A Primer on Public Policy
What Public Administration & Public Policy Mean?
Fundamentally, public administration is the business of running the government. It's a professional field that's akin to business administration but here it's applied to the administration of all the activities of the public sector. It's a big concept and field but we can summarize it as the work and means by which the purposes and goals of the government are implemented and achieved. And the activities involved in carrying out the functions, policies and programs of the government and the provision of public goods. We tend to think of public administration as
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| Public Administration: Management and Policies in the Public Sector |
being primarily the executive branch of government. In general, the governments of most democracies which is the most common form of government in the world right now. Most democracies are organized into three branches, the legislative branch, where laws and priorities are made. Second, the executive or administrative branch, where laws and priorities are implemented and executed. And third, the judicial branch or the court system in which laws are enforced and interpreted. While public administration is indeed the core of the executive branch or administrative branch of government the work of the other two branches, the legislative and judicial also require administration. So public administration is about the work of all levels and branches of government and their interrelationships.
There are two frameworks related to public administration:
1. The four pillars of public administration
2. The model of the seven main core functions of public administration, planning, organizing, staffing, directing, budgeting reporting, and coordinating.
The four pillars of public administration:
1. Economy or how best to use and distribute scar resources. While almost everyone everywhere thinks taxes are too high and the government takes in too much money from people and businesses. It is also the case that most governments do not have enough money or other resources to do all the things that they need and want to do. So part of public administration is figuring out what resources can be garnered and then how to best allocate them.
2. Efficiency, this relates back to the economy pillar and means that public administrators must figure out what actions will specifically achieve the most benefit for certain investment of resources. The goal is to be as efficient as possible with resources or to achieve the most for the least amount.
3. Effectiveness, the allocation investment of resources must also be effective, it must have an impact. It must help to reach a goal lessen or mitigate a problem or provide some kind of measurable benefit.
4. Equity, most governments, by design in their constitution or laws have a strong focus on social equity. Which means that there must be fairness in the public provision of opportunities, resources and benefits to different groups of people or communities. Please note that equity does not mean equality or sameness in the resources, opportunities and outcomes. Equity means providing fairness in opportunities and resources. This often involves providing varying levels of additional assistance and support depending upon specific needs, abilities, and biases and discrimination that might exist in society.
Like public administration, public policy is its own field of study and professional practice. Public policy is the constitutions, laws, regulations, court rulings, administrative rules, executive orders, guidelines, recommendations, and other courses of action that a government might take. And it also can include in its definition the funding priorities made by a governmental entity. In summary, it's the rules and planned or defined courses of action made by governments at all levels. The local, city, or municipal government, a city, district, parish, division level of government, the state, provincial, regional level, and also the national level. And in addition, there actually are some international policies and international law. There are thousands of examples of public policy in every country.
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| Complexity and Public Policy: A New Approach to 21st Century Politics, Policy and Society |
A few generalizations we can make about public policy:
1. Public policy can be and is
very formal, in many cases. It's formal because it includes things like laws,
regulations, high court rulings, things where there's consequences if people
don't follow them. But public policy can also be more informal. It can be
things like sets of guidelines from a government, such as recommended mask
behavior in a pandemic. Things like educational or mass media campaigns. A
social marketing campaign focusing on how to quit smoking,
promoting infant
breastfeeding, making warnings to the public about texting and driving,. Things
like that, where there's no consequences if you don't follow them, are still
considered public policy. There are specific courses of action and information
provision that a government is taking.
2. Public policy is that it occurs in all
branches of government. We tend to think of public policy as primarily
something that legislators or lawmakers do, and that is definitely true.
However, the other branches of government also create public policy. The
judicial or court system creates policy through decisions that interpret
the
law and set new case law and precedent. And while the executive branch does not
create laws, it does create administrative rules, regulations, executive
orders, new programs. And many informal policies like guidelines,
recommendations, and information campaigns. So all branches, divisions and
levels of government create public policy
3. Characteristic of public policy is that it is very far-reaching. Public policy affects all three sectors of the economy. It affects government itself or the public sector. It also affects the nonprofit sector and certainly the private sector. Public policy also has a huge impact on the general public. So public policy is very powerful and has an influence on every person, family, organization, institution and business in the world.
What is the Public Sector & What are Public Goods/Services?
In our context, public simply means government. First, what is the public sector? It is the activities and consequences of governmental actions and activities primarily related to the provision of public goods and services by the government.
We generally think of economies of individual nations and also the world economy as having the three main sectors:
1. The private sector or the activities of for profit businesses.
2. The non-profit sector [civil society organizations], which is not for profit businesses and organizations like philanthropies, charities, churches, NGOs, or non-governmental organizations, advocacy groups, non-profit universities, and so on.
3. The public sector, which is the government, which is also a non-profit sector. The public sector is the activities and consequences of governmental action in the economy. The provision of public goods such as roads, electrical grids, bridges, parks and recreation areas, and public services such as mail delivery, garbage collection, education, different kinds of licenses and permits.
In terms of service, the government also provides regulations or rules regarding the activities of other sectors, including economic markets in the private sector. In reality, these three sectors have some overlap. They do not all operate independently, and there are some important types of private public partnerships in places in the economy where the private, public, and non-profit sectors collaborate and engage in the production of goods and services together.
Next, what are public goods? In general, we do talk about the public good or the mission of the government and what it provides. Again, the government provides goods and services and it also provides protections that either the other two sectors, the private sector and the non-profit sector, are not willing or able to provide or cannot do so without the resulting markets creating some big social equity problems. In addition, there is a very specific term in economics called public goods. The definition of public goods is, goods and services that are financed and provided by the government without profit that provide some social benefit are non-rival, and this means that consumption by one person does not reduce the availability of this good or service to another person, and also they are non-excludable, meaning that they are widely available to everyone. Let's take a moment and have you think of some examples of public goods. I'm sure you can think of many examples because they're really literally hundreds out there, but here's just a few examples. Good example of a public good is national security, or what the government does to protect people from foreign threats. Public safety is a public good, and that's protection from local or domestic threats. Other public goods include public transportation and transit and infrastructure. We hear that word all the time. Infrastructure is a public good, and it's things like energy infrastructure, roads, bridges, tunnels, dams, many other examples of infrastructure. Air, water, and other environmental protections are public goods and also public health protections are public goods, as I think we've all realized all too clearly during a pandemic. Let's go on. Some other examples of public goods include Internet infrastructure, and I want to make a little note here, as with any type of infrastructure, the emphasis as a public good is on the infrastructure, not the actual service. In this case, the public good is the infrastructure for bringing Internet to people, but not the actual internet service. Most of us have to pay for that. The public good is that a government has provided the infrastructure that in turn allows businesses, organizations, and individuals to be able to connect to the Internet. Couple of more examples of public goods. Government support in terms of funding for scientific research, and also social welfare goods and services to those in need. This includes things like income support, food, housing, and health care. To summarize, the public sector is primarily about the government providing goods and services, including things we call public goods.
