Danes don't believe in reforms. Here's the tool to change that.

A majority believes that the new government will succeed in addressing only one out of 12 major societal challenges. Drawing on 25 years of reform history, INVI is now launching a reform checklist designed to help the new government break this pattern.

The new government has presented an ambitious policy platform. But the public’s expectations are modest. According to INVI’s survey, *Danes’ Views on the Back Door to Democracy*, a majority believes the government will succeed in addressing only one out of 12 major societal challenges on the political agenda. The well-being of young people, more dignified elder care, clean drinking water, the reduction of greenhouse gases, and the reduction of inequality are just some of the areas in which Danes have lost faith.

That is why we at INVI have analyzed 22 major Danish large-scale reforms and identified eight recurring patterns that often explain why reforms fail to deliver. These include unclear problem definitions, too many objectives, weak impact chains, and governance conflicts. But they also include insufficient implementation capacity, limited leadership accountability, and the absence of systematic learning along the way.

"The figures reflect a vote of no confidence by the public in the government on virtually the entire domestic policy agenda. Before the ministers have even gotten started and settled into their ministerial cars, voters are saying: 'We don't believe you can turn ideas into results,'" says Sigge Winther, director of INVI.

A practical tool

Our reform checklist translates the eight patterns we identified in the analysis into eight specific questions with a simple risk assessment: green for low risk, yellow for moderate, and red for critical. The questions cover four dimensions: problem and objective, impact chain, implementation, and follow-up and learning.

The checklist is intended as a tool for many: The government and civil service can use it to ensure the quality of reforms early in the design phase; frontline staff can use it to clarify expectations and plan realistically; and the media and the public can use it to ask the right critical questions when new reforms are presented.

A recommendation for the new government

INVI recommends that the new government adopt the reform checklist as a standard tool so that all new reform proposals are evaluated based on the eight questions before they are presented. This will strengthen the impact of the reforms and provide citizens and journalists with a better basis for monitoring whether the promises are being fulfilled.

This report was prepared with expert guidance from Professor Carsten Greve of CBS.

Read the report on the Reform Checklist here.

The Reform Checklist’s Eight critical questions

The checklist is organized according to the four key factors for effective reforms: Problem and Objective, Impact Chain, Implementation, and Follow-up and Learning.

• Problem and Purpose

  1. Is the problem clearly defined?

  • Is it clear what specific problem the reform is intended to address?

  2. Is there a single overarching impact goal?

  • Does the reform focus on an overall outcome, or does it risk trying to achieve several conflicting goals?

• Impact Chain

  3. Have the specific actors been identified?

  • Who is responsible for implementing the reform, and do they have the authority and mandate to do so?

  4. Do the policy instruments align with the reform’s objectives?

  • Do the rules, incentives, and metrics support the desired outcome, or do they create conflicts? Are there any existing activities that should be discontinued or scaled back?

• Implementation

  5. Who is politically responsible for implementation?

  • Is there a clear chain of command from the ministry to the front lines?

  6. Are the necessary capacity and resources available?

  • Do organizations, employees, and managers have the time, expertise, and financial resources to implement the reform? Can the reform be adapted to local conditions without compromising the performance goals?

• Opfølgning og læring

  7. Are we measuring effectiveness or activity?

  • Can we demonstrate whether the reform is actually delivering results, not just output? Can we change course along the way if the desired effect fails to materialize?

  8. When can the reform be considered a success, and how can the lessons learned be sustained?

  • Are there clear criteria for when ongoing feedback loops are incorporated into the implementation, and for how the reform is evaluated, continued, or rolled back?