Policy Implementation As a Wicked Problem: a Study of the Horse-World
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Durham E-Theses Policy implementation as a wicked problem: A study of the horse-world ELLIOTT, KAREN How to cite: ELLIOTT, KAREN (2013) Policy implementation as a wicked problem: A study of the horse-world, Durham theses, Durham University. Available at Durham E-Theses Online: http://etheses.dur.ac.uk/9380/ Use policy The full-text may be used and/or reproduced, and given to third parties in any format or medium, without prior permission or charge, for personal research or study, educational, or not-for-prot purposes provided that: • a full bibliographic reference is made to the original source • a link is made to the metadata record in Durham E-Theses • the full-text is not changed in any way The full-text must not be sold in any format or medium without the formal permission of the copyright holders. Please consult the full Durham E-Theses policy for further details. Academic Support Oce, Durham University, University Oce, Old Elvet, Durham DH1 3HP e-mail: [email protected] Tel: +44 0191 334 6107 http://etheses.dur.ac.uk DURHAM UNIVERSITY Policy implementation as a wicked problem: A study of the horse- world Karen Elliott School of Applied Social Sciences This Thesis is submitted for the Degree of Doctor of Philosophy, School of Applied Social Sciences, Durham University, July, 2013. Preface This thesis has presented several challenges, which resulted in submission taking longer than anticipated. I started this study in November 2006 with the data collection phase lasting from October 2007-December 2008, with follow-up interviews in 2010. The reason behind these delays despite the usual PhD student’s experience of blood, sweat and tears in producing the final draft, is quite simple. In May 2007, I was diagnosed with a benign brain tumour. The onset of frequent headaches had been diagnosed as stress from a culmination of several personal life changes in a short period of time. Life presented a choice; I could sit and worry about potential outcomes or decide to live well. I had a wonderful son, mother, and friends and as years of competitive sport taught me, most challenges in life are seventy percent psychological - a life lived well was my choice. What I did underestimate was the scale of the side-effects from the medication. In the first few months, I lost days because I was unable to stand until my body became accustomed to the medication. As a fitness enthusiast the 1:10 chance of heart valve failure was a difficult statistic to comprehend combined with constant tiredness, dizziness, and nausea. The impact of the side-effects also made thinking clearly and logically challenging at times. In addition, a series of operations commenced in 2007-April 2013. And, after a period of stabilisation, the medication was reduced, only for the tumour to re-grow in February 2011, while increasing in size from 2007. By this time, I was employed by Durham University Business School. Another break from studying followed, as the medication was increased by two hundred percent and the combination of working full-time, parenthood and trying to complete this thesis was impossible. Moving forward to December 2012, the tumour stabilised while the medication remained high (to guard against re- growth), studies recommenced and submission followed in July 2013, at last. Ironically, in sociological terms, I am a critical realist/complexity theorist as you will discover in this thesis. Despite the persistence of my tumour, as I do not have an external label, most people are shocked to discover its existence. This I put down to the choice to live well, continue working, keep fit, and overcoming obstacles to completion with the care and support of those closest to me including equines (providing therapy at all times). And most importantly, showing my son that you can achieve most things in life with determination and strength of mind, challenges are seventy percent psychological and thirty percent physical - literally blood, sweat, and tears. ii To conclude, within Durham University there are many people to thank and most are listed in the acknowledgments. The University has supported this thesis through to completion and for that, I will always be grateful. I am thankful that my tumour is benign and I can continue with my philosophical motto “live well, love much, and laugh often” because you never know what will happen next. iii Abstract The British Horse Industry Confederation and Department of Environment, Food & Rural Affairs’ (2005) Strategy for the Horse Industry in England and Wales (Strategy) expresses an ambitious vision to transform the traditional horse- world into a horse industry by 2015. The Horse Strategy calls for all equestrians to become stakeholders, responsible