What is Policy and Why it Matters
At its most general level, a policy is a course of action or a principle of action adopted or proposed by a government, political party, business, organization, or even an individual. Us as individuals can have our own personal policies. For our purposes, we're focusing on public policy, which includes constitution of governments and their subdivisions, laws, regulations, administrative rules, court decisions, and other courses of action undertaken by governmental entities. And this includes funding priorities as well.
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| Public Policy |
Now, public policy can be both formal or informal. Public policy is created by all branches of government legislative, but also the administrative and judicial branches of government. And public policy is far reaching. It has a lot of influence not only on the public sector itself, but also on the private sector, the nonprofit sector, and the general public. Public policy shapes in both good and problematic ways all of our systems, institutions, organizations and communities in society. The most simplistic policy typology that's used in the world of public policy is one that distinguishes between formal policy or policy with a big P or a capital P and informal policy or policy with a p. Formal or big P policy includes things like laws, regulations, executive orders, court rulings, administrative rules, budgetary rules, entitlement programs, so on and so forth. The most important characteristic about formal policy is that there are consequences for not following the policy. Consequences like having a fine, losing a license or some other privilege, or even criminal consequences. Formal policy does tend to have an impact on a large number of people. But again, its most important characteristic is that there are consequences for not following or obeying the policy examples and there are many. And it includes things like national health insurance and pension programs, tax codes, antidiscrimination laws, environmental regulations. All of the laws related to driving, laws related to the legal age for many activities like using alcohol, tobacco, getting married, buying a firearm, school attendance, and so forth. Laws regarding the sale of counterfeit or knockoff goods, and government mandates to wear a mask on mass transit during a pandemic.
Now, on the other hand, we have informal policy, or policy with a small or little p. Informal policy is things like guidelines issued by a professional association or the government, the recommendations of expert panels, rules within institutions, different types of local programs for youth, government grants for capacity building. Informal policy is, well, less formal or rigid than formal policy with a big P. It tends to be smaller in scope and often smaller in the use of resources. But again, the most important part of informal policy is that there are really no consequences for not following the policy. Some examples of informal policy include public information or education campaigns. For example, Portugal has an anti hate campaign aimed at children that's called the no Hate Ninjas Campaign. Brazil has a public information campaign on how to protect your own personal data. Some other examples are all the guidelines and recommendations that are out there by governments and expert organizations regarding wearing a mask. Now, a mask mandate by a government is a formal big P policy if there are consequences for not following it like not being allowed entry into someplace if you're not wearing a mask, sometimes even getting a fine if you're not wearing a mask. But guidelines and recommendations regarding wearing masks to protect against COVID-19 spread are an example of informal policy.
In addition, there's lots of international agencies
that issue all kinds of recommendations best practices, reports, guidelines,
etc. This includes reports and guidelines that come out from the United Nations
Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change. This group has issued a number of
recommendations for both formal and informal policy changes. Let's do a couple
more quick examples. While we are all required to pay our taxes and this is a
very formal type of public policy, there are also some tax incentives that are
informal policies that are trying to nudge rather than require or force certain
types of behavior. For example, 17 of the countries in the European Union offer
tax breaks to consumers who purchase electric vehicles. You're not required to
do this. There's no consequences if you don't do it. But if you do, you get a
break on your taxes. Also, government grant programs for community development,
for health and other types of scientific research for the arts, etc., can also
be considered informal policy.
What Are Your Public Policy Interests?
1. What social problems or issues are you the most interested in or concerned
about?
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| Issues of the Day: 100 Commentaries on Climate, Energy, the Environment, Transportation, and Public Health Policy |
- Poverty and income distribution
- Social and environmental justice
- Migration and health
- Lack of water supply, lack of education
- Online safety issues
- Public education
- Public health
- Mental Illnesses like anxiety and depression
- Education and healthcare access
- Housing solution for the unhoused
- Access to health food
- Bullying and access to healthcare
- Free market economy
- Top down approach of the policy makers
- School children curriculum
- Woman health
- Gender equality and social inclusion
- Equitable access to health financing mechanisms and ethical clinical research practices
- Labor trafficking, health & hygiene
- etc
2. What types of policy solutions do you think are needed
to address these problems?
3. What prior experience (if any) do you have with
working on social issues from a policy perspective?
Public Policy Frameworks & the Policy Process
Typologies of Frameworks for Policy Levers
The governments generally have eight different types of policy or policy levers that they can pull or implement at their disposal. Now we do have to remember too that there is a ninth policy option for governments, and that is to keep status quo, keep things the same, or do nothing.
The eight policy levers are:
1. Persuasion or moral suasion, Inform - This simply means that the government is providing information to people. Governments do this, they provide a lot of information data, and then also recommendations with the hopes of influencing behavior or action but without requiring or mandating it. Examples of inform are things like fact sheets or infographics with information, COVID-19 dashboards that just present data and statistics.
2. Persuasion or moral suasion, Implore, we call this exhortation - when information is accompanied by appeals to values or even sometimes scare tactics. The difference between inform and implore, not a big distinction and doesn't usually require a lot of time debating it, but here's an example of the difference perhaps. A government can say, well, we have a problem with drunk driving. Drunk drivers killed 75 people in our area last year. The penalty for drunk driving or driving under the influence of alcohol is, and then state the penalty in their area. That's an example of inform versus an information campaign that states drunk drivers took the lives of 75 innocent people last year, including 30 children, and destroyed lives of the drivers but also their innocent victims. Give up your keys, have a designated driver. Again, imploring is different than inform. Inform is providing facts, imploring, again, appeals to values, and also includes actions that people should take. Another example of exhort or implore is a mass media campaign raising awareness of the incidents and also the terrible impact in toll of human trafficking in regard to incentives or nudges.
