ABSTRACT

This conclusion presents some closing thoughts on the key concepts discussed in the preceding chapters of this book. The book discusses the role of policy consultants and changing forms of governance. It outlines strategies for effective policy consulting. The book identifies the tensions and complexities inherent in the policy fields addressed by each of the case studies and the role that the consultants played in managing the process surrounding each issue. It explains the relationship between the problem and the decision-making process was also explored by contrasting H. W. J. Rittel and M. M. Webber’s ‘wicked’ and ‘tame’ problems and rational-comprehensive and incremental decision-making strategies. The book highlights the importance of understanding the nature of the problems, or issues, on which consultants were asked to advise. During the 1980s in the federal context of smaller, market oriented government, the government’s catalytic role is more evident, especially in relation to the way they used consultants.