Evaluating Informational Inputs in Rulemaking Processes: A Multi-State Regulatory Analysis
This study analyzes the informational inputs and strategic actions of coalitions of actors within the regulatory context and the resulting regulatory outcomes. Scholars understand the resources of coalitions of actors to be important to influencing policy outcomes (Sabatier, 1999; Weible, 2008).
The study proposed here investigates one such category of resources: information. Information that can influence policymaking in the regulatory context can include science and other expert-produced information, advocacy-oriented information, industry-focused information, or media-produced information (Crow & Stevens, 2012; Healy & Ascher, 1995; Korfmacher & Koontz, 2003; Layzer, 2012).
Citizens can also, at times, produce effective information that can be influential to informing and influencing regulatory decisions (Layzer, 2012). Not only is the information itself a resource, used to inform and persuade, but also the strategy with which the information is used can be important to understand when studying coalitions of actors.