3. Economic Incentives, subsidies - Now subsidies are a type of policy that make things cheaper for people and organizations. Making something less expensive through a tax break or a subsidy should increase demand. Examples of subsidies are, public child savings accounts. There are some places where the government actually is putting money away for children in a savings account that becomes available to them when they're 18 to invest in their education or other worthy endeavors. Public housing, subsidized housing is another example. Also an example of a subsidy is when insurance companies have lower rates for non-smokers.
4. Economic Incentives, taxes - Taxes increase the price of things, goods and services. We know from basic economics that for most products and services in the economy, price matters. Making something costs more through a tax, like a tax on alcohol, tobacco, gasoline, etc., will decrease demand. Examples of taxes, taxes on things like cigarettes, alcohol, gambling winnings, higher taxes on luxury items like boats, fur coats, etc. But the taxes don't literally have to be taxes. Anything that makes something cost more like a fee or a fine we also put in the tax policy lever category. For example, higher car registration fees in urban areas can be used to discourage the number of cars in an area.
5. Procurement, make it - it's when governments attempt to provide goods and services in the public sector economy. Now governments provide all things. We've talked about public goods before. Some examples are garbage collection, recycling programs, health care, housing, scientific research, parks and recreation facilities, on and on. Now, providing these goods or services to people, this means that the government is either going to try to make a product or service itself with government employees in some division of the government. An example of produce is that of public education. Producing here in this case is making too, where the government makes education. Governments run public school systems. Also in that process they create or make standard curricula for different grades in the school system. Other quick examples of make for the government are making goods such as a postal or mail service system. Governments make and maintain roads. Of course, governments make all the things that go along with national security, like the military and cyber security and intelligence.
6. Procurement, buy it through grants and contracts - This is a very big part of government, the grants and contracts. When the government buys goods and services from outside vendors it does so through grants and contracts. Then the bidding and application process for all of these grants and contracts. Let's go back to the garbage collection example. In some places, the people who pick up our trash are employed by the city and garbage collection is a part of city government. In other places, however, the city buys garbage collection from an outside vendor through a contract. Examples of the procure bucket of public policy activity include a government contract to hire or buy the services of a private media company to design a mass media education campaign on an issue. Another example is the government paying a private company to further develop and produce vaccines.
7. Laws - either require that a person, organization, business, or the government itself do something or not do something or behave in a certain way or face consequences. These requirements either prohibit some action or they also can oblige some action, making people, you can't do something or you must do something and if you don't, again, you face some consequences. under law and regulation there are so many examples of governments prohibiting certain actions or behaviors or obliging or requiring other actions and behaviors. Things like speed limits and other traffic laws, age restrictions on all things like voting, getting a tattoo, etc. Banning advertisements for tobacco products on television.
8. Regulations - specific guidelines to follow. specific rules and requirements created by government agencies to implement and provide details for how the laws will be enforced. For example regulations for toxic waste disposal, and on and on.
Example of Policy Levers
When we're thinking about problems in society and public policy responses, we know that these problems are always shaped in some way by existing public policies. Also that they need to be addressed and attempted to be remediated or even solved with additional policies. We also know that addressing complex social problems involves using multiple different policy levers. We've already talked about a typology framework for public policy. This framework can be used to help think about and understand social problems or issues of concern to a government from a policy perspective. We're asking you to do this in an upcoming assignment. We want you to pick a social problem or public issue of interest to you. What's an issue that you care about and are perhaps already working on or would like to work on in your job or in your volunteer work? To understand this issue from a policy perspective, this exercise is designed to see if you can come up with examples of public policies using all the different policy levers that have been implemented or being debated to address some aspect of the problem.
One example, public policy aimed at decreasing tobacco use and public policy related to mitigating the effects of climate change. Let's jump into our first policy issue, which is tobacco use control policy. Some examples of the policy lever of inform for this social issue include, in India, there's a mass media campaign about the risks of smokeless or chewing tobacco that's been implemented. Another example of inform is text warning labels about the risks of views on tobacco product packages. Like the little tiny type that's on the side of a cigarette package that says smoking increases your risk of heart disease. Now, moving from inform to implore or exhort. One example is the very graphic warning photos and messages that are being used in a number of countries around the world. This moves from just providing factual information to issuing dramatic, value-laden and actually graphic warnings about the important and deep health effects from smoking. Another example of moving beyond informing is the D.A.R.E. program that was used quite extensively in the United States. D.A.R.E. stands for Drug Abuse Resistance Education. This was an intervention that 75% of elementary schools in the US had implemented that involved uniformed police officers coming into elementary schools in an 18 week program to provide information about the risks of drug tobacco, and alcohol use, but also to scare kids. One more example in China, there was a mass media campaign designed to shame people who were smoking in public and also to fine them. Let's move on and think about policy examples in the bucket of incentives. We have a number of examples of subsidies related to tobacco use policy. This includes reduced insurance rates for non-smokers. The public funding for community interventions that are aimed at youth and attempt to prevent the uptake of smoking. Another example is public health insurance programs that have benefits that cover the costs of smoking cessation, drugs and other kinds of interventions. For the tax policy lever, we obviously have actual taxes. Tobacco product taxes, which make the price higher are one of the most effective tobacco control policies. Another example, however, of a tax is making rents higher for smokers who are renting apartments in public housing. In regard to procurement, making and buying. Most governments by research and demonstration projects through grants and contracts that help develop and evaluate interventions to prevent smoking or to help people quick, lots and lots of examples of this. In regards to law and regulation, there are also many examples of policies that prohibit, including age limits for tobacco sale and purchase, laws regarding smoke-free zones in spaces. Another example is plain packaging laws. These are strict rules and regulations about what can be on cigarette packages. In many countries, the answer is not much. Plain packaging laws prohibit companies from actually branding their products on the package. Very strict rules about what portion of the real estate on a tobacco or cigarette package has to be a graphic image. Also what part of it has to be warnings, et cetera. Also, another example here is laws that not only create the level of a tobacco tax, but also what's done with the revenue that's generated from that tobacco tax?
