Policy Capacity in the Digital Era: Political Economy, Advisory Systems, and Adaptive Governance

Amid increasingly complex policy challenges such as economic uncertainty and social inequality, climate change, technological disruption, and geopolitical instability, governments globally face growing pressure to respond effectively. These evolving conditions have intensified scholarly and practical interest in policy capacities required for governments to design, implement, and evaluate effective public policies. the growing importance of policy advisory systems, including experts, think tanks, civil servants, and digital knowledge platforms, has reshaped how evidence and expertise inform policymaking. Within the broader context of political economy and governance, understanding how states build and mobilize policy capacity in response to emerging global challenges, has become essential for improving policy effectiveness and democratic accountability. This Research Topic explores how institutional arrangements, advisory networks, political capacity, and emerging digital and innovative governance tools influence policymaking processes and outcomes across different political and administrative systems.Despite growing recognition of the importance of policy capacity, significant gaps remain in understanding how governments develop, mobilize, and sustain the analytical, institutional, political, and operational capabilities needed to address increasingly complex policy challenges. While aspects of policy capacity have been examined, comparatively less research has focused on the broader political economy context in which policy advisory systems operate, and how these systems mediate the interaction between expertise, institutional arrangements, and political authority. Policy advisory systems including expert councils, think tanks, internal policy units, and digital platforms, play a critical role in shaping how policies are formulated, adapted, and implemented. Emerging concepts of Adaptive Governance and Transformative Governance highlight the importance of governance systems that are flexible, learning-oriented, and capable of responding to uncertainty and systemic change. This Research Topic aims to explore how political economy dynamics, institutional arrangements, and advisory networks interact to build policy capacity and enable governments to design and implement effective, adaptive, and innovative governance strategies. Contributions from diverse political and administrative contexts will illuminate the mechanisms through which knowledge, power, and institutions co-produce policy outcomes.This Research Topic invites empirical, research and comparative contribution, conceptual analysis that examine how policy capacity, advisory systems, and political economy dynamics shape governance outcomes across diverse political and administrative contexts. We welcome manuscripts that explore, among other themes: - institutional design and operational and political capacities of policy advisory systems; - the role of expert networks and think tanks in policymaking; adaptive and transformative governance practices; - the integration of digital tools, data analytics, and innovation labs in public decision-making; - mechanisms for knowledge-policy interaction in both mature and developing political systems. Contributions may include comparative case studies across regions and political systems, analyses of sector-specific reforms, or cross-country assessments of policy advisory effectiveness. We are open to empirical research, policy-focused analyses, and theoretical papers, provided they illuminate the interaction between political economy, policy capacity, and governance innovation. Submissions should emphasize insights that illuminate broader governance dynamics. Topic editors: Evren Tok, Ozcan Ozturk, Bushra Faizi, Mohamed Eskandar Shah Source: https://www.frontiersin.org/research-topics/80631/policy-capacity-in-the-digital-era-political-economy-advisory-systems-and-adaptive-governance