Climate change adaptation in public policy: frames, fire management, and frame reflection

Abstract

The influence of framing on approaches to climate change adaptation is receiving increased attention. Using case study data, this paper proposes that appreciating how a policy sector currently frames itself can not only facilitate insights into how that sector may frame adaptation but also into a sector's adaptive capacity. From a new institutional perspective, this paper argues therefore that a frame reflective practice can aid policy sectors in building their capacity for adaptive, robust approaches to adaptation planning. A frame reflexive practice could enable policy sectors to appreciate how their current framing directs action towards particular policy options, potentially ignoring others, and how exploring the sector's issues through different frames could reveal a greater array of policy options than currently considered.

Networks and problem recognition: advancing the Multiple Streams Approach

“…Consequently, as Bosomworth (2015, 1451) notes; 'Repetitively expressed in a sector's discourse and practices, a dominant frame can structure existing beliefs and norms to produce systematic biases…' In turn, institutionalized network frames specify 'not only the goals of various policies and the kind of instruments that can be used to attain those goals, but also the very nature of the problems they are meant to be addressing…' (Bosomworth 2015(Bosomworth , 1451. Therefore the interactions of the institutions forming the dominant coalition within the policy network will preference the recognition of some conditions as problems over others due to its appreciative system; values, beliefs and way of seeing the world.…”

Addressing challenges for future strategic‐level emergency management: reframing, networking, and capacity‐building

“…Such a perspective reflects the idea of reflexive learning in reframing policy problems (Schon and Rein, 1994;Bosomworth, 2015) to explore and understand better their multidimensional nature. One suggestion from this study is to facilitate a dialogue on the public value of emergency management, including a realistic portrayal of capacity and community expectations, as it operates within a broader setting.…”

“…Recognising the challenges exacerbated by the increasing occurrence of 'nonroutine and unbounded events' (Handmer and Dovers, 2007) and a changing sociopolitical/environmental landscape, most participants flagged the need to review and clarify the role of emergency service organisations. Such a perspective reflects the idea of reflexive learning in reframing policy problems (Schon and Rein, 1994;Bosomworth, 2015) to explore and understand better their multidimensional nature. One suggestion from this study is to facilitate a dialogue on the public value of emergency management, including a realistic portrayal of capacity and community expectations, as it operates within a broader setting.…”

Values of the public at risk of wildfire and its management

“…During the period the research was undertaken, DELWP was undergoing important changes in policy directions, encouraging greater attention to understanding values of the public, and facilitating a greater role for local communities in decision-making (DELWP 2015). This shift appears related to broader institutional changes in the framing of fire management from a problem of controlling fire (emergency risk management) to one of living with fire (a sustainability framing) (Bosomworth 2015), with the latter framing giving greater emphasis to community engagement about value choices and trade-offs given the inevitability of fire. It also reflects increasing emphasis on 'shared responsibility' for risk management between community and fire agencies, a notion that some attribute to attempts to engender more realistic expectations among people living in fire-prone landscapes (Bosomworth et al 2017).…”