Let's move on to another example. This one is the big
social world problem of climate change. How do we think about climate change
from a policy perspective? Again, we can take our topology of eight different
policy levers and think about examples related to climate change for each of
them. For the policy lever of inform, an example is public education campaigns
that are providing people with information about the size of the holes in the
ozone level, rise in temperatures, rise in ocean levels, the melting rates of
polar caps, increases in the rate of fires, et cetera. Really providing
scientific information that is correlating changes on the planet with climate
change. But moving beyond information, most climate change campaigns are more
in the camp of implore or exhort, as they not only provide information, but
also do so in a way that raises alarm and calls for very strong changes to
action. One example is the pledge campaign, which asked people to estimate
their own carbon footprint and then attempt to reduce it. In regard to
incentives or nudges, there are many, many examples of subsidies globally. This
includes tax subsidies to offset the cost of green energy investments by
businesses or individuals. In regard to taxes, there are also many examples.
This includes taxing carbon emissions. Then also related to that, what is referred
to carbon cap and trade policy. For the government, policy lever of buying
things through grants and contracts. Many cities are purchasing more fuel
efficient buses for their own public transportation systems. Governments are
taking policy action by making or investing in their own renewable energy
research. This is conducted by government agencies and their employees, but
also with outside university and think tank and other researchers and other
places outside of government. But when the government does it itself, that's an
example of making. The government is also making more services and routes
available to more people and their mass transit systems in order to incentivize
people to put their cars away and take mass transit. For law and regulation, again,
many, many examples, just a couple. Regulations and laws prohibiting
inefficient energy use and laws that restrict personal auto use. For example,
in Bogota, Colombia, in 2014, a policy was put in place that restricts cars
with a license plate ending in an even number, like 0, 2, 4, or 8, from driving
during rush hours and even number of days of the month, and then vehicles with
odd number license plate numbers ending with odd numbers, are restricted from
driving during rush hours, on odd number days of the month. There are course
many other examples for each of the policy levers for both of the issues we
talked about, tobacco control policy and climate change policy. Also some
examples are more than one type of policy. The point here is just to get you to
start thinking about the issues that you care about from a policy perspective.
I hope you have some fun in selecting an issue that you care about and then
thinking about different types of public policies that are in use or are being
debated.
Understanding and Applying Basic Public Policy Concepts
In this article, Dr. MacKay provides a brief outline
of the policy development process and types of policy, policy instruments, and
actors that comprise public policy. She also makes recommendations for engaging
with stakeholders to increase the use of evidence in decision-making.
https://www.politicipublice.ro/uploads/understanding_public_policy.pdf
Facts about Public Policy
Public policy is actually quite complex within
countries, and it certainly differs and is quite complex across countries.
Public policies quite different in regard to how it's made in the actual
policies themselves. But here are a few more basic facts about different types
of public policies that really cut across different countries and different
government. Even, first of all, many policies are more than one type or use
more than one policy lever at the same time. For example, if a government
designs its own educational media campaign, this is an informal policy that
both makes and implores. Another example, worker right to know laws, which are
laws that require businesses to inform their workers about risks, dangers, and
potential exposures to harm they might face and the course of their work in
writing, is an example of formal policy that prohibits businesses from not
providing this information or face a fine. It also informs workers. Let's do
one more example. When governments fine businesses for polluting, this is a
formal policy that does two things. It prohibits businesses from polluting,
usually very clearly defined and excruciating detail, and that also taxes them
if they break that policy with a fine. Alright, again, thinking about ways in
which public policy is the same across countries. Every complex problem in
society is going to need many different policy attention from many different
policy levers to address the problem, mitigate it, and try to solve it. If you
are working in the government on a specific type of issue, for example,
education, transportation, environmental protection, housing, public health,
whatever, you need to understand all of the different types of policy activity
that are happening in relation to your issue.
International Examples of Public Policy
International policy, like other aspects of public policy, encompasses both big P and small p policy issues. In the international arena, P policy issues include the types of binding laws and rules that shape global affairs. They can range from a treaty, for example, the Geneva Conventions that governs the use of armed force in conflicts such as the one in Ukraine or decisions by the UN Security Council to impose sanctions on governments like the one in Myanmar for abuses against human rights. Actors also make important P policy choices when, for example, the World Bank sets standards on whether or not to support development projects involving coal-fired plants at a time when climate change is such a pressing concern. But International policy also includes a lot of p policy issues, day-to-day choices, and practices that set standards and expectations about behavior in the international arena. For example, the Polish government makes a p policy choice when it decides what types of weapons that it wants to send to Ukraine. Human rights advocates make a p policy choice when they decide whether and how to allocate their scarce resources to support Rohingya refugees fleeing from the abuses in Myanmar. And the World Bank Executive Board makes p policy choices every day when it decides whether to approve or deny proposed loans to Belize or to Burma or Bangladesh on topics ranging from health or education, the irrigation. These p policy choices matter because even if they're not strictly binding, they set the norms that govern international relations. And they contribute to expectations through practice of how one ought to behave. And this is where you come in. You don't need to be the UK representative to the United Nations or a judge at The Hague to be able to affect international policy choices. One of the defining features of the international policy landscape is that there are many different stakeholders involved in navigating these issues. And it gives an opportunity for you, whether as an analyst or as a practitioner, to engage in how problems are defined, on what types of possible policy solutions are proposed and formulated, on which are selected, on whether and to what extent they are legitimated, and how they're evaluated and ultimately reformed.
General Steps in the Policy Making Process – Part 1
We're going to be reviewing the major steps or phases in the policy making process. While policy making is of course a very complex process that happens differently in different contexts and the various branches of government. There are six general phases in the policy making cycle that tend to be similar across countries with democratic forms of government. These main phases or stages in policy making are :
1. Problem identification or issue framing - specifically using research and evidence to better understand social problems. In this phase, data, research and scientific evidence are used to help identify and define a social problem, including its causes, consequences and how public policy interventions might address it. this is not just about pulling a few facts and figures together. Different groups of stakeholders define and frame social problems in very different ways, and it's these different problem definitions that help lead to different ideas about policy preferences and priorities. So while it is true that different social problems compete for policy attention, it's also the case that different framings or definitions of the problems compete with each other for attention. From the media, political parties and groups, advocacy organizations and policymakers.
