Public Policy: Formulation, Implementation, Evaluation

Public Policy

• Public policy involves government actions, decisions, and inactions to address societal problems, allocate resources, regulate conduct, or establish institutions

Stages in the Policy Cycle

• Agenda-Setting involves identifying and prioritizing issues.
• Policy Formulation is developing possible solutions.
• Decision-Making is selecting and approving a policy.
• Policy Implementation means putting the policy into action.
• Policy Evaluation is assessing the policy's effectiveness.
• The government continuously works to improve after policy evaluation.

Types of Policies

• Regulatory Policy controls the behavior of citizens, corporations, businesses, and private/public actors through economic, social, and environmental regulations.
• Distributive Policy allocates resources or benefits, such as subsidies.
• Redistributive Policy transfers wealth/resources to promote equity, like welfare.
• Constituent Policy establishes government institutions and procedures.

Theories of Public Policy

• Classical theories assume positivism.

Rational-Comprehensive Model

• Assumes clear goals and complete information are available

Bounded Rationality (Herbert Simon)

• Decision-makers accept "good enough" solutions

Incrementalism (Charles Lindblom)

• Policies change through small, gradual steps.

Mixed-Scanning Model (Amitai Etzioni)

• Combines rational-comprehensive and incrementalism approaches
• Actions in this model should be experimental, reversible, and limited, mixing theory with experience

Modern Theories of Public Policy

• Public Choice Theory: Policy making is driven by self-interest and economic incentives.
• Pluralism: A multitude of groups, rather than the entire population, governs.
• Policy network and Policy communities: Clusters of interested groups are organized around a specific policy.
• Bureaucratic politics and class analysis are also modern theories.

Rational-Comprehensive Model Details

• Optimizes based on classical economic theory, assuming clear goals, complete information, and cognitive capacity.
• Policy-making becomes a rational, logical process in discrete steps.
• Aims to find and implement the single best solution to a problem.
• Clarifies values and objectives distinct from comparing alternative policies through means-end analysis

Model of Rational-Comprehensive Theory Steps

• Identify the problem by determining discrepancies between actual and desired outcomes.
• Diagnose the problem by collecting and analyzing information.
• Define potential solutions by developing all possible options.
• Examine the likely effects of each alternative.
• Evaluate and choose the best alternative to maximize goals and objectives.
• Implement the decision.

Advantages of the Rational-Comprehensive Model

• Stimulates administrators to think outside their routine.
• Encourages careful forethought and scientific precision.
• Uses operations research and cost-effective analysis.
• Aims to provide solutions that efficiently use resources to achieve desired results.

Disadvantages of the Rational-Comprehensive Model

• Can be costly in terms of time and resource to gather the necessary information
• The costs and benefits of options may be uncertain and hard to quantify.
• It is time-consuming and limited by human ability to predict the future.

Group Theory & Pluralism

• Group Identification: Individuals recognize and associate with a group.
• In-Group: A social group a person belongs to and identifies with.
• Out-Group: A group a person does not belong to and may oppose.
• Group Consciousness: Politicized awareness of a group's position and commitment to collective action.
• Group Affect: Positive or negative emotions associated with a group.
• Group Approach: When groups unite, policy influence and decisions change.

Criticisms of the Group Approach

• It ignores individuals by treating them as part of groups only.
• It is too focused on the U.S. system, making it difficult to apply globally.
• The definition of "groups" is too broad, making it vague.

Factors Influencing Group Access

• Decision-makers may favor groups they are indebted to or identify with.
• Some groups have more resources or can better mobilize them.
• Groups strategically located in society (teachers, doctors) have unavoidable interests.
• Groups with higher public esteem (lawyers) have better access to decision-makers.

Pluralism

• Multiple competing groups influence policy, rather than a single ruling elite.

Criticisms of Pluralism

• Some groups win consistently, while others consistently lose.
• Inequality in political influence persists.
• Private interest groups can capture the government, undermining public interest.

Advocacy, Lobbying, and Policy Change

• Advocacy involves directly intervening, supporting, or recommending actions to secure social justice and influence government agendas.
• Lobbying influences decision-making by pressing for or preventing policy changes through representation to public office holders.
• Lobbying is a more personal form of advocacy.
• Lobbyists communicate with politicians and CEOs.
• This includes paid communication with public officers about policies, grants, contracts, and arranging meetings.

Lobbyist Definition

• A lobbyist is someone designated by an interest group to influence public policy, through actions such as
• Directly contacting public officials.
• Monitoring political activity.
• Example: Tariffs on American wine protect local producers.
• Advising on political strategies and tactics.
• Developing and coordinating group lobbying efforts.

Types of Lobbying

• Direct (Insider) Lobbying: Directly influencing policymakers via meetings and contributions.
• Indirect (Outsider) Lobbying: Mobilizing public opinion to pressure policymakers.
• Grassroots Lobbying: Encouraging citizens to contact legislators about an issue.

Grassroots Lobbying Details

• Influencing legislation by shaping public opinion.
• It's a mass strategy that involves communicating with the public on policy issues and encouraging action.
• This engages those directly affected by policy decisions.
• It aims to build power and use organizational resources to advocate for change.

Advocacy vs. Lobbying Differences

• Advocacy is broader, raising awareness and mobilizing support.
• Lobbying targets specific legislation with direct political influence, often paid.

