The Institutional Embedding of Interactive Policy Making Insights From a Comparative Research Based on Eight Interactive Projects in the Netherlands

In this article, the authors address citizen involvement at the central government level in the Netherlands. Through comparative research in which they systematically analyze eight interactive projects in three governmental departments, the authors especially pay attention to the relation between the informal character of interactive policy making and formal democratic decision-making procedures. They call this the "institutional embedding of interactive policy making." The authors address the question, which forms of institutional embedding are most promising in securing continued effect from interactive policy making on formal democratic decision making? To answer this question, they distinguish three different forms of institutional embedding—that is, administrative, governmental, and political. The comparative research shows that a multiple institutional embedding of administrative, governmental, and political secures the continued effect of interactive policy making. Political embedding is especially important in creating enough pressure to organize and manage interactive processes well and take outcomes seriously into account.