ABSTRACT
This introduction presents an overview of the key concepts discussed in the subsequent chapters of the book. The book presents a conceptual framework to describe and explain the influence of policy entrepreneurs on the formulation and design of public policy. It defines the policy entrepreneur, identifies the main characteristics of their entrepreneurial activities, describes strategies which the policy entrepreneur may employ, and characterises a model of successful and effective policy entrepreneurship. The book emphasises the importance of policy entrepreneurs in the public policy arena, and conveys insights into the conditions for their activity, their motivations and principal strategies. The theoretical framework and corresponding insights concerning the processes of institutional change in public policy are presented in relation to the design of the current English character education policy, which is presented as a case study. The book considers how education policy is made and the factors that lie behind the formation of this particular education policy.
