The politics of directionality in innovation policy through the lens of policy process frameworks

‘Directionality’ in innovation policy is assumed to contribute to transformative change needed for urgent societal challenges. While directionality arguably lacks explicit conceptualization, the political and temporal nature of directionality suggests it can be viewed as a political process, in which diverse actors negotiate different directions. Through an integrative literature review of policy process literature, this paper discusses the politics of directionality by analyzing: ‘who gives which direction, where, when, how, and why’, using concepts from five policy process frameworks: Multiple Streams Framework (MSF), Punctuated Equilibrium Theory (PET), Policy Feedback Theory (PFT), Advocacy Coalition Framework (ACF) and the Narrative Policy Framework (NPF). We find that policy process frameworks provide relevant concepts to understand the political nature of policies and policymaking processes that are integral to directionality in innovation policy, such as policy subsystems, belief systems and policy conflict. Moreover, the study points to a relevant distinction between giving direction and directionality.