Types of Advocacy

• Self-advocacy.
• Case Advocacy.
• Cause Advocacy: Defends the rights of a group, such as LGBTQ+ rights.
• Issue Advocacy: Raises awareness about specific political/social issues.
• Policy Advocacy: Organizes efforts to change laws or regulations.

Advocacy and Policy Change

• Advocacy influences policy by raising public awareness, engaging policymakers, and utilizing legal/political mechanisms.

Advocacy Tactics

• Includes mobilizing citizens, expanding public awareness, researching and monitoring policy, engaging in policy forums, and building coalitions.

Agenda Setting & Policy Influence

• An agenda consists of problems, their causes, symbols, solutions, and other considerations that gain attention from the public and government.
• This refers to political controversies viewed as outside legitimate concerns.
• It includes concrete items for consideration by decision-making bodies.
• It can range from a list of bills to beliefs about problems and how they should be addressed by various sectors.

Types of Agendas

• Public Agenda: Issues the public considers important.
• Media Agenda: Issues covered in news and social media.
• Policy Agenda: Issues actively considered by policymakers.

Agenda Universe

• The broadest level of agenda, including all ideas that could be discussed in a society.
• Systemic (Public) agenda exists.
• The formal (Institutional) agenda, where groups seek policy changes.
• Decision agenda, where groups that oppose change seek to block reform.
• While democracy suggests unconstrained ideas, the reality is that some are officially or unofficially limited.

Formal (Institutional) Agenda

• This includes a limited set of issues formally considered by decision-makers and explicitly listed for consideration.

Public (Systematic) Agenda

• Subjects that have widespread public attention, requiring action, and concern a governmental unit.

Agenda Setting

• The process by which problems and solutions gain or lose public and elite attention.
• It involves mobilizing interests, reframing the policy problem, gaining access to the policy arena, forming coalitions, and fending off challenges.

Interest Groups and Agenda Setting

• Actively pursue new and favorable policy outcomes.
• Limit policy options that harm their interests.
• Promote and protect interests by influencing policy agendas or limiting options to minimize harm.

How Issues Get on the Agenda

• Issues are advanced by policymakers, political parties, the media, and focusing events.

Interest Groups' Access

• Interest groups lobby insiders (lawmakers, civil servants) to gain access.
• "Outsider" lobbying strategies are used to influence public opinion and mobilize people to urge policymakers.
• The framing of issues influences the types of proposed solutions
• For example: Describing abortion as either murder or a matter of women's bodily autonomy.

Frame-Building

• Media and political actors define and structure how an issue is perceived.

Citizen Mobilization

• This raises collective consciousness and helps create change.
• Policymakers favor interest groups with widespread support in agenda-setting.
• Advocacy and policy dialogue provides a knowledge exchange and translation platform.

Policy Dialogue

• Structured discussion between policymakers, experts, and interest groups to exchange knowledge and discuss solutions.

Models of Agenda Building

• Outside Initiative Model: Issues start outside the government and gain public support.
• Mobilization Model: Issues start inside the government and are automatically placed on the agenda.
• Inside Initiative Model: Issues arise within the government and remain in elite circles.

Focusing Events

• Sudden, rare events that capture media and public attention and influence policy, such 9/11 or natural disasters.

Political Representation & Democracy

• Democracy: A government offering a working method for collective decisions made peacefully.
• Abraham Lincoln defined democracy as the government of the people, for the people, by the people.
• Democracy is a model of self-government, in which adult citizens participate in collective decision-making equally and openly.

Direct vs. Representative Democracy

• Direct Democracy: Citizens participate directly in decision-making, as in Ancient Athens.
• Representative Democracy: Citizens elect representatives to make decisions on their behalf.

Reasons to have direct democracy

• Current societies are much larger than ancient Athens.
• Ideas of citizenship have expanded to include more people, like women and immigrants.
• Ownership of property is no longer a prerequisite.
• Citizenship is by birth, regardless of ethnicity, gender, or status.
• With limitations, children and criminals cannot vote.
• Modern democracies elect people for representation.
• Modern democracies use representative systems and first-past-the-post voting.

Participatory Democracy

• A hybrid system of direct and representative democracy.
• Citizens participate in deciding policy proposals, while politicians implement them.

Functions of Participatory Democracy

• Educative Function increases civic skills and competence.
• Integrative Function strengthens citizens' sense of responsibility.
• Legitimacy Function increases trust in government decisions.

Political Representation

• The process ensures that citizens' voices and interests are reflected in policy-making.

Hanna Pitkin's Four Types of Representation

• Formalistic Representation: Institutional rules governing representation (e.g., elections).
• Symbolic Representation: The meaning and symbolism behind a representative.
• Descriptive Representation: When representatives physically resemble their constituents.
• Substantive Representation: When representatives actively advocate for constituents’ interests.

Referendum

• A process where citizens vote directly to approve or reject legislation.

Policy Entrepreneurs

• Individuals or groups outside the government who dedicate significant effort and resources to finding solutions to problems.

Policy Champions

• Key figures with the ability to directly promote or affect policy and act as contact points for outside groups.

Three Categories of Champion Traits

• Demonstrates interest and awareness of a policy.
• Promotes awareness and understanding with positive statements.
• Advocates for improved policy and practice.

Bellwethers

• Individuals less directly involved in supporting or passing legislation.
• They are influential individuals who intentionally track policy issues; their knowledge of the current and future policy agenda carries weight.
• Elected or unelected officials can be bellwethers, with significant political weight and tenure, creating stability and certainty in decision-making.