Article Review: Information in Communicative Planning

"Information in Communicative Planning" is an article authored by Judith E. Innes. Its primary aim is to establish and elaborate on the role of information in ensuring the process of planning is transparent, and its contents are based on facts and data collected regarding a specified issue that is to be addressed. The author introduces her article by claims that the recognized key responsibility of the planners in the decision-making process is to deliver the required information. They are then required to leave the arena to the elected officials and the public to choose the best ideas to use to make policies. The implication of this is that although the planners are expected to give the right, professional and unbiased information to the policymakers, the later does not use entirely everything that has been presented. Instead, they only select what seems sensible to them and leave out everything else inconsiderate of why it was included in the analysis. First, what is the significance of information in transparent planning if the decision-makers do not trust fully what is presented to them by the planners? And second, what can experts of communicative planning do to ensure there is transparency in the actions taken by the policymakers?

Is your time best spent reading someone else’s essay? Get a 100% original essay FROM A CERTIFIED WRITER!

Save 25%

Whereas no one including the decision makers, the planners, the experts or the public can be planned for the apparent lack of appreciation of the significant role played by information in communicative planning, it is unmistakably evident there is a hollow somewhere. Some facts and data are numerously left out when conducting the so-called open designing. The information used is not usually or else entirely obtained from the analytical reports and the quantitative measures produced, but rather it is acquired from the opinions of the participants sitting at the bench. Their decisions and actions change as they continuously interact and communicate amongst themselves whereas things would have been different if the actual information was utilized in the entire policy-making process. The author, hence, depicts that better choices and actions would have been made if only the significance of information in open planning would be recognized.

The information gathered by researchers and experts is presumably what should be used by the policymakers as it usually comprises surveys, feasibility studies, predictions and forecasts among other facts. Moreover, it is sometimes based on calculations, and scientific researches as the key motive are to produce reliable and factual analytical reports to be forwarded to the decision makers. The elected and appointed officials that are expected to use the information to make significant policies affecting the public directly, however, they turn out to be rationalists who are only interested in what seems favorable. They do not conduct themselves as expected, and they end up leaving out some crucial information that would have influenced the making of more useful decisions that can significantly offer solutions to the issues being addressed. What transpires after the judgment has been made and the actions taken is the wrath of the public and other ignorant decision-makers because all they know and understand is that the experts are responsible for whatever decision was made. They believe that the experts expected to collected and present information and reports to be used in making policies do not meet the requirements as they do not present everything they have gathered but rather hold back some data. According to the article, these are just accusations from ignorant or else naive individuals who are not aware of the "behind the scenes" acts of the people assigned the task of making decisions for the public.

The doubts from those affected by the decisions made are, however, justifiable as the author indicates. Concerned organizations require the information to be utilized in the policy-making process, private and public agencies spend a lot of money trying to gather and communicate crucial data that can be used for the same purpose. The media such as through the newspaper's report the outcomes of the surveys and conducted regarding the policies to be made and the problems seeking solutions. Thus, how else can one can convince the public that the experts are competent in performing their responsibilities? This is the primary reasons practitioners need to strategize on ways they can make those in the dark understand the entire process of communicative planning and how it is carried out.

Therefore, it would be accurate to depict that information influences actions as it gets fixed significantly in the practices, thoughts, and institutions of the community involved in communicative planning. Information limits the choices or the ideas from where the decision is expected to be extracted such that only the best are left for the participants to choose from of which implies the most suitable alternative, if not the best, will be used in policymaking. Other ways to ensure competence, as has been elaborated in the article using examples, is the involvement of the experts in the decision-making process. It includes allowing them at the bench where they can contribute their views on what they believe to be the right direction to follow. In this way, the information is shared, discussed and validated at the table after which the favorable action will be taken.

Correspondingly, alongside to the various ways defined above regarding the importance of information in communicative planning, there are other benefits. First, it takes time and a lot of resources to collect and gather factual information since many participants have to be involved. This implies that the data collected is reliable and relevant to the issues pending decisions to be made by the policymakers. Hence, it is crucial for all organizations, not only those in the government but also in the corporate sector, to understand that information is a vital aspect of development. Utilization of the right and relevant data when making significant decisions can help in the enhancement of the performance of the business. It will aid in the open planning by the management of which will significantly affect the performance of the employees of which the primary beneficiary is the organization through improved productivity. Second, the inclusion of information in communicative planning is essential when making individual decisions as it creates time to analyze and evaluate the relevance of the limited choices in the issue at hand. Thus, this will help in minimal errors that might lead to thwarting of the entire process and the underachievement of the intended goals and objectives.

Conclusion

In conclusion, therefore, adequate utilization of information in communicative planning applies to a lot of sectors including social, economic, and political, and others where policies are made. The key essence of this is to help in making decisions that will lead to actions that are useful to the intended audience of whom are the stakeholders. Leaders and individuals at the top of the managerial hierarchy are the most affected when it comes to inadequate use of the provided information during open planning. Thus, as Judith Innes suggests, the public should understand that the experts conduct their roles competently, but at times the decision-makers do not so it would be better when the former are also included at the table.

References

Innes, J. E. (1998). Information in communicative planning. Journal of the American Planning Association, 64(1), 52-63.