 Policy Analysis

 Prepared by:
 Afshan Ashraf
 Aliya Ghafoor
 Introduction

 What is public policy?

 What is policy analysis?
 Approaches of policy analysis.
 Process of policy analysis.
 Steps in policy analysis.
 Types of policy analysis.
 Public policy focuses on ‘the public and its
problems’ (Dewey, 1927) •
 The study of ‘how, why and to what effect
governments pursue particular courses of
action and inaction’ (Heidenheimer, 1990) •
 ‘What governments do, why they do it, and
what difference does it make’ (Dye, 1976) •
 ‘The study of the nature, causes, and effects
of public policies’ (Nagel, 1990
Asystematic examination and
evaluation of data or information,
by breaking it into its component
parts to uncover their
interrelationships
 Policy analysis is "determining which of
various policies will be the most achieve a
given set of goals in light of the relations
between the policies and the goals
 "The process through which we identify and
evaluate alternative policies or programs that
are intended to lessen (decrease) or resolve
social, economic, or physical problems.“

Carl V. Patton
 Policy analysis is a rational, systematic
approach to making policy choices in the
public sector. It supports policymakers in
identifying polices that are cost-effective
and that would help to achieve their policy
goals and objectives.
 What effects does the policy have on
Effectiveness the targeted problem?

What are the unintended effects of

Effects Unintended effects this policy?

What are the effects of this policy on

Equity different groups?

What is the financial cost of this

Cost policy?

Is this policy technically feasible?

Implementation Feasibility

Do the relevant stakeholders view

Acceptability the policy as acceptable?
 Effectiveness: How effective ?
 Efficiency: How efficient ?
 Ethical considerations: Ethically sound ?
 Evaluations of alternatives: How good ?
 Establishment of recommendations for
positive change: What can be established ?
 Learn to focus quickly on the central decision
criterion of the problem
 Think about the types of policy actions that can
be taken
 Learn to deal with uncertainty
 Make the analysis simple and transparent
 Check the facts
 Give the client analysis, not decisions
 Push the boundaries of analysis beyond the
"policy envelope"
 Be aware that there is no such thing as an
absolutely correct, rational, and complete
analysis
Policy Analysis Process....
Based on the ideas and approach followed by Carl V.
Patton the steps of policy analysis are as followed:

1. Verify, define, and detail the problem.

2. Establish evaluation criteria
3. Identify alternative policies.
4. Evaluate alternative policies
5. Display and distinguish among alternative policies
6. Monitoring the implemented policy.
 The most relevant and important of them all
because many times the objectives are not clear
or even contradictory (clashes) from each other.
A successful policy analysis will have allocated
and identified clearly the problem to be resolved
in the following steps. This is the foundation for
an efficient and effective outcome of the whole
process. The analyst must question both the
interested parties involved as well as their
agendas of the outcome. Locating the problem in
such a way that eliminates any ambiguity for
future references.
 In order to compare, measure and select
among alternatives, relevant evaluation
criteria must be established. In this step it
must be considered
 cost
 net benefit
 effectiveness
 efficiency
 equity
 administrative ease
 legality and political acceptability.
 Economic benefits must be considered in
evaluating the policy. How the policy will
harm or benefit a particular group or groups.
 In order to reach this third step the other two
must have been successfully reached and
completed. As it can be seen, the policy analysis
involves an incrementalist approach; reaching
one step in order to go on to the next. In this
third step understanding what is sought is very
important. In order to generate alternatives, it
becomes important to have a clear understanding
of the problem and how to go about it. Possible
alternatives include the "do nothing approach"
(status quo), and any other that can benefit the
outcome solution.
 . Combining alternatives generates better
solutions not thought of before. Relying on
past experiences from other groups or policy
analysis helps to create a more thorough
analysis and understanding. It is important to
avoid settling prematurely on a certain
number of options in this step; many options
must be considered before settling into a
reduced number of alternatives.
 Packaging of alternatives into strategies is the
next step in accomplishing a thorough
(systematic, careful) policy analysis. It
becomes necessary to evaluate how each
possible alternative benefits the criteria
previously established. Additional data needs
to be collected in analyzing the different
levels of influence: the economical, political
and social dimensions of the problem.
 These dimensions are analyzed through
quantitative and qualitative analysis, that is
the benefits and costs per alternative.
Political questions in attaining the goals are
analyzed as to see whether they satisfy the
interested parties of the policy analysis.
 The results of the evaluation of possible
alternatives list the degree to which criteria are
met in each of them. In making the comparison
and distinction of each alternative it is necessary
to play out the economic, political, legal, and
administrative ramification (consequences) of
each option. Political analysis is a major factor of
decision of distinction among the choices;
display the positive effects and negative effects
interested (involved) in implementing the policy.
Assure continuity, determine whether they are
having impact. "Even after a policy has been
implemented, there may be some doubt
whether the problem was resolved
appropriately and even whether the selected
policy is being implemented properly. This
concerns require that policies and programs
be maintained and monitored during
implementation to assure that they do not
change for unintentionally (by chance, by
mistake), to measure the impact that they are
having, to determine.
 Scientific Analysis
 Political Analysis
 Professional Analysis
 Search for truth and build theory about
policy actions and effects
 May be too theoretical for most decision
makers
 Analyze alternatives to solve problems – goal
is for practical value
 Research can be too narrow due to time or
resource constraints
 advocate and support preferred (favored)
policies
 often ideological or partisan (A
strong supporter of a party, cause, or
person); may lack analytic depth