POLICY: An Overview TREN 3P14: Sustainable Integrated Waste Management

policy … a course or general plan of action to be adopted by a government, party, person, etc. - Concise Oxford Dictionary scale

policy … a course or general plan of action to be adopted by a government, party, person, etc. - Concise Oxford Dictionary …a selected, planned line of conduct in the light of which individual decisions are made and coordination achieved - Webster’s Encyclopedic Dictionary

E.g. Sustainable Integrated Waste Management Sustainable - consistent with principles of sustainability Integrated - functionally across spatial and temporal scales across jurisdictions

policy description analysis linkages implications alternatives formulation

policy analysis 3-stage approach Stage 1: Description Stage 2: Analysis and Linkages Stage 3: Implications and Alternatives

Stage 1: Description Who is the policy written by? Who is the policy written for? When was it proposed? Who could / should implement the policy? Do they have the power (constitutional, economic, moral, etc.) to do so? What are the policy’s goals and objectives? What are the specific policy suggestions?

Stage 2: Analysis and Linkages What is new about the policy? Is it aligned with a particular set of values, or a particular ideology? What connections are there between this policy and other policies in the same area? What good and bad policy precedents are there (using logical, empirical, or ethical evaluations)? more...

Stage 2: Analysis and Linkages What subsequent policy / legislative / political / practical changes have there been since this policy was proposed? Are the goals and objectives appropriate? If so, by what standards? If not, why not? Will the proposed mechanisms work? Is there a plausible route from principles through policy to practice? Are there any ways to ensure accountability for achieving goals and objectives?

Stage 3: Implications and Alternatives What are the implications (resultant effects) of this policy, in all areas? What policy alternatives could you propose which would improve upon the existing policy? å policy making

the policy making process simplified...

policy making Ask yourself 3 questions regarding the policy issue: ¶ where are we now? · where do we want to be? ¸ how do we get from where we are to where we want to be?

policy making ¶ where are we now?...what is the existing real-world situation and policy climate surrounding the issue?

policy making · where do we want to be?...describe the desirable real-world situation, policy goals and objectives surrounding the issue

policy making ¸ how do we get from where we are to where we want to be? …details and implementation steps for the new policy, accounting for real- world opportunities and obstacles

policy making must consider: - values and ideologies - jurisdictional realities - biophysical / ecological constraints - economic, social, political contraints - patterns of human behaviour etc.!