Public policy structuring incorporating reciprocal expectation analysis

•This paper proposes a method of structuring public policy by incorporating reciprocal expectation analysis.•The proposed method visualizes the roles and perceptions of stakeholders in the public policy process.•It derives three types of relationship among stakeholders from the feasibility analysis.•It proposes three tests of feasibility to reach the agreement: information-sharing, bargaining, and reframing tests.

This paper proposes a method of structuring public policy by incorporating reciprocal expectation analysis. The proposed method is characterized by three components: identification of the problem structure perceived by stakeholders using cognitive maps, policy structuring analysis with a value–driver matrix and a reciprocal expectation matrix, and feasibility analysis of agreements among the stakeholders. The three types of relationship among stakeholders are derived from the feasibility analysis, which are “Dosho-imu”, “Isho-imu”, and “Domu”. Three tests of feasibility to reach the agreement are then proposed: “information-sharing test”, “bargaining test”, and “reframing test”. A case study is presented, applying the method to strategic transportation planning in the Kanto region of Japan. Finally, the potential functions of the proposed method in practice are discussed.