Wicked problems present themselves as a confusing mess of interrelated problems that are continuously changing, redefined, or reproduced in different ways. Due to the inherently incomplete understanding of problems, every... [ view full abstract ]
Wicked problems present themselves as a confusing mess of interrelated problems that are continuously changing, redefined, or reproduced in different ways. Due to the inherently incomplete understanding of problems, every action can have unpredictable consequences, and today’s solutions could become tomorrow’s problems. Policy makers who try to deal with these flows of wicked problems, in order to respond to high public demands, run the risk of making promises that are far beyond their ability to deliver. They face the challenge that wicked problems have no “stopping rule” because “additional efforts might increase the chances of finding a better solution” (Rittel & Webber, 1973: 162). Moreover there are “no true or false solutions” and assessments of proposed solutions could only be expressed as "better or worse" or "satisfying" or "good enough." (Rittel & Webber, 1973: 162).
Ambitious policymakers risk to become frustrated by wicked problems, because they never know whether they are doing well. Hence, there is the question of evaluating the effects of policies on wicked problems more realistically and in a way that energizes policy makers instead of paralyzing them. In this paper we will analyse how the concept of “small wins” could contribute to this evaluation debate. Small wins differ from quick wins and are defined as “marginal adjustments or changes in degree rather than large-scale achievements or changes in kind” (Bryson, 1988), or “concrete, completed, implemented outcomes of moderate importance” (Weick, 1984: p.43). Weick (1984) postulates that recognizing and appreciating these small wins can prevent policymakers from getting caught up in wicked experiences. He also argues that these small wins in the end can churn old routines into new learning (Weick, 1984). However the concept of small wins lacks operationalization and has not been extensively applied to the domain of policy problems in the political domain yet.
This paper aims to further elaborate the concept of small wins and to discuss its potential contribution to the evaluation challenge of responses to wicked policy problems. It includes three parts:
- A literature review on the concept of small wins and the underlying assumptions
- A secondary analysis of a variety of case studies to illustrate the potential contribution of the concept of small wins for wicked policy problems
- A proposal to use small wins to evaluate wicked problem responses
References
Bryson, J. (1988). Strategic Planning: Big Wins and Small Wins. Public Money and Management, 8 (3), 11–15.
Rittel, H. & M. M. Webber. (1973). Dilemmas in a General Theory of Planning. Policy Sciences, 4 (2), 155–169.
Weick, K. E. (1984). Small Wins: Redefining the Scale of Social Problems. American Psychologist, 39 (1), 40–49.
