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Understanding Issue Attention Cycles Module

In preparing a successful impact strategy, it is important to be aware of levels of public, political 3
and bureaucratic attention to current issues, and to the issues being explored in your assessment.

Levels of attention will influence the choice of actors whom you need to engage in your work or
how to engage them.

Understanding what is on the public radar screen will also help identify where your assessment
might be useful in bringing new knowledge and recommendations for action. It has been found Abu Dhabi, UAE
that for environmental risks there is generally a pattern that resembles a “Classic” issue attention
pattern. In West Asia Region as well as in other regions, social attention to global environmental

risks has tended to lag for years behind scientific and technical developments. In certain instances
these rise relatively rapidly and continue high for a short period, then drops off again (Social
Learning Group 2001).

The research of the Social Learning Group suggests three phases of issue development (Figure 1).
During the first phase, before the issue first achieves widespread public attention, the principal
functional change is the gradual build-up of scientific and analytic capacity through research,

monitoring and assessment activities. Over a long period characterized by relatively low public
attention, society’s capacity to address new issues gradually accumulates within a relatively fixed
group of institutions, largely determined by historical circumstances and the way the issue is
perceived. It is unlikely that new institutions will become involved to a major extent with the issue
during this period of low attention.

The subsequent period of rapid rise in public attention marks a second phase in issue development.
During periods of rapid rise in public and political attention to a new issue, there will be a

renegotiation of leadership within already engaged institutions, and a need for new institutions
will emerge. At this stage of issue evolution, it is important to recognize the need for coalitions
of actors to push the issue forward. These coalitions provide the basis for a shared understanding
of the problem and its possible solutions. Effective management of emerging issues will therefore

encourage this coalition building rather than encouraging generally increased participation by
individuals, or isolated groups of actors.

A third phase of interactions among management functions is associated with the period following
the peak in public attention and continuing through the subsequent decline in attention. During this
period, the linkages between the knowledge-intensive and action-intensive management functions
increase in frequency and run in both directions: knowledge influences action and vice versa.

IEA Training Manual Workshop for the National Reporting Toolkit (NRT) 11