Using policy goal ambiguity to manage policy goal conflicts: Sponge-City Program implementation in old neighbourhoods

ABSTRACT

This research empirically examines how implementers take advantage of policy goal ambiguity to manage policy goal conflict and thus influence policy outcomes in a multiple-goal program, exemplified by the Chinese Sponge City Program (SCP) implementation. SCP is a centrally initiated program with two goals of stormwater management and low environmental impact; when implemented in the pilot city of Zhenjiang, a local goal of resident satisfaction is layered. The three goals are conflictual, namely cannot be achieved simultaneously, and have varying degrees of priority, budget, and evaluation ambiguities. Drawing on data from field investigation and in-depth interviews, we find that implementers gave more weight to the stormwater management and resident-satisfaction goals yet downplayed the low environmental impact goal; implementers used goal ambiguity to moderate technical, purview, and land-resource constraints. We conclude that for a policy with multiple conflictual goals: (1) when goals cannot be achieved simultaneously, implementers prioritize goals with clearer evaluation measures and allocate budgets accordingly to manage conflicts; (2) goal ambiguity is beneficial for a program with multiple, conflictual goals to avoid direct policy failure and achieve better outcome sustainability.

KEYWORDS:

• Goal conflict
• goal priority ambiguity
• evaluation ambiguity
• budget ambiguity
• policy outcome
• Sponge City Program

Acknowledgments

The authors wish to thank Dr. Audrey L. Mayer, Dr. Adam M. Wellstead, and two anonymous reviewers for their insightful comments on earlier drafts of the manuscript.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Additional information

Funding

This work was supported in part by the Great Lakes Research Center, Michigan Technological University.

Notes on contributors

Hongmei Lu

Hongmei Lu, Ph.D. [email protected], research associate of Environmental Policy, Department of Social Sciences, Michigan Technological University, USA. Hongmei’s research focuses on urban governance and policy, environmental sustainability, and landscape and green infrastructure.

Shan Zhou

Shan Zhou, Ph.D., Assistant Professor of Environmental Policy, Department of Social Sciences, Michigan Technological University, USA. Shan’s research focuses on policy analysis and social equity issues related to sustainability, resilient technology, and urban development.