Within the problem stream of the Multiple Streams Approach there are indicators, focussing events, feedback and… load.
Load refers to “refers to the capacity of institutions to deal with problems. If policymakers are dealing with all-consuming or numerous problems, then a new problem’s ability to nudge its way into the purview of policymakers is negligible” (Jones et al. 2016:15) ”
Jones, M. Peterson, H., Pierce, J. Herweg, N., Bernal, A., Lambert Raney, H. and Zahariadas, N. 2016. A River Runs Through It: A Multiple Streams Meta-Review. Policy Studies Journal, Vol. 44, pp.13-36.
See also – bounded rationality, cognitive limitations
marchudson.net 