Integrating Delphi and AHP Methods in Long-term Policy Decisions
Integrating Delphi and AHP Methods in Long-term Policy Decisions

Author(s): Dagmar Gombitová
Subject(s): Politics, Economic policy, Environmental and Energy policy, Methodology and research technology
Published by: Masarykova univerzita nakladatelství
Keywords: Delphi method; analytical hierarchy process; partnership agreement; long-term planning;
Summary/Abstract: This paper presents the application of expert decision methods for the formulation and prioritisation of the long-term economic, social and environmental policies in the Slovak Republic. The Partnership Agreement for the Slovak Republic is an underlying strategy for investments from the European Structural and Investment Funds in the period 2021-2027. Policies implemented under the Partnership Agreement will allocate €13.4b on four policy objectives. This paper concentrates on the policy objective 4 ‘Social development’. The authors co-operated with the Deputy Prime Minister Office and assembled panels of top Slovak experts on social and economic issues. The Delphi and Analytical hierarchy process methods were combined for analysing major development challenges and eliciting policy priorities. The methods combined the bottom-up and top-down approaches to policy making. Consecutive rounds of the ‘classical Delphi’ generated consensus by experts on major development challenges of the Slovak Republic in period 2021-2027. The ‘policy Delphi’ encouraged structured public dialogue in order to generate policy alternatives for solving development challenges. The Analytical Hierarchy Process enabled the structuring of complex policy decision problems. A hierarchy of decision goals, decision alternatives and decision criteria was constructed. Some nine policy measures were drafted and prioritised.

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