.
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Health Partnerships, Politics and Power
AND POLICIES Louise Francis
WICKED PROBLEMS
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Module 9: Wicked Problems and Policies
Health Partnerships, Politics and Power
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Overview
What is a ‘wicked problem’?
Characteristics of wicked problems
Case Study: ‘Northern Territory Intervention’
Strategies for tackling wicked problems
Taking a position: obesity and government intervention
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Module 9: Wicked Problems and Policies
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What is a ‘wicked problem’?
‘Wicked Problems’ – an issue highly resistant to resolution
(Rittel & Webber, 1973)
Complex public policy issues
Beyond the scope of a single organisation
Disagreement about the causes and solutions
Often involves large scale behaviour change
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Module 9: Wicked Problems and Policies
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The tangles of policy complexity
Health Partnerships, Politics and Power
Productivity
Commission
2010,
Strengthening
Evidence
Based
Policy
in
the
Australian
Federation,
Volume
1:
Proceedings,
Roundtable
Proceedings,
Productivity
Commission,
Canberra.
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Module 9: Wicked Problems and Policies
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Characteristics of wicked problems
Are difficult to define
Have many interdependencies and are often multi-causal
Attempts to address them often lead to unforseen
consequences
Are often not stable
Usually have no clear solution
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Characteristics of wicked problems
Are socially complex
Rarely sit within the responsibility of any one organisation
Involve changing behaviour
Some are characterised by chronic policy failure
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Taming a wicked problem
Tobacco control
Now… broad agreement on problem and solutions
Then… entrenched use and denial of health effects
Yet some wickedness remains…
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Strategies for tackling wicked problems
Authoritative
Competitive
Collaborative
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Authoritative strategies
Problem assigned to group or individual who does problem
solving and others agree to abide by decisions
Advantage – efficiency; timeliness
Disadvantages – potential disregard for important
considerations beyond expertise of authority; distancing or
alienation of citizens; weak commitment to solution
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Competitive strategies
Central is pursuit for power, influence and market share
(win-lose outcome)
Advantages – creation of new ideas; innovation; provision
of choice
Disadvantages – conflict and stalemate; can consume
resources in competition that could be used for problem-
solving
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Collaborative strategies
Problem-solving as a partnership or joint-venture with
stakeholders (win-win view)
Advantages – higher stakeholder commitment; more
comprehensive and effective solutions; fewer resources
used by any one stakeholder
Disadvantages – increased transaction costs; rely on good
collaboration skills; dialogue can turn to conflict and
stalemate
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Can be used in combination, e.g.
Authoritative and collaborative: expert advisory group
could identify the preferred package of measures after an
initial collaborative strategy has been used to identify the
full range of views, interconnections, causes and possible
solutions
Competitive and collaborative: tobacco control – overall
generally collaborative but competitive implementation of
regulations
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Case Study: NT Intervention
What do you know about the Northern Territory
Intervention?
Where did you get your information?
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Case Study
Legislative response to
the Report of the
Northern Territory Board
of Inquiry into the
Protection of Aboriginal
Children from Sexual
Abuse, or 'Little Children
are Sacred' report
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Case Study: NT Intervention
the Northern Territory National Emergency Response Act
2007 (“the National Emergency Response Act”);
the Families, Community Services and Indigenous Affairs
Amendment (Northern Territory National Emergency
Response) Bill 2007 (“the FACSIA Act”); and
the Social Security and Other Legislation Amendment
(Welfare Reform) Act 2007 (“the WR Act”).
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Case Study: NT Intervention
NTER suite of acts – over 500 pages
Pushed through parliament in a week
Scrutiny by Senate Committee convened for one day
Open for public consultation for 48 hours
154 submissions received
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VIDEO
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Activity 9. The NT Intervention
1. Considering the characteristics of wicked problems, describe why Aboriginal
disadvantage could be considered a wicked problem.
2. What are some of the determinants of Aboriginal disadvantage that were mentioned
in the film and what were the strategies or ‘interventions’ that were implemented?
Are the intervention strategies appropriate for the determinants they aim to address?
3. The Tackling Wicked Problems reading details three approaches to dealing with
wicked problems: Authoritative, Competitive and Collaborative. Which approach was
used for the NT Intervention and is there a more appropriate approach?
4. What impacts has the NT Intervention had on local Aboriginal communities? (You
may like to consider past policy approaches in Australia concerning Aboriginal
people).
5. Lavarack discusses the health practitioner role and the interaction with power,
empowerment, and participation. How might these concepts be applied to the
wicked problem of Aboriginal disadvantage?
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Case Study: NT Intervention
The immediate nature of the Australian Government’s
response reflects the very first recommendation of the
Little Children are Sacred report into the protection of
Aboriginal children from child abuse in the Northern
Territory which said: “That Aboriginal child sexual abuse
in the Northern territory be designated as an issue of
urgent national significance by both the Australian and
Northern Territory Governments…”
- Mal Brough, then Minister for Indigenous Affairs
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Case Study: NT Intervention
Not such an emergency previously?
