approachalongside

Approachalongside is a planning and governance concept describing a method in which two or more strategic streams are conducted in parallel to address a problem. The core idea is to run a conventional, top-down approach alongside a secondary, participatory track that involves stakeholders throughout the process, with mechanisms to align goals and exchange learning between tracks. The approach aims to improve legitimacy, adaptability, and outcomes in complex settings by ensuring that perspectives from communities, practitioners, and analytic teams inform each other.

Origin and usage: The term emerged in policy studies and design-thinking circles in the early 2020s to describe parallel-tracked strategies for complex, ill-defined problems. While not universally standardized, it has been discussed in case studies of urban planning, public health interventions, and technology governance as a way to mitigate the risk of misalignment between experts and end users.

Principles: Transparency, parallel operation, continuous feedback, co-production, and governance interoperability. Two tracks remain synchronized through joint milestones, shared dashboards, and iterative reviews.

Process: It typically begins with a framing workshop to articulate shared goals and constraints, followed by the simultaneous operation of a policy-design track and a participatory track. Periodic convergence meetings translate insights from one track into adjustments in the other. Data and decisions are logged in an integrated learning system.

Outcomes and challenges: Potential benefits include faster learning, higher legitimacy, and more robust policies. Risks include resource intensity, potential duplication, and the need for strong coordination to prevent drift between tracks.

Relation to other concepts: It draws on co-design, parallel engineering, and agile governance, and is seen as complementary to single-track planning rather than a replacement.