political analysis adnan& amer.pptx

Political Analysis and Strategies Presented by: Adnan Al-Dawahreh & Amer Alwahsh Supervised by: Dr. Waddah D’emeh March 25, 2024  Road Map Definition of Political Analysis Steps of Political Analysis Force Field Analysis Model John Kingdon’s Mode...

Political Analysis and Strategies Presented by: Adnan Al-Dawahreh & Amer Alwahsh Supervised by: Dr. Waddah D’emeh March 25, 2024  Road Map Definition of Political Analysis Steps of Political Analysis Force Field Analysis Model John Kingdon’s Model Sources of Power Political Strategies Tips for Successful Political Strategies  Objectives By the end of this lecture, you will be able to: Understand the process of political analysis. Identify the components of political analysis. Differentiate between several sources of power. Describe the political strategies used to achieve the policy goals.  INTRODUCTION “The difficult can be done immediately, the impossible takes a little longer.” Unknown author, Army Corps of Engineers motto, World War II  Nursing and Politics are a Good Match Nurses have the skills to be active participants in the political arena for several reasons: Nurses are skilled at assessment, and being engaged in the political process involves analysis of the relevant issues and their background and importance. Nurses understand people and, to understand an issue, it is critical to know who is affected and who is involved in trying to solve the problem. Nurses are relationship builders, and the political process involves the development of partnerships and networks to solve problems.  Nursing and Politics are a Good Match As skilled communicators, nurses can work with other professionals, patients, families, and their communities to solve health care problems that affect their patients and the health care system.  Nurses need to develop skills in political analysis and strategy to truly make a difference. However, the word politics often evokes negative emotions, and many nurses may not feel inclined to get involved. Political Analysis  What is Political Analysis? Political analysis is the process of examining an issue and understanding the key factors and people that might potentially influence a policy goal. It involves the analysis of :  Government and organizations, both public and private  People and their behavior  The social, political, historical, and economic factors surrounding the policy. It also includes the identification and development of strategies to attain or defeat a policy goal. Political analysis involves nine components.  Steps of Political Analysis Identification of the Issue Context of the Issue Political Feasibility The Stakeholders Economics and Resources Values Assessment Networks and/or Coalitions Power Goals and Proposed Solutions  Identification of the Issue First step in conducting a political analysis is to identify and describe the issue or problem. Identifying and framing the issue involves asking who, what, when, where, and how questions to gather sufficient information to lay the groundwork for developing an appropriate response to the issue. Start with what you know about the issue: What is the issue? Is it my issue and can I solve it? When did the issue first occur, is it a new or old problem? Is this the real issue, or merely a symptom of a larger one? Does it need an immediate solution, or can it wait? Is it likely to go away by itself? Can I risk ignoring it?  Identification of the Issue Decide what is missing from what you know about the issue and gather additional information: Why does the problem exist? Who is causing the problem? Who is affected by the issue? How significant is the issue? What additional information is needed? What are the gaps in existing data?  Identification of the Issue The way a problem is defined has considerable impact on the number and type of proposed solutions (Fairclough, 2013). The challenge for those seeking to get policymakers to address issues (e.g., poverty, the underinsured, or unacceptable working conditions) is to define the issue in ways that will prompt decision makers to take action. This requires careful crafting of messages so that calls for solutions are clearly justified. This is known as framing the issue. In the workplace, framing may entail linking the problem to one of the institution’s priorities or to a potential threat to its reputation, public safety, or financial standing. For example, inadequate nurse staffing could be linked to increases in rates of morbidity and mortality, outcomes that can increase costs and jeopardize an institution’s reputation and future business.  Context of the Issue The second part in the political analysis process is to do a situational analysis by examining the context of the problem. This analysis should include, at a minimum, an examination of the social, cultural, ethical, political, historical, and economic contexts of the problem. Several questions can guide you in analyzing the background of the issue: o What are the social, cultural, ethical, political, historical, and economic factors that are creating or contributing to this problem? o What are the background and root causes of each of these factors? o Are these factors constraining or facilitating a solution to the problem? o Are there other environmental obstacles affecting this issue?  Context of the Issue It is important to be as thorough as possible at this stage and to consider whether the source of the information is verifiable and impartial. It is also important to understand any opposing views. Nurses also need to know which branch of government (legislative, executive, or judicial) has primary jurisdiction over the issue at a given time. One must know parliamentary procedure to develop a political strategy to get an issue passed or rejected. There have been many issues that have failed or passed because of insufficient knowledge of rule-making. Regardless of the setting, assessing the history of the issue would include identifying who has responsibility for decision making for a particular issue; which committees, boards, or panels have addressed the issue in the past.  