2. Agenda setting - Once different sets of conditions in society have been identified or labeled as problems, they need to get on the agendas of organizations, institutions and the government. And here the word agenda means the topics, issues and problems that are prioritized for discussion, for attention, for action and resource allocation. By those who either make or want to influence policy. Now, there are many different ways in which identified social problems get on agendas. There are formal and institutional processes, there are also discretionary processes by which one or more people with some power get to set the agenda. There are also processes by which organizations and governments move from discussing a topic on an agenda to actually considering it for some policy action, which is referred to as a decision agenda.
3. Policy formation - here it's when a social problem makes its way to a decision agenda and there's some support for some kind of policy action to be taken to address the problem. Policy formation involves transforming the framing of a social problem and a call for policy attention to a much more specific policy action with lots of detail. For example, in regard to the problem of climate change, in which there are very many definitions of the problem. And they include scientific findings regarding contributions of the burning of fossil fuels, one of many policy goals includes increasing the use of electric vehicles. In this stage of the policy process, we need to move from a vague policy idea like let's increase the use of electric vehicles. To more specific policy actions that invoke specific policy levers which we talked about before, as you might recall. Some potential policy actions related to increasing the use of electric vehicles include federal and state tax subsidies for their purchase, stricter emission regulations for vehicle manufacturers. Or local or city bans on the sale and purchase of new combustion engine vehicles. At this 3rd stage of the policymaking process, a plethora of different possible policy actions are often discussed and debated. And for those that emerge as the ones at the top of the agenda, even more refinement in detail is needed as the policy action ideas are further developed, articulated and drafted into actual language. For consideration as a new revised law, regulation or some other form of policy.
4. Policy decision-making - in this 4th phase of the policy making process, as policy ideas are formulated into policy proposals in stage 3, we then need to move on to actually making a policy decision or a set of decisions. In policy decision-making, different policy options are considered and sometimes they are actually formally compared to and contrasted with each other through what is called a policy options analysis. In this phase, changes to policy designs and specific details are often negotiated and then sometimes, but not all the time, a policy choice is actually made and approved. Now, we should note that a common result in this phase of the policy process is that no policy choice is made and approved. There is a decision or vote that actually might result in keeping the current policy landscape or status quo the same. In US legislatures when considering big P policy change through law, this is actually quite common. However, remember our broader definition of policy with a small p and that different kinds of public policy decisions are made by different groups all the time. Also keep in mind that what happens in the 4th stage of the policy process is quite varied and complex. Policy decision-making processes vary both within and across countries. Decision processes include formal votes by elected officials, but some processes also require by law that stakeholders get involved or that citizen input is given through different kinds of procedures. Policy decision-making happens by voters at the ballot box as well. And by executive teams and boards of directors and organizations and also informally with different types of institutions and organizations. Let's say in step 4 a new policy was actually considered and approved.
5. Policy implementation - in this 5th phase in the policy making process, we're now going to think about implementation. In this phase, most policies however, need even more design attention to really flesh out the details, processes and resources involved. For example, many laws that are passed by legislatures need significantly more details in their design before they can be implemented. And this is typically done by the executive or administrative branch of government through rulemaking, regulatory and other administrative processes. This is a point of the policymaking process where that proverbial rubber hits the road and a lot of things can actually go wrong. So it's important to think about implementation as its own phase and really focus on getting it right.
6. Policy evaluation - do research and conduct evaluations to better understand the impact, effectiveness and even potential negative consequences of public policies after they've been implemented. this is where a new or reformed policy or program has been implemented and an evaluation could be conducted to see if it's achieving its stated goals or objectives. You also might want to find out if there's some positive or negative unintended consequences of the policy, what economic resources are involved for the outcomes achieved. And if there are any disparities in the impact of the policy by geography, race, ethnicity, age, etcetera. This phase of the policy making cycle is extremely critical as it's important to conduct in order to have a strong evidence base for public policy. We need to know what works and what does not work, as this information is then cycled back into understanding problem and issues. And then framing problems for further consideration for reformed policy. The policy making process is a cycle in which problem definition and framing includes an understanding of how public policy is both contributing to and also mediating a social problem. However, in this phase of the policy making process, it's challenging because most public policies are never evaluated. Also when they are evaluated, the research results are sometimes used, but also they're oftentimes ignored. In addition, high-quality evaluations are time consuming, expensive and often political.
As you'll soon understand, each of these different phases involves different types of knowledge, skills and expertise and also different kinds of fun and challenges. In the policy world, people almost always specialize in one or two of the phases. Very few people specialize in all phases in this complex process.
General Steps in the Policy Making Process – Part 2
In the first three steps of the policy making cycle.
- Step one is issue framing. This is when a set of societal conditions is recognized or named as a problem.
- Step two is when problems have been framed and are getting on to policy agendas. They are receiving attention on organizational and government agendas.
- In step three, people and organizations are calling for policy action and policymakers are considering policy options.
Now, as you all know, the real world is much more complicated and messy than these simple steps. But importantly, how do all these first three steps come together so that policy action and change can actually happen? There is a major proven theory in political science about how policy action actually happens in democracies. It's called the Kingdon Model of Public Policymaking and it's named after John Kingdon, In the Kingdon Model, public policies are enacted or approved when three streams of action come together. Or converge at the very same time when a policy window or an opportunity for change or reform is actually available. Basically, this model is saying that a whole bunch of stars have to be aligned for policy change to actually happen. And these three streams are streams of problem definitions, streams of different policy approaches and options, and streams of politics.
- In the problem stream, different definitions or framings of problems compete for attention from the media, on the agenda of organizations, from stakeholders and policymakers. As we will soon discuss in more detail, it is these framings or problem definitions that in turn lead to different ideas about policy priorities. And sometimes these framings include focusing events or big things that happen and are getting attention in the world. Like, unfortunately, something like a school shooting, a natural disaster, or even a celebrity getting a certain disease.
- In the policies stream, different policy ideas and alternatives are swimming around and being promoted and debated, competing for attention on agendas. In this stream, different stakeholder groups can start coalescing around priority policy agendas and form coalitions promoting a similar policy agenda.
