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Workshop worksheet · 8 steps

From policy commitment to closed gaps

Steps 1–4 (Activity 1) build the control structure. Steps 5–8 (Activity 2) trace evaluations back to policy, name the gaps, prioritize them, and propose closures.

Worksheet map · all 8 steps

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Overview of the 8-step control structure worksheet, from task setup through closing evaluation gaps.

Print this map, or draw on it directly during Activity 1. The fields below mirror the same eight steps.

Step 0

Task setup

Choose your organization

Choose your policy

Step 1

Identify the actors

Goal

Identify all the actors who are involved in implementing and evaluating the policy. These will become the controllers or controlled processes in the control structure.

  1. Who comes up with the policy?
  2. Who holds the power to enforce the policy?
  3. Who is involved in implementing the policy?
  4. Who is involved in evaluating the policy?
  5. What automated tools or evaluators are used in implementing the policy?
  6. Who experiences harms when the policy is not followed through?

Reference · example controller tiers

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Example tiers of controllers for a safety policy: launch approvers, standard-setting teams, implementers, automated controllers, and operations / incident response.

Use this as a prompt, not a template. Your group’s policy and organization will have different actors and tiers.

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#02
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Step 2

Establish power dynamics / relations

Goal

Outline who/what has more power (a.k.a. control) over whom when it comes to evaluating and implementing the policy. This determines the hierarchy of the control structure.

  1. Rank actors by decision-making power (tier 1 = most, higher tier = less).
  2. Rank actors by influence — sometimes different from formal power.
  3. For each actor, note who they are influencing or how they are being influenced.

Adjust the tier field to place each actor in the hierarchy. The list below is sorted top-down by tier.

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Steps 3 & 4

Map control actions & feedback

Goal

Step 3 — Control actions: trace the chain of command. For each pair of actors, name the rules, instructions, or decisions the upper hands down.
Step 4 — Feedback: for each downward arrow, trace what signal comes back — report, metric, review, or nothing. Mark missing feedback.

Link 01
Step 5

Connect evaluations to policy

Goal

List all the evaluations you see in the control structure and trace them back to the policy by walking through the controllers, controlled process, and control actions. Start from the feedback loops.

Evaluation trace 01
Steps 6 – 8

Identify, prioritize & close gaps

Goal

Step 6 — Identify: locate gaps between policy and evaluation. Step 7 — Prioritize: decide which to close first. Step 8 — Close: propose what would reconnect each commitment to an evaluation that actually measures it — and name the research question or tool required.

Gap-hunting prompts

  • Which policy commitments have no evaluation tracing back to them?
  • Where a feedback loop is missing, what could go wrong before anyone notices?
  • For each evaluation mapped to a commitment, how well does what it measures match the policy's definition?
  • Which impacted parties have no evaluation channel representing them?
  • Which loops close only reactively (incidents, appeals) instead of before harm?
Gap 01