Theory of Public Policy

Components of natural resource policy

Politics Science Ethics Economics

Institutional Challenges
Setting the policy agenda
More problems demanding attention than there are money, people, knowledge, or political will to solve Determine priorities Proactive rather than reactive Historically addressed issues as they appeared; not necessarily in priority ranking

Institutional Challenges
Setting the policy agenda
Patterns of agenda setting
Government takes a passive role and reacts to private interests Government defines a process and encourage private interests to participate in setting priorities Government plays an active role in defining problems and setting goals

Institutional Challenges
Maintaining Democratic Values
Growth of technology causing gaps in society Growth in knowledge but limits to distribution; only a small percentage of people understand the issues and therefore, set the agenda Policy out of hands of citizens; rely on experts Use of fear to set policy

Institutional Challenges
Using social resources efficiently
Nothing is free Money spent on the environment/natural resources decreases money available for other uses Idea of Opportunity Costs: evaluate the worth of one set of expenditures against others that are given up Cost-benefit accounting (Reagan/Bush policy) Know what we are getting in return for environmental investment Unfunded Federal mandates

Institutional Challenges
Adapting Institutions
Integrate environmental programs (air/water) and policy sectors (environment, energy, agriculture) Enhance capability to address international problems Relationships between public and private institutions

Institutional Challenges
Measuring and Evaluating Progress
Goals, objectives, measurable results Flow of information to set priorities, design strategies, and make policy choices Indicators to define acceptable measures of progress
Lots in economic arena Need to achieve acceptance of measures

Link measures to program performance and environmental results

Cause and effect Difficult to do

Models of Public Policy

Model = a simplified description of reality that can help explain an object or phenomenon Institutional Model
Describes and analyzes institutions, laws, and procedures Descriptive, historical Limited to the formal, legal influences on policy statutes, court cases, and administration organization or procedure Policy is a product of formal arrangements Doesnt account for informal relationships and patterns of behavior

Models of Public Policy

Systems Model
Early 1900s Analogy between biological and social phenomena Explains an organizations behavior by analyzing the inputs into its decision making, the products or outputs that emerge from it and the process that converts the former into the latter Monitor the environment and adapt to changes Dynamic, continual, ongoing Little emphasis on the internal process

Models of Public Policy

Group-Process Model
After WWII, dominated political science Unit of analysis is interest groups in society Policy is the outcome of competition for influence among them Relative power of interest groups determines the substance of policy and values that government promotes Assumes that policies that are most acceptable to organized and influential interest groups in society are the best policies overall for government institutions to adopt

Models of Public Policy

Group-Process Model
Trends toward agencies made up of people from the industries that they were established to regulate Product of political science Decision test if it is acceptable to affected groups Outside of formal governmental processes and depicts the interplay of interest groups Not helpful in exploring internal bureaucratic influences on decisions

Models of Public Policy

Group-Process Model
Doesnt address situations where policy was made without cost/benefit analyses Most environmental decisions do not appear to maximize net benefits

Models of Public Policy

Net-Benefits Model
Product of economics Decisions that offer the greatest net benefit or utility to society Rational process define policy options, quantify the likely effects of each, compare with set of objectives and select the one with best ratio of benefits to costs Reagan and Bush administrations advocated cost-benefit analysis as a basis for making environmental decisions still have to include today in policy documents

Reality?
All 4 models have a place in understanding natural resource policy Dominance of models is dynamic, usually depending on the issue being considered Group-Process and Net-Benefits approach recently dominate None fully explain environmental policy development

Rational Decision Making

Idea of Rationality a conscious decision to make the most of available resources to achieve whatever it is one sets out to accomplish Rational approach assumes a decision process in which goals are clear and agreed upon, policy options and criteria for evaluating them are defined, and information about the consequences of options is complete Decisions made in linear, sequential way by fully informed people

Rational Decision Making

Make decisions that optimize their own as well as societys interests by deriving maximum benefits from whatever choices they make Unfortunately, rarely happens
Goals are ambiguous or conflicting Human cognitive skills are limited Time and resources are in short supply Policy options are fluid or poorly defined Select first acceptable policy alternative

Policy Making
Aspire to be more rational Garbage can, streams, and windows model
Governmental bureaucracies are organized anarchies
Participation in decision making is unpredictable and fluid Agencies are loose collections of ideas and proposals Information is applied at multiple points in the process of making decisions and interpreted in various ways

Garbage Can Model

An organization is a collection of choices looking for problems, issues and feelings looking for decision situations in which they might be aired, solutions looking for issues to which they might be the answer, and decision makers looking for work Decisions made in 4 streams
Problems Solutions Participants Choice opportunities

Rarely connect, but when they do major policy decisions result

Apply to Policy Making

Policy making occurs in 3 streams
Problem: process by which conditions or issues come to be defined as problems and thus as a focus of government Political: events, trends, institutions, and interest groups determine which problems will receive attention on the governmental agenda; bargaining and political maneuvering Policy: shapes the decision agenda, list of policy alternatives considered for responding to problems; persuasion and argument

Apply to Policy Making

At some point, streams come together as policy entrepreneurs take advantage of windows of opportunity to change policy

Successful Environmental Policy

Good politics Effective leadership Creative and adaptable agencies Concerned and involved citizens Good information Reasoned decision making

Successful Environmental Policy

Incorporate incrementalism once policy is adapted
Decisions in one year rely on those that were made in the past Options and criteria change as the available information changes Choices open up alternative solutions

Steps You Should Take To Create Natural Resource Policy

Continuously promote an issue Provide data/documentation to show that an issue should be a priority Detail potential solutions/actions as well as a preferred solution/action Assess risks and cost/benefits Watch for a window of opportunity to develop policy