- in the third stream of politics, we find that we need to consider things like the current macro political context, such as what's going on in the economy, is there an election coming up, etc. And as we will talk about soon in more detail, in this stream, there's a tremendous amount of political strategizing going on. Including around strategic communications and also involving negotiation and conflict resolution. In this stream, we also see people pushing policies that do not have a clear design, rationale or problem to be solved. Policies can be pushed for solely political reasons.
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| US and EU Cloud Computing Policy and Acceptance for Regulated Entities: stakeholders and policy shakers who provide funding and drive public policy to |
Policy change, according to the Kingdom model can only happen when the three streams converge and come together at an opportune time. That allows policymakers to take a specific course of action. This is referred to as when a policy window opens. Advocates and policy entrepreneurs, perhaps many of you, need to be ready to have your policy definition or your problem definition, your policy agenda and your political strategy converging. And be ready to be pushed through a policy window when it opens. Policy change can only happen when all these three things come together at the right time. Again, the stars, which are the three streams and the window opening, have to align. This is one of the main reasons that policy change is so difficult to make.
Policy Making:
Political Interactions
Navigating Politics - It is impossible to talk about public policy in all of its phases without acknowledging politics. Because this is such a core element of not only policy making but also of human nature, let's spend a moment defining and thinking about politics in a pretty simple way.
First, a really basic definition of politics is the process by which groups of humans make decisions. Politics is observed in all human group interaction, not just actions involving elections or government decision making. Politics is observed in corporate, academic, religious institutions, in nonprofit organizations and even families.
Politics consists of social relations involving authority or power and refers to the methods, tactics and strategies people use to formulate, influence and engage in decision making and resource allocation. And for our purposes, politics refers to the methods and tactics used to formulate, influence, and engage in agenda setting, policy design, decision making, implementation, evaluation, all those phases of the policy process.
All actors or everyone involved in the policy making process engage in politics. While oftentimes thought of as a nasty or negative behavior, politics is actually a fundamental part of human behavior and thus a fundamental part of policymaking.
And although politics is commonplace, navigating and influencing the politics of public policymaking is actually quite challenging and involves a number of different skills. In fact, Albert Einstein is quoted as saying that politics is more difficult than physics.
We don't have time to get into all of the skills, tactics and methods that are useful when navigating and trying to influence the politics of a specific policy issue. However, lets just mention a few types of skills that policy experts find important and useful. This includes, first of all, understanding different kinds of power, negotiation skills, conflict management and resolution skills, and strategic communication skills.
Regarding power, those who exert influence in the policymaking process must first acquire power or the ability to influence or affect the beliefs, capacities, actions or conduct of others. And it's important to understand that there are many different types or forms of power. First, there's what's referred to as legitimate or positional power. This is the kind of power that comes with a job or a position, such as being a legislator, a judge, a county commissioner, the CEO of a nonprofit organization. Someone has power over money and other resources, people, decisions, information, etc., because of their position. Second, there's what's referred to as reward power. This is a kind of power that people have when they have the ability to reward others who comply with their own preferences about decisions and actions. Now, it's said that voters have reward power. They will only vote for someone who complies with their beliefs and preferences. In addition, reward power examples include perhaps a party leader in a legislature having the power to make committee assignments. And also lobbyists who have the power to influence policy design and votes through a number of different means including monetary support and campaign contributions. Expert power is the ability to influence problem framing in every other phase of the policy process by having technical or specialized knowledge or expertise. To the extent that data, research and scientific evidence influence the policymaking cycle, researchers and experts do have some power in bringing evidence to bear on the process. And also in policymaking processes that value community engagement and input, community members are considered to have expert positional power. Finally, power sometimes comes when people are looked up to as leaders, as charismatic, or as having attributes that demand loyalty and deference. Many political leaders have this type of power. We might not all agree on who's charismatic, and has this kind of power, but it's definitely something that is seen in a number of political leaders.
Another important skill set for navigating politics is the ability to successfully negotiate. Negotiation is the process of making a decision when the parties involved have different perspectives, motivations, interests, and values. Negotiation tactics are used when the parties involved generally want a similar end outcome like a policy change, but they don't agree on all the details or specifics. Negotiation is a skill with many key elements.
Some key issues that are common focal points of negotiation and policymaking include things at all stages of the policymaking process. Such as, how to best frame or define a problem or issue, which individuals and organizations should be invited to be partners. Which policy or sets of policies should be prioritized, what policy design features and specific details should be put forward. Resource allocation and budgets need to be negotiated and also whether and how to evaluate a policy after it's been implemented is a point of negotiation.
A third related skill set that helps to navigate politics is conflict resolution. This is the use of specific processes, tools and skills to find creative and respectful ways to manage disagreements and disputes. Conflict resolution skills are often used within negotiation processes to help work through conflicts or sticky points of disagreement. And conflict resolution is used outside of negotiations as well, including the ability to resolve conflicts, political, and partisan politic conflicts. Also collaborating through effective communication skills such as active listening, assertive speaking, and also finding shared or common values.
A final skill set for navigating politics is strategic
communication. This is a specialized approach to distributing and receiving
information with an explicit focus on communicating an effective message,
through correct and appropriate channels, to the right people, at the right
time. Strategic communication in the policy world uses research from multiple
disciplines, including political science and psychology, to figure out the best
messages and communication platforms for different audiences. Strategic
communication is also cognizant of the potential for backfire effects, which is
common in this kind of communication. This means that a message to a particular
audience actually has the opposite or a counterproductive effect than intended.
Strategic communication skills involve being able to use data and feedback from
target audiences to understand whether the strategies are working or need to be
revised or tailored. This was just a quick glimpse of a number of tools and
skills that are useful in the field of public policy to deal with the ever
present challenge of politics in all phases of the policymaking process.
Perspective in Public
Policy
The first is the importance of research and data in defining both the problem to be solved and the policy solution. These reforms came about as a result of an effort to drill down into the daily lives and lived experiences of folks experiencing financial instability, to pick apart the acute problems they were facing and design policy solutions that responded directly to those problems.
A second major theme is that in designing policy
solutions, you can often build durable solutions by bringing in a broad set of
interests. Then finally, it's worth remembering at the end of the day that the
policy process is also a political process. The policies we arrived at in both
examples were not the gold standard we first devised. Compromise and political
feasibility entered the equation in equal measure, with any policy analysis we
may have done.
