The Decision Seminar

Abstract
Over the past 30 years, urban policies in such areas as public health, housing, economic development, and education have consistently been undercut by unexpected opposition. This is partially attributable to the ambiguity inherent in politics, but it also derives from the inability of policymakers to examme systematically the political process and its implications for successful policy development. We suggest the decision seminar, a problem-solving tool developed by Harold Lasswell, as a means for clarifying the ambiguity of the political process and allowing policymakers to understand better community undercurrents ofsupport for and opposition to any policy proposal. Based on our examination of several successful decision seminars, we suggest conditions and practices necessary to maximize the effectiveness of a decision seminar.

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