Learn to influence policy with the DEAL community

Background 

On 19th and 20th September 2024, DEAL hosted two peer-learning gatherings for people interested in influencing policies and governments with Doughnut Economics. 33 people from 14 countries came to the gatherings. Many participants are already actively working in or with governments to influence government actions or public policies. Some are just keen on learning more about how they may take actions to influence governments and policies. 

Registered participants were invited to share their experiences and questions with their peers via a Miro board ahead of the gatherings. During the 90-minute gatherings, we got to know each other, shared reflections and experiences on shared interests and challenges and responded to each other’s queries. 

This post offers glimpses into the rich insights and resources shared at the gatherings and reflects on the feedback from the participants after the gatherings. 

Build wider alliances across society to influence policies: 

We spoke about how it is important to build wider alliances across society to challenge the status quo and push for transformation in governments and public policies so they can be more conducive for regenerative and distributive economies. 

We shared how building such wider alliance can be challenging: for examples, new economic framing and ideas can still be alien or even threatening to parts of the society; people with different backgrounds can often talk past each other as they respond to and use different types of information (e.g. graphics versus numbers); media is increasingly controlled by billionaires and their narratives can contribute to public resistance to change while social media is contributing to more echo chambers in public discourse. 

We also shared tactics that may help overcome those challenges, including: 

• Approach conversations with empathy: try to understand different peoples’ perspectives, life experiences and priorities and adapt our narratives to speak to those directly. We need to be more creative and agile in how we spread ideas and tell stories: e.g. through video, audio, policy briefs, different types of publications that speak to different audience’s interests, needs and preferences. 
• Invest time and be strategic in cultivating peer networks and partnerships: building enduring alliances requires patient work in establishing common understanding and cultivating trust and partnerships. When we want to introduce new ways of thinking and doing, it often requires explaining the same thing in many different ways over and over again. Tactically it requires better understanding of who are the key people that can influence political processes and targeting those who may be the blockers of progress. For example, to garner more public support for policy change, it can be strategic to cultivate relationships with a group of journalists who can become peers and allies in shifting media narrative;  
• Use diverse narratives and tools to build alliance and engage more effectively: Doughnut Economics concepts and tools can be both visual (e.g. seven ways of thinking in animations) and data-driven (e.g. national doughnuts); it can be fun or technical; different people with different backgrounds may see their different priorities reflected by different dimensions of the doughnut and use it to explore their interconnections with others’ priorities. Therefore Doughnut Economics can make economics more accessible for many and help build bridges amongst communities. Though it is just one framework amongst many other new economic concepts and tools. It is important to actively engage and work with a variety of concepts and tools which may appeal to different audiences and cultivate common narratives for change. 

Foreground social justice:

We also reflected on how rising inequality stokes social discontent, weakens societal trust and drives political polarisation. Therefore tackling inequality is also key in building wider societal support for transformative actions. And ecologically regenerative policies must also be complemented by policies that are socially distributive to gather wider societal support.  

Recent survey and research has shown that there is widespread public support for bolder actions to protect our planet. Though widespread perceptions that our fellow citizens may be less likely to act or disproportionate burdens to take actions are placed on the less wealthy can thwart actions. We discussed how it is important to change the narratives around broader public support, tell the stories of communities in action and take concrete actions to reduce inequality and cultivate societal trust to build wider public support for urgent and bolder actions for our planet which underpins our wellbeing. 

Reinvent how government works: 

Our discussions also highlighted that, to create a safe and just space for humanity, we need to not only influence concrete policy changes but also redesign how governments work. For examples: 

• Get money out of politics so those who have more financial powers can’t have disproportionate influence over public policies; 
• Introduce mechanisms in governments that can help counterbalance the short-term thinking linked with election cycles: for examples, Network of Institutions and Leaders for Future Generations is a network that shares good practices in making policies more long-term and future-just; in Wales, the Wellbeing of Future Generation Act introduced a Future Generation Commissioner to help public bodies and those who make policies in Wales think about the long-term impacts of their decisions.   
• Bring more learning approach and system thinking into policy design and public services: Current policy making can be a rather linear process. Policies and public services can fixate on understanding impacts while ignoring the complex reality and the interlinked nature of many societal challenges. We need to work with governments and civil servants to support learning and integrate system thinking into public administration and policy making so they are better equipped to deal with interlinked societal challenges: for example, human learning system is an alternative public management approach that embraces the complexity of the real work and enables public services to work effectively in that complexity through a learning approach.  

Politics is us: 

We also discussed that building such wider societal movements for change (in not only policies but also how government works) requires a fundamental rethink of what is policy.  Policies should not just be something that are imposed on citizens by governments and talked about only by politicians. There should be more support and educational push for every citizen to actively engage in shaping policies. We can start by taking actions ourselves to actively involve in and contribute to policy debates where we can: for examples, businesses can help build or join existing alliances to influence policies to foster a business world that embodies regenerative and distributive goals in its deep design; Comedians in Mexico has come together to use satire to influence public discourse and policies on social issues; Artists are working with policy makers in UK to prompt reflections and innovations in policy making. 

There are also many encouraging examples of more participatory policy making processes in action. For examples, People Powered is a global hub for the direct participation of community members in making policies that affect their lives with many members and inspiring stories from the majority world; digital democracy in Taiwan is fostering societal conversation and wider public inputs in policy design and implementation; the Open Government Partnership links government leaders and civil society advocates together to push for more transparent, participatory, inclusive and accountable governance globally; the Citizen Collective is amplifying those stories of change led by citizens to usher in a Citizen Future. 

Create more peer learning space: 

Participants of the peer-learning gatherings reflected on how inspiring it is to connect and exchange with others with diverse backgrounds over a common goal. While different local, national and international contexts will require different influencing strategies and tactics, there are common challenges and approaches that can be shared through peer-learning space. Driving changes in policies is demanding and challenging work that requires perseverance and dedication. Peer learning space that creates a safe space for practitioners to share frustrations and brainstorm ways forward can also be valuable in building a support network. Encouragingly, there are more and more such peer learning spaces: for example, the new economy leaders academy; the knowledge communities hosted by Green European Foundation ; the policy makers network hosted by Wellbeing Economy Alliance. 

DEAL also aims to create additional peer learning opportunities like these gatherings in the future. And participants of these first gatherings have already provided valuable feedback to help improve the design of such space. Building on those feedback, in the future, we may introduce brief case presentations and more focused policy topics (e.g. policies that shape the business world; international policies). 

Watch this space: 

Thank you to everyone who attended and contributed such interesting insights, resources and more. If you have any suggestions or questions for our peer learning space or thoughts on how to use Doughnut Economics to influence governments and policies, please comment below the post. And watch this space for more peer-learning opportunities in the future!