Memmott, P. et al. 2001, Violence in Indigenous
Communities, Crime Prevention Branch, Attorney
General’s Department, Canberra
Australian Institute of Health and Welfare, 2006, Child
Protection Australia, 2004-2005, Catalogue no. CWS 26,
Canberra
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Case Study: NT Intervention
“What is required is a determined, coordinated effort to
break the cycle and provide the necessary strength, power
and appropriate support and services to local
communities, so they can lead themselves out of the
malaise: in a word, empowerment!”
Pat Anderson and Rex Wild, authors of Little Children are
Sacred Report
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Case Study: NT Intervention
Despite the Intervention’s $672 million housing budget, 3
years later, only 11 houses had been built for Aboriginal
people in the seized communities.
While 56 houses have been built for non-Indigenous
people in those communities.
(The Australian and National Indigenous Times, 2010)
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Three broad groupings:
(Altman, 2007)
Those that seek to discipline Indigenous
subjects/labour/future labour.
Those that seek to dilute land rights or expand their
potential for commercial development.
Those that seek to depoliticise democratic Indigenous
organisations and to impose external control over
townships.
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5 requirements for progress (Altman, 2007)
respect for Indigenous diversity
partnerships with communities
realistic local and regional investments
building of local intercultural organisations and institutions
and capabilities
planning at the local and regional levels for sustainable
outcomes
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Tackling wicked problems
Holistic, not partial or linear thinking
Innovative and flexible approaches
The ability to work across agency boundaries
Effectively engaging community in understanding and
solving problems
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Tackling wicked problems
Additional core skills
Better understanding of behavioural change by policy
makers
A comprehensive focus and/or strategy
Tolerating uncertainty and accepting the need for long
term focus
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More detail:
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Questions & comments
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Editor's Notes
1
2
The term ‘wicked’ in this context is used, not in the sense of evil, but the way the term would be used by a mathematician for example describing an issue highly resistant to resolution.
In a landmark article, the authors observed that there is a whole realm of social planning problems that cannot be successfully treated with traditional linear, analytical approaches. They called these issues wicked problems and contrasted them with ‘tame’ problems. Tame problems are not necessarily simple—they can be very technically complex—but the problem can be tightly defined and a solution fairly readily identified or worked through. The original focus of the wicked problem literature was on systems design at a more ‘micro’ level, but the concept has gradually been applied to broader social and economic policy problems.
Unforseen consequences – tobacco stigma and most marginalised
These give the problem to some group (or an individual), who take on the problem-solving process while others agree to abide by its decisions. Identification of this small set of stakeholders may rest on their knowledge and expertise, organisational position in the hierarchy, information or coercive power. An essential ingredient is that other stakeholders acquiesce in the transfer of power to the anointed few and agree or are forced to abide by their decisions.
Examples include the High Court decision around native title and Reserve Bank decisions around interest rates. Such authoritative strategies can also be useful in emergency situations.
– Key advantages include efficiency and timeliness.
– Key disadvantages include the potential disregard for important issues and considerations, as authorities and experts tend to search for solutions within their narrow bandwidth of experience, and the lost opportunity for learning. If problem-solving is left to experts, especially in a democratic society, then citizens can become further distanced or alienated from the important issues of their time.
Central to the pursuit of such strategies is the search for power, influence and market share—stakeholders following this strategy generally assume a win-lose outcome. The competitive federalism of the Australian system can result in this approach, for example, when the States compete for foreign and local investment.
– Key advantages include the creation of new ideas and innovation and the provision of choice, for example, competition between Job Network providers.
– Key disadvantages include conflict and stalemates that occur when stakeholders have enough power to block one another but not enough power to achieve their agenda. Competition can also consume resources that could be spent on problem-solving.
These are supported by the bulk of the literature as being the most effective in dealing with wicked problems that have many stakeholders amongst whom power is dispersed. It is particularly relevant where part of the solution to the problem involves sustained behavioural change by many stakeholders and/or citizens.
At the core of collaboration is a win-win view of problem-solving. Partnerships, joint ventures, whole of (or joined up) government, international treaties and information campaigns to influence lifestyle choices are all variations on this strategy.
– Key advantages include higher stakeholder commitment, more comprehensive and effective solutions, and fewer resources having to be used by any one stakeholder.
– Key disadvantages include increased transaction costs (these costs can be significant) and the fact that the skills of collaboration are in limited supply. In worst cases collaboration can end poorly—dialogue can turn into conflict, hardened positions and stalemate.
State governments have responsibility for regulating smokefree environments and a dynamic tendency has been observed where States and Territories competitively leapfrog each other’s regulation in the area of smokefree places and other regulations. Many stakeholders believe that this has achieved quicker incremental toughening of such regulations than would have occurred through a cooperative policy of adopting a more uniform nationwide approach.
