Abstract

Analysis of policy ecosystems can be challenging due to the volume of documentary and ethnographic data and the complexity of the interactions that define the ecology of such a system. 

This paper uses climate change adaptation policy as a case study with which to explore the potential for QE methods to model policy ecosystems. Specifically, it analyzes policies and draft policies constructed by three different categories of governmental entity—nations, state and local governments, and tribal governments or Indigenous communities—as well as guidance for policy makers produced by the United Nations Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change and other international agencies, as a first step toward mapping the ecology of climate change adaptation policy. 

This case study is then used to reflect on the strengths of QE methods for analyzing policy ecosystems and areas of opportunity for further theoretical and methodological development.