Any observer of the public or private actors involved in the production of public action will encounter frequent complaints about the lack of resources available to these actors. A common statement likely to be heard in this context is: ‘I would like to take action, but I do not have the necessary money, legal basis, people, time etc.’ Surprisingly, such statements are made not only by marginal actors but also, and perhaps even more often, by individuals and groups that the observer would identify as powerful political-administrative, economic or social actors who enjoy a high degree of public visibility and a strong presence in a considerable number of policy contexts. Moreover, this observation is not limited to the development of new activities that may be initiated by these actors; it also concerns the implementation of follow-up interventions or inventions involving the production of public action in existing areas.

Aside from the fact that these complaints form part of the daily rituals of political-administrative actors and are made with a view to ensuring the maintenance or enlargement of their resource portfolios, the size of which is generally considered a reflection of their ‘power’ and political importance, in many cases they constitute a justified response to the budgetary cuts that affect the actors’ scope for manoeuvre and, as a result, the effectiveness of ‘their’ policies.

The critical observer will confirm, however, that these complaints are frequently focused on known action resources that have been the subject of debate since time immemorial. The resources in question here are financial, legal, human and, of course, temporal in nature. One of the core messages of the concept of policy actors’ resources consists, however, in the firm premise that there are at least six other categories of resources, which surprisingly receive little attention in the debates surrounding public policy resources. The resources in question here include Information, Organization, Consensus, Property, Political Support and, one of the oldest resources of all, which I refer to as Force.

As discussed in detail in this book, in many cases a lack of traditional resources may be compensated for by the use of one or other of the other resources that tend to receive less attention but are nonetheless vital to the conduct of any policy that aims to be effective.