Designing complex policy mixes: Elements, processes and characteristics

In the last decade, researchers and policy makers alike have increasingly moved away from the consideration of single policy tools and towards a greater consideration of their combination and resulting interactions. Much of this policy design work has used - albeit with varying definitions and based on different bodies of literature - the term policy mix to capture such interacting instruments, may that be in environmental policy, innovation policy, biodiversity policy, or other policy fields. However, these 'simple' conceptualizations of policy mixes have been recently extended to a consideration of more 'complex' policy mixes, particularly in the context of sustainability transitions, such as the transition to low-carbon energy systems. This chapter will provide an overview of this new orientation in policy mix research, including an introduction to the major building blocks - the elements, processes and characteristics - as well as dimensions of 'complex' policy mixes. It concludes by outlining how such an extended policy mix concept can serve as integrated framework for policy mix evaluation and design.