Political Feasibility The third part of a political analysis is to analyze the political feasibility of solving an issue. There are several ways to conduct a political feasibility analysis.  Force-Field Analysis  Kingdon’s Model of Public Policy Making  Force-Field Analysis A simple analysis is conducting a force field analysis (Lewin, 1951) to identify the barriers and facilitators to making change to solve the issue. The force field analysis asks you to think critically about the issue and the forces affecting it by creating a two-column chart: 1. One column lists the restraining forces, or all the reasons that preserve the status quo and any reasons why the issue should stay the same. 2. The second column lists the driving forces, or forces that are pushing the issue to change.  John Kingdons Theory A second option is to use John Kingdon’s (2010) model of public policymaking. Kingdon proposes three streams or processes that affect whether an issue gets on the political agenda. 1-Problem stream: is where people agree on an issue or problem, collect data about the issue, and share the definition of problem. 2-Policy stream: is characterized by discussion and proposal of policy solutions for the issue. 3-Political stream: is when public mood and political will exists to want to address the issue. Kingdon’s model explains that an issue gets on the political agenda only when the three streams couple or converge and a window of opportunity is thereby created.  Stakeholders Stakeholders are those parties who have influence over the issue, are directly influenced by it. The stakeholders are obvious and potential. In some cases, the stakeholders are obvious. For example, nurses are stakeholders on issues such as staffing ratios. In other situations, one can develop potential stakeholders by helping them to see the connections between the issue and their interests. Other individuals and organizations can be stakeholders when it comes to staffing ratios. Among them are employers (i.e., hospitals), payers (i.e., insurance companies), legislators, other health care professionals, and consumers.  Stakeholders Nursing realized the potential of consumer power in moving forward nursing and health care issues. In the political arena the role of consumers cannot be underestimated. Nurses, as direct caregivers, have an important role in ensuring that recipients of services are included as stakeholders; especially when bringing issues to elected officials.  Stakeholders In commencing a stakeholder analysis, it is important to evaluate the relationships you, or others in your group, have with key stakeholders. Consider the following when doing a stakeholder analysis: Who are the stakeholders on this issue? Which of these stakeholders are potential supporters or opponents? Can any of the opponents be converted to supporters? What are the values, priorities, and concerns of the stakeholders? How can these be tapped in planning political strategy? Do the supportive stakeholders reflect the constituency that will be affected by the issue  Economics and Resources An effective political strategy must consider the resources that will be needed to address an issue successfully. Resources include money, time, connections, and intangible resources, such as creative solutions. The most obvious resource is money, which must be considered when defining the issue and getting it recognized or on the public agenda. Before the initiative to champion an issue, it is necessary to determine: Determine the resources that will be necessary. How much it will cost? Who will bear those costs? The source of the money? What value will be achieved from the outlay of the resources?  Economics and Resources Know how budgets are formulated for a given organization, professional group, or government agency. What is the budget process? Who decides how the funds will be used? How is the use of funds evaluated? How might an individual or group influence the budget process? Money is not the only resource to evaluate. Sharing available resources, such as space, people, expertise, and in-kind services, may be best accomplished through a coalition.  Value Assessment Every political issue should prompt discussions about values. Especially those concerned with “morality policies” which are primarily revolving around ideology and values, rather than costs and distribution of resources (abortion, stem cell research, immigration, and death penalty). However, most issues that are not classified as morality issues still require an assessment of the values of supporters and their opponents.  Any call for government support of health care programs implies a certain prioritization of values: Is health more important than education, or jobs, or military action?  It is also important to make sure issues are framed to show how they will help the public at large and not just the nursing profession.  When an issue is discussed, it is critical to link the issue to the problem it may solve.  For example, when a request for increased funding for nursing education is made, linking this request to the need to alleviate the nursing shortage or to increase the number of nurses necessary for successful implementation of health care reform would be important.  