Table 2. Complex Urban Systems for Sustainability and Health (CUSSH) stakeholders: what do we mean by policymakers, decision-makers, planners, policy entrepreneurs, governance, and civil society actors?
Term | Definition | Partners in CUSSH |
---|---|---|
Policymakers | Public policy can be defined as ‘the deliberate decisions - actions
and nonactions - of a government or an equivalent authority toward specific objectives’ 75 . Of the many actors involved in setting public policy agendas, those affiliated with government who are taking policy decisions are considered policymakers. |
Policymakers working with CUSSH include
national and local government actors working within health, environment, housing, and other sectors. |
Decision-
makers |
Decision-makers is a broad term covering a range of stakeholders.
Within public policy, the actors taking decisions may be affiliated with government or acting on its behalf. |
Decision-makers working with CUSSH
include a range of stakeholders who influence the urban environment: national and local governmental staff, planners, developers, financiers. |
Planners | Urban planning is the ‘well-honed practice of systematic compromise’
76
,
or the process of moving from knowledge to action 77 . Planning’s purpose and means are contested and diverse 78 . Planners shape and apply regulations about land use, take decisions in the interest of the public, balance competing interests, and seek to increase transparency and participation in local decision-making. |
Within some of the CUSSH cities urban
and city planners are involved in the programme. |
Policy
entrepreneurs |
Actors who use their power, knowledge, and networks to achieve
their goals by influencing policy. They may be consultants, non- governmental organisations, politicians, lobbyists, or others 79 . |
Policy entrepreneurs working with CUSSH
include non-government organizations working within the health, environment, and sustainability sectors. |
Civil society
actors |
Actors involved in public policy include ‘individuals or collectives
such as organizations, networks, or coalitions—and their attributes, including their knowledge, values, beliefs, interests, strategies, and resources’ 75 . |
Civil society actors working with CUSSH
include public and community groups and networks within the cities. |