Biotechnology as a low-level-of-coherence policy priority: effectual-targeting and the need for learning and experimentation capabilities

During the last two decades, policymakers in various positions have been adopting a systems-approach to policy thinking. However, in contrast with the quasi-evolutionary way in which policy is thought of and conceptualised it seems that policy doing is still being guided by ‘market-failure’ justifications causing actual policies to remain narrow in their scope. In this paper we sidestep this analytical divide of thinking/doing by developing a co-evolutionary framework that utilises a more productive analytical divide of means/ends. That is to say we focus on a process of co-evolution of a higher-order, one which takes place ‘inside’ the agent of policy herself, and involves changes in the ways ‘means’ and ‘ends’ are understood and acted upon. Conceptualising policy problems in terms of means/ends contributes to current debates by rendering the difficulty that countries are facing in their attempts to prioritise biotechnology more intelligible and thus manageable.