Group Politics and Public Policy

In examining the policy process in the Canadian system of parliamentary governance, Pross found that it was not sufficient to focus only on the decision-makers themselves. It is necessary to also take into account the various interest groups and even the larger milieu that has an interest in policy areas (such as health, transportation) and which exerts some kind of influence on the policy process. Pross introduced the concept of 'policy communities' to incorporate these diverse actors into the analysis. Within the policy community, he differentiates between the sub-government and the 'attentive public'. The sub-government consists of influential politicians, departments, strong interest groups, and relevant international organisations. The attentive public is made up by any actors with an interest in following current policy-making and implementation, such as less influential politicians and departments, smaller interest groups, journalists, academics, and citizens in general.

The most interesting difference between the sub-government and the attentive public, is that the sub-government actors and institutions have a vested interest in the existing order. Therefore they will usually support approaches that sustain the status quo. The attentive public, on the other hand, have a greater interest in being critical of the status quo, and are therefore more likely to produce creative ideas and novel approaches.