1. POLS 407 Public Policy Implementation & Evaluation Henrik Minassians Fall 2011

2. Research Project 1.What is the policy? 2.What is the anticipated machinery? The structure of government and allocation of functions to Departments and Ministries are often collectively referred to as "machinery of government." 3.What kind of policy implements does it rely on? Policy implements or tools are referred as mechanism that government uses to change the behavior of the participants and deliver services such as mandates, regulations, grants, privatization, contracting, loans, etc. 4.What data is available to study the implementation of this policy? 5. What are the shortcomings of the data?

3. Let me provide some background to the field of policy implementation

4. Studying Policy Implementation From policy decisions to the impact of target population National/Federal Level State level County level City Department/organizational level Impact on target population

5. The Study of Administration After 1883 creation of the civil service and professional bureaucracy, the focus has shifted in creation of professional organizations The emergence of the “Classical” Model of Administration (MPA 610) 1. Structural components of administrative organization: centralized, hierarchical pyramid, rationalized, legalistic with control at the top, meanwhile, subordinate obedience prompt & automatic (Max Weber). 2. Politics and Administration should be separate & distinct activities (Woodrow Wilson). 3. The principles of scientific management that stressed efficiency (Frederick Taylor).

6. The Study of Administration: Classical Implementation An agent to carry-out the policy chosen by the policymakers according to technical criteria The policy communicated to the agent as specific instructions The agent implements the policy according to the guidelines

7. The Study of Administration Since 1960s and greater involvement of government, we are witnessing different challenges with policy implementation. Microeconomics influences policy studies Microeconomics describes the behavior of individual decision-maker and implementer How decision-making is done and rationalized

8. The Study of Administration Studies conducted by Martha Derthick, Pressman-Wildavsky address the missing link (crisis with government legitimacy) Hollowing-out of state responsibility & implementation (1980s) Globalization, resources and the role of implementers (1970s, 80s and 90s) Implementation through networks (emergence of new form of governance)

9. Looking Back & Looking Forward In the previous section we discussed what are some of the issues in our understanding of public administration and policy administration In other words, organizational and external issues shaping policy implementation Next section we’ll discuss what is public policy, how policies are made and the impact on policy implementation and evaluation

10. Public Policy What is Public Policy? Public policy encourages, discourages, prohibits or prescribes private actions. Public Policy Process: Problem identification, Agenda Setting, Policy formulation, implementation and policy evaluation Limitations of this approach: 1. Unidirectional 2. Automatic and formulaic 3. Focus on Stages

11. Public Policy Process Society as a decision maker: 1. What’s wrong? – Defining the problem, issue identification, problems with this, political values, social construction, political manipulation (open file on policy process) 2. What to do? 3. Doing it. 4. Assessing what has been achieved

12. Public Policy Process (cont.) What- What is the Issue? Who- Who are the players? How- How did the issue get on the agenda?

13. Public Policy Process (cont.) 1. What is the agenda? –series consideration a. systemic vs. institutional 2. Who- Who are the players 3. How- Three paths: a. gradual interest b. Political explanation c. Sudden event

14. Bringing together the agendas, alternatives & political support There are four Models: 1.Rational Comprehensive Model 2.Incrementalism 3.“Garbage Can” or Kingdon’s Model 4.The Advocacy Coalition Framework

15. Rational Comprehensive Model Faced with a given problem Clarify goals, values, or objectives List all possible ways of achieving your goals Investigate all consequences from alternatives Compare consequences of each policy goals Choose the policy closely matching your goals

16. Incrementalism Instead of defining new goals and means, decision makers rely on currently available information. Minimum changes more feasible, and less information needed Uncontroversial decisions and small incremental changes Problems: 1. inappropriate for some problems; 2. Not useful for less stable policy areas

17. Garbage Can Model-Kingdon Organized anarchies 1. Problematic preferences-people change their pref. 2. Unclear technologies- no consensus how to deal w/problem 3. Fluid participation- Policy streams 1. Problem stream 2. Solution stream 3. Political stream Policy window 1. Crisis, disaster, symbols, and other focusing events (pg 104)

18. Garbage Can Model (cont.) Policy Windows Policy Entrepreneur Opportunities for the confluence of streams Properties of policy windows: Fleeting/perishable Properties of solutions Temporary confluence of problems, solutions, with support Implications for implementation?

19. The Advocacy Coalition Framework Policy Domains Policy Subsystems Policy Communities- core beliefs and values Policy Brokers Politics Realm- governing coalition Problem and Policy- socioeconomic and technological changes Time Factor- In general stable with sudden changes

20. Problems with Policy Linkages Intentional and unintentional misinterpretation of messages Communication failures Information overload and system breakdown System failure due to absence of follow-up & compliance mechanism

21. Dependent Variables Affecting Implementation Factors affecting implementation process: 1. Policy decisions of the implementation agencies; 2. Compliance of target group with those decisions; 3. The actual impacts of agency decisions; 4. The perceived impact of those decisions 5. The perceived impact of those decisions

22. The Implementation Process Assembly of elements to achieve a programmatic outcomes and this requires collective action which is difficult to sustain when: 1. Elements are under the control of others 2. Participants have both common & divergent goals 3. Participants play goals that may divert resources When implement occurs? Who does it? How? What? When= implementation occurs after formulation What= translation of policy decision into action (decision: means plan of what to do and action: actually doing it Different policies need different machinery Formulation visible where implementation less visible Implementation occurs in different levels & localities