So whilst collabroative is generalyl considered the most appropriate response to wicked problems there may be instances where authoritative or competitive approaches are useful.
It may be getting too old a case study for anyone to remember it – however it is mentioned in a couple of readings in other units and older students may recall…
a legislative response from the Federal Government to the Northern Territory Government's Inquiry into the Protection of Aboriginal Children from Sexual Abuse, or 'Little Children are Sacred' report.
The legislation was instigated by the Howard government with the support of the then opposition Labor party in the Commonwealth parliament.
a legislative response from the Federal Government to the Northern Territory Government's Inquiry into the Protection of Aboriginal Children from Sexual Abuse, or 'Little Children are Sacred' report.
The legislation was instigated by the Howard government with the support of the then opposition Labor party in the Commonwealth parliament.
a legislative response from the Federal Government to the Northern Territory Government's Inquiry into the Protection of Aboriginal Children from Sexual Abuse, or 'Little Children are Sacred' report.
The legislation was instigated by the Howard government with the support of the then opposition Labor party in the Commonwealth parliament.
Available in Blackboard Module – make sure in edit mode.
Or access from Reading List.
Or direct (should work on Curtin internet connection automatically without login): https://search.informit.org/doi/10.3316/edutv.568069
a legislative response from the Federal Government to the Northern Territory Government's Inquiry into the Protection of Aboriginal Children from Sexual Abuse, or 'Little Children are Sacred' report.
The legislation was instigated by the Howard government with the support of the then opposition Labor party in the Commonwealth parliament.
a legislative response from the Federal Government to the Northern Territory Government's Inquiry into the Protection of Aboriginal Children from Sexual Abuse, or 'Little Children are Sacred' report.
The legislation was instigated by the Howard government with the support of the then opposition Labor party in the Commonwealth parliament.
a legislative response from the Federal Government to the Northern Territory Government's Inquiry into the Protection of Aboriginal Children from Sexual Abuse, or 'Little Children are Sacred' report.
The legislation was instigated by the Howard government with the support of the then opposition Labor party in the Commonwealth parliament.
a legislative response from the Federal Government to the Northern Territory Government's Inquiry into the Protection of Aboriginal Children from Sexual Abuse, or 'Little Children are Sacred' report.
The legislation was instigated by the Howard government with the support of the then opposition Labor party in the Commonwealth parliament.
1. Those that seek to discipline Indigenous subjects/labour/future labour
With non-discretionary quarantining of welfare incomes, supposed total grog bans, supposed total bans on pornography, (including, apparently, late night SBS movies), requirements for people to work for the dole (not CDEP) on community cleanups, and controlled tenancy arrangements that restrict modes of living, much of this can only be understood as aiming to ‘neoliberalise’ Indigenous labour.
2. Those that seek to dilute land rights or expand their potential for commercial development
These are the most contentious measures, because the process of abolishing permits was clearly underway prior to the intervention announcement, and the compulsory acquisition of township leases will dispossess traditional owners of their land. There is considerable scope for viewing these measures as what Pat Turner and Nichole Watson (2007) have termed a ‘trojan horse’ to further dispossess Aboriginal land owners.16
3. Those that seek to depoliticize democratic Indigenous organisations and to impose external control over townships
These measures include stripping CDEP organisations of their assets and abolishing CDEP, appointing government business managers with legal rights to attend the meeting of any democratically-elected organisation and with absolute powers in townships that probably exceed those of the settlement superintendent of earlier policy eras.
1. At the broadest level, it is imperative to recognise Indigenous diversity and difference, preferably as a positive that benefits the Australian nation, rather than as something just to be tolerated. The current neoliberal hegemony that privileges both individualism and mainstream Australian social norms needs to be challenged.
2. There is a need for partnerships with communities and the establishment of appropriate elected or nominated channels to formally hear Indigenous aspirations. Not just Mal Brough’s all-too often cited ‘private dissenting voice lost at the back of the crowd, except to the minister’s perceptive ear’;34 or just those—like Noel Pearson or Warren Mundine or the NIC or now
Galarrwuy Yunupingu—who advocate for policy change that echoes the Howard Government’s ideology and approach.
3 There is a need for realistic local and regional investments to catch up and close the gaps. It must enable local opportunity and take advantage of the richness of the environmentally-intact and biodiversity-rich land holdings owned by many living in remote situations. This enablement will require abandoning periodic loose and degrading talk about closing down unviable black communities, an argument using a culturally-constructed and selectively-applied notion of ‘viability’ while privileging some non-viable sections of the broader community.35
4 There is a need to build local intercultural organisations and institutions and capabilities, investing in making imperfect organisations better rather than perfect, but ensuring ‘good enough governance’ for local control. The appointment of government business managers and the closing down of CDEP organisations is very counter to this approach.
5 There is a need to plan at the local and regional levels for sustainable outcomes at realistic levels that are clear about livelihood possibilities; to undertake some rigorous needs-based analysis; and put some negotiated evaluation frameworks in place.