Stories in the agenda: a Narrative Policy Framework study

Abstract This study applies the “Narrative Policy Framework” (NPF) to the affirmative action policy process of the Federal University of Pelotas (UFPEL) and proposes theoretical intersection between the NPF and agenda setting literature, seeking to find out the role of policy narratives in policy processes. NPF is an empiric-oriented framework that posits that the policy-makers’ stories have generalizable components and are built and crafted in accordance to their ideas. These are policy narratives, and are at the center of the policy process. By analyzing formulation stages of public policy and referring to ideas and narratives, the NPF refers to the agenda setting literature and provides means for empirical research of agenda setting concepts. The study undertook analysis of regulatory outputs and semi-structured interviews. Findings indicate that policy narratives have affected institutional regulatory outputs regarding UFPel’s affirmative action policies.摘要 本研究将叙事政策框架（Narrative Policy Framework，NPF）应用于佩洛塔斯联邦大学（Federal University of Pelotas，UFPEL）的平权政策制定流程，并提出叙事政策框架与议程设置研究领域的理论交叉点，旨在探究政策叙事在政策进程中的作用。叙事政策框架是一类实证导向型分析框架，其核心论断为政策制定者所构建的叙事具备可推广的构成要素，且会依据自身理念进行设计与打磨。此类叙事即为政策叙事，亦是政策进程的核心所在。通过对公共政策制定阶段展开分析，并结合理念与叙事视角，叙事政策框架对接了议程设置研究领域，为议程设置相关概念的实证研究提供了可行路径。本研究对规制产出文件与半结构化访谈资料展开了分析。研究结果表明，政策叙事对佩洛塔斯联邦大学平权政策相关的制度性规制产出产生了影响。