Opportunity Structure And Social Organization Action Strategy And Environmental Policy Innovation

Environmental policy innovation is one of the important ways for the government to actively respond to environmental problems.However,due to the publicity and negative externalities of environmental problems,the double failure of the ‘two wings’ of traditional environmental governance requires the participation of multiple subjects to realize environmental policy innovation.As an important carrier for public participation in environmental protection and the realization of public collective value demands,social organizations actively seek to do their best in environmental policy innovation to reconcile environmental conflicts of interest.This paper aims to answer how social organizations participate in the policy process and promote policy innovation.What are the main stages of social organizations promoting environmental policy innovation? What kind of opportunity structure factors affect the choice of social organization action strategy? Under the structural shaping,what action strategies are adopted by social organizations at all stages of the environmental policy innovation process,and what dimensions are the targets of their action strategies? In order to answer the above questions,this paper constructs a ‘policy process-opportunity structure-action strategy’framework based on the policy process stage theory,structure-actor related theory,opportunity structure theory and policy network theory.Using the case analysis method,this paper introduces the typical case of LY association to promote the innovation of Shenzhen folk river chief system,and investigates the opportunity structure elements and action strategy selection of LY association to promote the innovation of Shenzhen folk river chief system policy in each stage.It is found that the promotion of environmental policy innovation by social organizations has gone through three main stages: agenda setting,program planning and program adoption.The possible opportunity structures of action strategies in each stage include political opportunity structure and discourse opportunity structure.The elements of political opportunity structure include institutional arrangement,policy space and open government.Discourse opportunity structure includes media platform and public support.Political opportunity structure is the premise for social organizations to enter the policy system,and discourse opportunity structure provides opportunities for the construction and dissemination of environmental issues of social organizations.In the agenda setting stage,social organizations adopt a forced pressure strategy to promote environmental issues to attract the attention of government departments.In the program planning stage,they adopt a pilot incubation strategy to provide policy programs for government departments.In the program adoption stage,they adopt a consensus-building strategy to promote policy innovation.The government is not the only force to promote policy innovation.Social organizations are promoting environmental policy innovation as policy advocates,and the action strategies of social organizations are continuous and phased.Making good use of the structural elements of opportunities is the key for social organizations to participate in the policy process and promote environmental policy innovation.In order to better play the role of social organizations in the process of environmental policy innovation,the government should focus on the construction of cooperative policy innovation and the important role of social organization policy entrepreneurs.Social organizations should strengthen their own construction to enhance their professional ability,adopt multiple strategies to revitalize advocacy resources,and seek opportunities to seize the policy window.