Policy matrices -A tool for reviewing the effectiveness of risk management policies across scales and disciplines

Policies are a deliberate system that defines action and guides short-term decisions in pursuing a goal. Policy is a fundamental instrument of governance which is extensively used worldwide. However, not all policies are created equally. Contemporary literature is littered with examples of policy failures, and a large research emphasis is dedicated to co-creating ‘good’ policy. This challenge of developing good policy is exacerbated when we consider the rapidly evolving risks related to climate change. The evolving risks can make it difficult to define valid policy goals over the longer term. Furthermore, stakeholders are increasingly needed across policy and practice to overcome siloed working and co-create transdisciplinary risk management policies, considering both long-term strategic objectives and short- to medium-term operational solutions. Risk management policy instruments are relevant across spatial scales and engage with policies from other disciplines (urban planning, heritage conservation, environmental management). The article presents an innovative tool called the policy matrix to address challenges faced by policy experts. The policy matrix capitalises upon the co-creative research of the Organigraphs technique defined by Durrant et al. (2021) to co-create disaster risk management governance maps.  The article compares two policy matrices developed as part of a Horizon 2020-funded project called SHELTER. In its simplest form, a policy matrix arranges risk management policy instruments around an issue depending on their scale of implementation and disciplinary lens. This allows stakeholders to see all the policy instruments considered relevant to some specific issues. It can further provide stakeholders a robust platform to critique those policies.  By way of example, providing them with a tool to clearly “measure” the links between these policies, to identify policy gaps in thematic/operationalisation, or, from a practical perspective, to provide a tool for experts to review the level of participation in the design of these policies or the effectiveness of these policies in practice.