The Public Policy Process UGBS 105 The Public Policy Process

What is public policy? Public in generic sense denotes human community or collectivity. May refer to an entire community; plurality – people; people as a whole; Common - open - national - general – communal Policy - decision statement; statement of intent, general strategic action plan and purposive authorization statements Public policy - what governments choose to do or not to do; A purposive course of action followed by an actor or sets of actors in dealing with a problem or matter of concern.

Cont. This definition focuses on goal, presence of authorized actors, and the presence of a problem. They are designed to solve social problems or exploit opportunities that can avail themselves for the improvement of social welfare. Laws, rules and regulations, acts of parliament, programs and projects may all be classified as public policies. It is therefore purposeful, goal-oriented action that is taken by government to deal with societal problems.

Types of public policy classifying according to the impact on society – regulatory, distributive or re-distributive. Material vs. symbolic policies – when a policy provides tangible resources or substantive power to its beneficiaries one hand and impose cost on others it is labeled as material. Symbolic policies provide little material impact on individuals with no real tangible advantages and disadvantages. Policies may also be classified as collective or private depending on the target of the goods and services it provide – indivisible commodities and divisible commodities

Approaches to studying public policy Some of the most commonly used approaches in the study of public policies: Models of who makes public policy Cycle-process approaches

Models of who makes public policy These models look at how the policy process operates particularly who dominates the process and who benefits most from it. There are several main versions: Elite theory Group theory Corporatism

Elite theory It argues that policies are made by a small group of influential leaders who share common goals and outcomes. Public policy is determined by a minority who have political and economic power.

Group theory Public policy is the product of groups struggle Society is made up of well organized large number of social, ethnic and economic groups. These groups compete to put pressure on the government to make policies to favor them. It is out of the struggle and competition that the public interest emerges. There are multiple centers of powers and optimum policy development is achieved through competing interest.

Corporatism It argues that contrary to the argument by group theory that interest groups merely influence the policy process, they themselves become part of the policy-making and implementation system. In return to this participation, the groups through the control of their members make society more manageable and governable.

The Policy-making Process Traditionally, The policy-making process is viewed as sequential in most instances. This has been described as the policy cycle This approach views the policy process as a cycle that is deliberative, staged, and administrative. Policy making is viewed as dynamic ongoing process confirming the importance of policy as a learning system.

cont. It is perceived as evolving along the following lines: From the initial issue identification and agenda setting, policies are formulated and then adopted. Attempts are made to implement the policy and then finally there will be an effort to examine the results of the policy implementation. The feedback from the evaluation then inform the next action and future policies

The Agenda Setting For an issue to get on the agenda can be a difficult process. First an issue needs to be identified as a problem that deserves serious attention from the government. It is argued that all issues that are recognized as deserving of public attention get on a systematic agenda, and Those being seriously considered by the policy makers make it onto another agenda, the institutional agenda. Policies that make it to the institutional agenda are much more likely to find their way into legislation. Such issues that make it onto the institutional agenda are often advocated by powerful interest groups, supported by the bureaucracy, or propelled by a public crisis.

Cont. The first step in the public policy process is to outline the problem. This involves not only recognizing that an issue exists, but also studying the problem and its causes in detail. This stage involves determining how aware the public is of the issue which is mostly a social problem, deciding who will participate in fixing it, and considering what means are available to accomplish a solution.

Cont. Answers to such questions often help policy makers gauge which policy changes, if any, are needed to address the identified problem. The agenda therefore means “which problems are addressed” As mentioned earlier, the agenda can be set by the public, special interest groups, or government officials, among others.

Formulating a Public Policy After identifying and studying the problem, a new public policy may be formulated or developed. This step is typically marked by discussion and debate between government officials, interest groups, and individual citizens. The aim of such discussions is to identify potential obstacles, to suggest alternative solutions, and to set clear goals and list the steps that need to be taken to achieve them. This part of the process can be difficult, and often compromises will be required before the policy can be written.

Cont. Once the policy is developed, the must be the effort to achieve policy legitimation else implementation will suffer. In other words, once a decision has been made to do something about the issue, alternative policy solutions need to be compared and a decision needs to be made about what sort of solution will be supported. The resulting policy must be acceptable to both the legislators and the public; this process of building support is called policy LEGITIMATION.

Policy implementation After the policy is determined, the implementation process begins. According to Hewlett and Ramesh (2003) public policy implementation refers to “the process by which programs or policies are carried out, the translation of plans into practice” It implies that the new policy must be put into effect, which typically requires determining which organizations or agencies will be responsible for carrying it out. This stage of the policy process is described as the one that can be difficult if the people who are tasked with carrying out the policy are not committed to complying with it.

Cont. During the policy development and legitimation stage, compromises may have been made to get the policy passed. If it happens that those who are ultimately required to help carry the policy out do not agree with the compromises made at the formulation stage; they are less likely to enforce it effectively. Clear communication and coordination, as well as sufficient resources, are also needed to make the implementation phase a success.

Public Policy Evaluation Generally, few, if any, can predict what might go wrong with a new public policy and so the process of policy evaluation is crucial. Through evaluation or assessment policymakers can determine if the outcome was what they expected. Public policy evaluation usually involves a careful and systematic study of how effective the new policy has been in addressing the original problem. It also includes reviewing funds and resources available to ensure that the policy can be maintained and sustained. Historically, this step has not always been treated as very important.

Stages in the Public Policy Process Feedback on the Policy OR Policy Evaluation Development of the Public Policy Implementation of the Public Policy Genesis of the Public Policy Stage IV Stage I Stage II Stage III