Table 1 Policy actor taxonomy

Developer

Individuals at the uppermost policy level who craft, revise, and pass policy that can be legally enforced or mandated through organizational levers.

- Political actors^a (politicians, elected federal, state, and local actors) legislators)

- Service agency leaders

- Legislative staffers and aids who assist in researching and drafting policy

- Legal staff (e.g., lawyers, paralegals) who assist organizations or agencies in researching and drafting policy

Disseminator

Individuals responsible for communicating between policy developers and policy implementers about the opportunity or mandated need to adopt a policy, policy characteristics which components are mandated or adaptable, relevant timelines, and guidelines.

- Government staff in specific departments (i.e., not part of policy developer team)

- Service agency staff

- Academic research partnership knowledge brokers

- Advocates and other special interest groups

- Media^a

Implementer

Any individual with responsibility for decisions during implementation planning, active implementation, or policy sustainment. Might overlap with policy developers.

- Leadership, middle managers, front-line workers

- Special interests^a (implementing agencies, street-level bureaucrats)

Influencer

Individuals or organizations who disseminate evidence (scientific, practice-based, anecdotal) to influence what evidence is trusted and how evidence is used in policy and policy decision-making.

- Lobbyists

- Advocates and other special interest groups

- Voters who participate in public testimony or public comment periods to shape policy

- Special interests^a (donors/foundations, government corporations, unions)

- Experts^a (scientists/researchers, patients or persons with lived experience and families/caregiver, field or practice leaders/champions, innovation/developers and disseminators (purveyors), intermediaries and technical assistance providers)

- Media^a

Enforcer

Individuals who are tasked with monitoring policy compliance. Might overlap with policy disseminators at one level, and with people responsible for compliance within the implementing level (another level).

- Government oversight committee

- Healthcare, other insurers^a

- Executive departments^a

- Boards and agencies of government^a

- Self-governing regulatory agencies

- Judicial system^a