Networks and/or Coalitions Too often nurses become concerned about a particular issue and try to change it without help from others. In the public arena particularly, an individual is rarely able to exert adequate influence to create long-term policy change. Although individuals develop political skill and expertise, it is the influence of networks and coalitions or like-minded groups that wields power most effectively. It is critical to the political analysis process to evaluate what networks or coalitions exist that are involved with the issue. As well intentioned as the policy solutions may be, they will likely fail unless nurses can garner the support of other powerful stakeholders such as members of the state board of nursing, the state nurses’ association, physicians, and consumer advocacy groups. Such stakeholders often hold the power to either support or oppose the policy change.  Power Effective political strategy requires an analysis of the power of proponents and opponents of a particular solution. It is critical to be aware of the sources of power. Power can be a means to an end, or an end in itself. Power also can be actual or potential. An individual nurse may not have sufficient power to champion an issue through the legislative or regulatory process, but a network, coalition, or alliance of nurses or nursing organizations can wield significant power to move an issue to the public agenda and to successfully solve it.  Sources of Power Legitimate (or Positional). Reward Power. Connection Power Expert Power Empowerment Referent Power Coercive Power Information Power Persuasion Power  Sources of Power Legitimate (or positional) It is power obtained by organizational position rather than personal qualities, whether from a person’s role as the chief nurse officer or the state’s governor. Reward power is based on the ability to compensate another and is the perception of the potential for rewards or favors. o A clear example is the supervisor who has the power to determine promotions and pay increases. Expert power is based on knowledge, skills, or special abilities, in contrast to positional power. o It is a power source that nurses must recognize is available to them. Policymakers are seldom experts in health care; nurses are. Referent power is based in identification or association with a leader or someone in a position of power who can influence others and commands a high level of respect and admiration. For example, when a nursing organization enlists a highly regarded public personality as an advocate for an issue it is championing.  Sources of Power Coercive power is based on the ability to punish others and is rooted in real or perceived fear of one person by another. For example, the supervisor who threatens to fire those nurses who speak out is relying on coercive power. Information power results when one individual has (or is perceived to have) special information that another individual needs or desires. o For example, this source of power can come from having access to data or other information that would be necessary to push a political agenda forward. This power source underscores the need for nurses to stay abreast of information on a variety of levels: in one’s personal and professional networks, immediate work situation, community, and the public sector, as well as in society. Use of information power requires strategic consideration of how and with whom to share the information. Connection power is granted to those perceived to have important and sometimes extensive connections with individuals or organizations. o For example, the nurse who is a member of the hospital credentialing committee will be accorded power by those who want access to these individuals or groups.  Sources of Power Persuasion power is based in the ability to influence or convince others to agree with your opinion or agenda. It involves leading others to your viewpoint with data, facts, and presentation skills. o For example, a nurse is able to persuade the nursing organization to sponsor legislation or regulation that would benefit the health care needs of her specialty population. It may be the right thing to do, but the nurse uses her skills of persuasion for her own personal or professional agenda. Empowerment arises from any or all of these types of power, shared among the group. Empowerment can happen when the nurse manager on a unit uses consensus building when possible or when a coalition is formed and adopts consensus building and shared decision making to guide its process.  Strategies Development to Enhance Nursing Organizations Power Develop a strategy to enhance its power by finding a highly regarded, high-profile individual to be its spokesperson with the media (referent power). Making it known to legislators that their vote on this issue will be a major consideration in the next election's endorsement decisions (reward or coercive power). Longer-range power-building strategy would be for the nursing organizations to extend their connections with other organizations by signing onto coalitions that address broader health care issues and expanding connections with policymakers (connection power). Getting nurses into policymaking positions (legitimate power). Hiring a government affairs director to help inform the group about the nuances of the legislature (information power). using consensus building within the organization to enhance nurses' participation and activities (empowerment) finally, by identifying a legislative champion for the issue who could garner the use of several power bases at once.  Goals and Proposed Solutions According to the policy options. More than one solution to an issue and each option differs about cost, practicality, and duration. By identifying the goal, and developing and analyzing possible solutions, nurses will acquire further understanding of the issue and what is possible for an organization, workplace, government agency, or professional organization to undertake. Full understanding of the big picture and where the issue fits into that vision. Nurses would need to understand the implications of the alternatives before adopting solution. The amount of money and time need to be addressed Political Strategies  Political Strategies Once a political analysis is completed, it is necessary to develop a plan that identifies activities and strategies to achieve the policy goals.  