OED Policy Design Sprint: Final Report

This publication came out of a collaboration organized together with APROPOS – Advancing Process in Politics. OED Collaborations activate external partnerships to deliver its members with tailored events designed around a variety of themes, audiences, and objectives.

In the context of the global pandemic in June 2021, policymakers from six different parliaments across Europe pioneered a completely new approach to cross-border policy design. They agreed to participate in an intensive, multi-session workshop that had them work together and brainstorm on finding solutions to a given topic. We called this new format the OED Policy Design Sprint, and the topic challenge that the participants decided to tackle was: “How can parliaments better oversee executive action during crises?”

The OED Policy Design Sprint format thrives on a small group of dedicated participants who want to find a new way to collaborate on possible solutions to a single policy issue. While they did so, the OED team supported participants by providing expertise, resources, and ad-hoc and continuous research in-between meetings and throughout the whole process.

At the end of three workshops, the participating policymakers had a proposal ready: to ensure democratic oversight in crisis by setting up a parliamentary crisis committee that can work in connection with a citizen’s platform that is swiftly activated in times of crisis and where citizens can make their voice heard.

We are excited to share with you not only the proposal that parliamentarians presented in its two versions, one drafted for policymakers and one specifically tailored to citizens, but also a report that features a step-by-step process of the collaborative process used for the first edition of the OED Policy Design Sprint.