Introduction to the Special Section on policy capacity framework in implementation analysis across different contexts in the world

This special section brings together four articles that offer significant advances in the application of the Policy Capacity Framework (PCF) to implementation analysis across diverse global contexts. The PCF is employed as a set of variables to demonstrate how and why capacity can be associated with distinct policy factors and dynamics concerning the implementation process. In a similar way, all papers emphasize the political dimension of capacity, using terms cush as legitimacy, trust and consensus-building. They are regarded as relevant policy factors shaping policy success or failure, usually considered to be more important than technical and analytical capacity. In distinctive manners, the articles call attention to the need to approach the decision-making processes from a multi-level and multi-agency perspective, when employing the PCF.