Glossary
A
Advocacy: Organized actions that attempt to inform, make recommendations, argue for or against a cause, etc., on behalf of others.
Agenda Setting: The process by which problem definitions, issues, and policy preferences compete for attention from major actors in the policy-making cycle, including advocacy organizations, lobbyists, the media, and policymakers in all branches of government.
B
Bureaucracy: A complex organization that has multiple subunits and many layers of administration systems and processes; all governments are bureaucracies.
C
Causal Inference: The process of determining the independent and actual causal effect of a particular phenomenon on an outcome. This includes the causal impacts of a program, policy, or other intervention on specific outcomes.
Coalition: An alliance of distinct parties, persons, or states for joint action or to bolster recognition or efforts around a social issue.
Coalition-Building: The process by which individuals and organizations come together to form an action-oriented group to coordinate efforts to achieve a broad range of goals beyond the scope of a single organization.
Conflict Resolution: The intentional and strategic use of processes, tools, and skills to find creative and respectful ways to manage disagreements and disputes. Conflict resolution is typically used within a negotiation process to help work through conflicts and points of disagreement.
Cost-Benefit Analysis: A type of analysis used to determine the net economic benefit of a policy or other intervention in which both costs and benefits are measured in monetary units.
Cost-Effectiveness Analysis: A type of analysis used to determine how much a policy or intervention costs per unit of some type of outcome, in which costs are measured in monetary units but benefits are measured in non-monetary units related to the objectives of the intervention.
Counterfactual: The counterfactual is the group or comparison in a research design that demonstrates the conditions in which there is no intervention; it is the estimate of what would be happening in the absence of an intervention or change.
D
Delayed Intervention: The offering of an intervention to a control or comparison group after the research evaluation has been conducted.
E
Equality: Each individual, group of people, or community has the same resources, opportunities, and treatment.
Equity: Recognizes that individuals, groups, and communities have different circumstances and allocates/upholds the resources, opportunities, and experiences given to each that are needed to achieve equal outcomes.
Ethical Behavior: Behavior or actions that are considered “right” or “good” in the context of a governing moral code.
Ethics: A code of moral standards for conduct, behavior, and action regarding what is “good” or “right” versus what is “bad” or “wrong.”
Exhort: Strongly encourage or urge a person, organization, or business to do something based on values.
Experimental Design: Research designs in which groups are randomly assigned to some sort of intervention or treatment to estimate the causal effects of the intervention.
Experimental Mortality: A threat to the internal validity of a research design in which people being observed drop out of the study or are "lost to follow-up" over time. This term refers to losing people who are in a study sample over time for many reasons, not just actual death.
Expert Power: Power that comes from expertise and knowledge.
External Validity: The external validity of a research design has to do with the degree to which you can generalize the findings from the research population to other groups or populations, or to situations outside of a research environment. A research design is externally valid if you can say that the way the research was conducted (including who was in the research study) does not threaten your ability to generalize from the findings.
F
Formal Policy: A policy for which there are consequences (criminal, civil, administrative, etc.) for not following. Examples include laws, regulations, licensure requirements, etc.
Framework: An organizing set of concepts or ideas that assists in understanding or analyzing a complex phenomenon.
G
Government Contract: Financial agreements between government agencies or government branches and private companies.
Grant: A quantity of money or financial assistance provided by a government, organization, or person for a specific authorized purpose. Government grants are typically awarded to non-profit organizations, universities, researchers, and state and local governments.
Grassroots Advocacy: The process of communicating with the general public and asking them to contact their local, state, or federal officials regarding a particular issue; a form of citizen-based activism.
Grassroots Lobbying: The process of asking the general public to take action to attempt to influence a specific policy decision.
H
History [In the context of public policy evaluation/research design]: A threat to the internal validity of a research design in which specific events outside the control of the study and outside of the individual participants that occur between observations or measurements.
I
Incentive: Something, such as the fear of punishment or the expectation of reward, that induces action or motivates effort. A common incentive in public policy is the economic incentive of offering a tax rebate or deduction for a specific behavior.
Inequalities: Differences in outcomes that are deemed as unfair or unjust because they are not equal.
Inequities: Differences in inputs and outcomes that are deemed as unfair or unjust because of differential access to resources, opportunities, environments, and differential treatment.
Impact Program Evaluation: A type of program evaluation that focuses on the more proximate mediators or intermediate steps of a program, intervention, or policy rather than the final outcomes.
Informal Policy: A type of policy for which there are no consequences for not following. Examples include guidelines, consensus panel recommendations, information campaigns, nudges, incentives, etc.
Institutional Racism: Sometimes used as a synonym for structural and systemic racism, is also used to refer to policies, rules, and culture within a particular institution (school, hospital, police department, etc.) that create bias and differential treatment by race and ethnicity.
Internal Validity: The internal validity of a research design refers to the strength of the design to establish a relationship between the intervention or treatment (X) and a phenomenon of interest (O). A research design is internally valid if you can observe a causal relationship between the intervention (X) and the outcome/impact of interest (O) without the threat of a "rival hypothesis" or alternative explanation.
Instrumentation: A threat to the internal validity of research design in which changes in a measurement instrument or changes in observers/scorers may account for some difference in measurements at two points in time.
Issue Framing: The common social and political collective process of shaping the definition and interpretation of a set of conditions as being a “problem” in some way. How an issue is framed or defined is important in public policy because it shapes policy discourse and agenda setting.
L
Law: A rule of conduct or action prescribed or formally recognized as binding or enforced by a legislature or other elected governing body.
Legitimate Power: A type of political power that comes with a formal position of authority.
Lobbying: An organized and focused form of advocacy with the specific purpose of influencing legislation.
M
Maturation: A threat to the internal validity of a research design in which processes within the participant or subject that change between observations or measurements (e.g., becoming more tired or frail, changes in self-esteem, etc.).
Moral Persuasion: Appealing to the ethical principles or moral values of an adversary or the public, rather than through coercion or force, to change their behavior or attitudes.
Moral Reasoning: Critical analysis using logic and decision rules to determine what is right versus wrong, and what ought to be done in a specific situation.
N
Negotiation: The strategic process of making a joint decision when the parties involved have different perspectives, motivations, and interests. Negotiation tactics are typically used when the parties want a similar end outcome.
