Research into what is politically important in decision making is difficult. I work at that intersection of politics and infra/services change and while there are thematic similarities, I have to say that context, temporal issues, personal interests (politicians, their staff and advisors), fashion (everyone wants x), mis/understanding and financial cycle intersections (DFI/budgets/stimulus/inflation) all cross-cut in a hyper-localised way. It is rarely the technical excellence of planning, or the "obvious" best solution but rather the match of project/investment outcome narrative to self-interest (which can be good, bad, other) that drives one thing past another.
Research into what is politically important in decision making is difficult. I work at that intersection of politics and infra/services change and while there are thematic similarities, I have to say that context, temporal issues, personal interests (politicians, their staff and advisors), fashion (everyone wants x), mis/understanding and financial cycle intersections (DFI/budgets/stimulus/inflation) all cross-cut in a hyper-localised way. It is rarely the technical excellence of planning, or the "obvious" best solution but rather the match of project/investment outcome narrative to self-interest (which can be good, bad, other) that drives one thing past another.