for implementing its central aims of increasing grassroots participation and encouraging engagement with the Horse Strategy. Since 2005, little is known about stakeholders’ experiences of the implementation process or what degree of progress has been made towards creating the horse industry. Given the complex number of groups involved each with their own sets of interests and motives to engage with the horse-world, it is expected that implementation of the Horse Strategy forms a complex wicked problem that is unforeseen and poorly treated. This thesis explores regional representatives, local authority council policy officers and grassroots equestrians’ experiences of implementing the Horse Strategy. A qualitative analysis of 59 (male and female) semi-structured interviews, diaries (33 adults and 27 children) and profiles, participant and nonparticipant observation, and documentary analysis of equine-related policies and articles is carried out. Sport England’s (2004) Framework for Sport was used to gain an understanding of what factors influence an individual’s choice to participate in equestrianism, and the CLEAR Framework diagnostic tool (Lowndes et al., 2006) was adopted to assess equestrians’ engagement with the Strategy. Interrelated factors were found to influence an individual’s choice to participate in grassroots equestrianism and these synergistically built on each other to increase participation. The notion of a ‘hook’ or bond with a horse emerged as the most influential factor. However, each group showed considerable competing vested interests that led to fragmentation of the horse-world, giving rise to implementation barriers, deficits, and inertia. Even if a shared language can be established around the icon of the horse to increase participation, problems remain in addressing resourcing, cost, and infrastructure constraints. An overarching complex wicked policy problem emerged as the vested interests among different equestrian groups served to constrain and hinder the policy implementation process. This thesis concludes by providing recommendations to the BHIC and Defra, policy officers, regional representatives and grassroots proprietors to increase participation and encourage engagement with policy at local-level. iv Acknowledgements I would like to thank the following organisations and people who have contributed to the completion of this thesis. This project was jointly funded by the Economic and Social Research Council (ESRC) and the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra), I am grateful to both these organisations for their support. A special degree of thanks goes to my supervisors Helen Charnley and Dr Martin Roderick, with encouragement and support from Prof. Ian Stone, Dr Ad van den Oord, Dr Mat Hughes, Dr Dave Robson, and to Prof. David Byrne who first encouraged me to undertake a PhD. Their contributions reflect more than encouragement and knowledge, rather supporting progress during unusual personal circumstances throughout the writing stage of the study. The securing of funding and guidance offered by Dr Sam Hillyard has been appreciated and provided the motivation to complete this thesis. This research would have been impossible without the help and enthusiasm shown by all the participants. From local authority policy officers through to equestrians and equines, free unconditional access was granted to sharing their experiences of equestrianism, allowing a unique insight into equestrian participation and implementing policy at local-level. I am very grateful to my fellow doctoral students for their encouragement, support, companionship, memories and lasting friendship: Dr Lakshika Liyanage, Dr Mae Yang and Dr Edson Munsaka. Finally, a very special mention for the following family, friends, and equines, without which, this thesis would not have been remotely possible. First, I owe a very special and overwhelming debt of gratitude to my mother, Anne, and son, Owen. Second, to my friends: Joan, Colin, John, Mat, Jen, Kathryn, Paul, Min, Emma, Carolyn, Elly, Beverley, Liz, Jane, Martyn, Alan, Anna-Lena, Rachel, and Louise. Equines: Ossian, Ajax, Beblo, Jurgen, Truffle, Romeo, Luna, Juno, and Jethro. This thesis is also dedicated to the memory of John Elliott and Diane Dodsworth who played central roles in encouraging my aspirations and life-long passion for everything equine. “There is something about the outside of a horse that is good for the inside of a man... Young men have often been ruined through owning horses, or through backing them, but never through riding them: unless of course they break their necks, which, taken at a gallop, is a very good death to die” Sir Winston Churchill (1874-1965) “A canter is the cure for every evil” Benjamin Disraeli (1804-1881) v Declaration and Statement of Copyright The contents