O
Outcome Program Evaluation: A type of program evaluation that focuses on the end outcomes of a program, intervention, or policy.
P
Persuasion: An ethical form of influence that leaders use to compel their followers to act.
Policy: A course or principle of action adopted or proposed by a government, party, business, organization, or individual. Public policy is a policy adopted or proposed by governments at all levels (local, state/provincial, regional, national, and international).
Policy Making Cycle: The major steps in the process of creating, implementing, and evaluating public policy, including 1) problem definition/issue framing; 2) agenda setting; 3) design or assessment of options or potential interventions; 4) policy decisions; 5) policy implementation; and 6) policy evaluation.
Policy Microsimulation Modeling: A type of prospective policy analysis that involves a computer-generated forecast that attempts to imitate or mimic the operation of government programs/policies on micro units (individual, households, organizations) under different sets of assumptions, conditions, and policy interventions, often taking demographic processes into account.
Policy Options Analysis: A type of prospective policy analysis in which two or more policy options are compared according to a clear set of criteria to assist decision-makers.
Politics: The process by which groups of people consisting of social relations involving authority and power make decisions. Politics also refers to the strategies, methods, and tactics used to formulate and execute decisions.
Process Evaluation: A type of program evaluation that focuses on how a program, policy, or intervention was implemented in regard to its content, quality, and reach rather than its impacts or outcomes.
Procure: To obtain something, typically through purchase.
Program Evaluation: A type of descriptive or retrospective policy analysis that generally attempts to answer the question, “Did a public program, policy, or other intervention that was implemented work?” Program and policy evaluation involves the systematic application of social science research procedures and data analytics for assessing the design, implementation, effectiveness, and utility of public interventions.
Prospective Policy Analysis: A type of prospective policy analysis in which researchers attempt to predict or forecast specific outcomes/conditions in the future under the status quo versus one or more policy changes.
Public Administration: The business of running a government; the work and means by which the purposes and goals of government are implemented and achieved.
Public Goods: Goods and services financed and provided by governments without profit that provide some social benefit, are non-rival (consumption by one person does not reduce availability to another), and are non-exclusionary (widely available to everyone)
Public Policy: The formal rules, laws, regulations, court rulings, and informal programs, guidelines, recommendations, and other courses of action made by a governmental entity, including legislatures, courts, and executive agencies.
Public Procurement: The process by which the government acquires the goods and services it needs by purchasing from commercial businesses.
Public Sector: The sector of the economy that involves governmental activities and actions, including the provision of governmental goods and services.
Q
Quasi-Experimental Designs: Research designs in which groups are not randomly assigned to receive some sort of intervention or treatment to estimate the causal effects of the intervention, but there is an attempt to create a strong counterfactual.
R
Randomized Controlled Trials: A type of experimental research design for assessing the effectiveness of an intervention that involves randomly assigning individuals (or some other unit) to receive the intervention or not.
Random Assignment: In a research design, when groups are randomly assigned to be in a treatment or control group. If groups have an equal chance of being in any of the groups under study, then the assumption is made that the groups are equal except for their exposure to the intervention and that any differences observed after the intervention are due to this exposure.
Random Sample: In a research design, a random sample is when a subset of a population is chosen randomly for observation or data collection. If everyone in the population has an equal chance of being selected through a random process, then the results from the random sample should be reflective of the larger population.
Regulation: A type of formal policy that is made by agencies in the executive branch of government. Also referred to as rules and administrative rules.
Referent Power: Power that comes from others wanting to emulate or be loyal to a group or an individual.
Research Design: The planning of scientific inquiry or a research study. A research design includes a purpose, a unit of analysis, topics, and a time dimension.
Retrospective Policy Analysis: Analysis or research that attempts to answer the question: Did a program, policy, or other intervention have any impact? Focuses on programs, policies, and interventions after they have been implemented.
Reward Power: Power to reward others who comply with rules or preferences (vulnerable to grift/bribes).
Root cause: The fundamental reason why a problem occurs, or a set of social conditions/circumstances exists.
S
Selection [In the context of public policy evaluation/research design]: A threat to the internal validity of a research design in which there are observed or unobserved differences in people in different groups under study.
Sensitivity Analysis: A test of whether uncertainty in the value or quality of information/data inputs into a model influences the results or conclusions of the analysis. In a sensitivity analysis, the analysis is re-run, inserting different values of the uncertain data to see if the model results change or are “sensitive” to changes in the variable values.
Stakeholders: People and organizations who have an interest in an issue or outcome.
Statistical Regression Effects (or Regression to the Mean): A threat to the internal validity of a research design in which subjects are selected because of their extreme position/score in a distribution, subsequent measurement will almost always produce results closer to the mean of the overall population.
Structural Racism: The ways in which structures (such as laws, regulations, administrative rules, other policies, culture, and entrenched norms) serve as design features within social systems that create differential treatment by race or ethnicity. Structures are the scaffolding or framings that uphold systems.
Systemic Racism: The ways in which systems within society (i.e., the criminal justice system, social welfare system, education system, healthcare system, transportation system, etc.) are organized and operated that create differential access to resources, opportunities, risks, experiences, etc. by race and ethnicity.
Summative Program Evaluation: A type of program evaluation that focuses on the causal impacts of the program, policy, or intervention. This includes both impact and outcome evaluation.
Subsidy: An incentive given by the government to individuals or businesses in the form of cash, grants, or tax breaks that improve the supply of goods and services
T
Tax: A compulsory contribution to government revenue, levied by the government on workers’ income and business profits, or added to the cost of some goods, services, and transactions.
Testing [In the context of public policy evaluation/research design]: Testing is a potential threat to the internal validity of research design in which the fact that people know they are being observed for research purposes (like taking a survey) might impact a subsequent observation and this testing effect might account for some change between observations rather than an intervention.
Time Series Design: A quasi-experimental research design in which several observations are made both before and after an intervention is implemented, and then data are analyzed to see if there was a change in the slope or intercept of the trend line at the time of the intervention.
V
Values: Broad beliefs about what is “good” and “ought”
to be promoted. Instrumental values are preferences regarding the means to
desired end states. Terminal values are preferences about the desired end
states or outcomes. Public administration and public policy involve both.
Source: coursera