The development and implementation of a political strategy to solve an issue requires that there is a tightly framed message, an aligned common purpose or goal, and a well-defined target audience.  Messaging is critical to the development of a political strategy.  Nurses need to be able to communicate with policymakers, other health care leaders, and the public, and may sometimes use social media for messaging to advise on institutional and public policy. Tips for Successful Political Strategy  Look at the Big Picture Developing a political strategy requires looking at the larger environment. This can provide a more objective perspective and increase nurses' credibility as broad-minded visionaries, looking beyond personal needs. The successful advocate is the one who does not lose sight of the big picture and is willing to compromise for the larger goal.  It is critical for nurses to frame their policy work in terms of improving the health of patients and the broader health delivery system, rather than a singular focus on the profession.  Do Your Homework We can never have all the information about an issue, but we need to be sufficiently prepared before we advocate. Gather the requested information and present it as clearly and simply as possible. However, if one has done everything possible to prepare and is asked to supply information that is not anticipated, it is reasonable and preferable to indicate that one does not know the answer. The information should then be obtained as soon as possible and distributed to the policymaker who requested it.  Being Prepared for Political Advocacy Here are some ways to ensure that you’re prepared for advocacy around a specific issue. Conducting a full political analysis will inform your preparation strategy. Clarify your position on the problem, your goal in pursuing the issue, and possible solutions. Gather information and data and search the clinical and policy literature. Prepare documents to describe and support the issue. Assess the power dynamics of the stakeholders. Assess your own power base and ability to maneuver in the political arena. Plan a strategy and assess its strengths and weaknesses. Prepare for the opposition. Line up support.  Read Between the Lines When legislators say they think your issue is important, it does not necessarily mean that they will vote to support it. A direct question, such as “Will you vote in support of our bill?,” needs to be asked of policymakers to know their position. The overt message is not always the real message. Are there hidden agendas that the stakeholders are concerned about? What is not being said? When framing an issue, be aware of the covert messages. Be careful to make the issue as clear as possible and test it on others to be certain that reading between the lines conveys the same message as the overt rhetoric.  Bring Data Data are important to the political analysis process and again during strategy development to move an issue through the policy process Decision makers are often dissatisfied with their ability to get or understand the data needed to make good policy decisions. They need an interpretation of the data in a form that is understandable and useable for their purposes.  A nurse can make himself or herself valuable to a policymaker by preparing a report of the important points on an issue under consideration that translates data into concise information.  Money Talks Follow the money and understand the flow of funds within a private health care organization/system or the public sector. Money is important in both the public and private sectors, and the more money you have, the more powerful you appear to others, whether the money is revenue, profits, or donations. the problem with money in politics is who is spending the money and what they are asking for in return. Communication is 20% What You Say and 80% How You Say It and to whom  Equally important is the way the message is framed and conveyed to stakeholders.  When delivering the message, learn to use strong, affirmative language. Use the rhetoric that incorporates lawmakers’ lingo and the buzzwords of key proponents. Communication is 20% What You Say and 80% How You Say It and to whom  How you convey your message involves developing rhetoric or catchy phrases that the media might pick up on and perpetuate.  Learn and use good communication techniques; in particular, the use of a persuasive and assertive communication style that focuses on the facts and the data and limits any emotional appeals to stories that illustrate the human impact of the problem.  don't be afraid to toot your own horn. If nursing is leading an initiative or has generated the research evidence to support the issue, present the evidence to the policymakers and inform them that nurses led the work. You Scratch My Back and I'll Scratch Yours Developing networks involves keeping track of what you have done for others and not being afraid to ask a favor in return(something for something). it is the way political arenas work in both public and private sectors. Leaders expect to be asked for help and know the favor will be returned. Because nurses' interface with the public all the time, they are in excellent positions to facilitate or otherwise do favors for people. Too often, nurses forget to ask for help from those whom they have helped and who would be more than willing to return a favor.  Strike While the Iron is Hot The timing of an issue will often make a difference in terms of a successful outcome. A well-planned strategy may fail because the timing is not good. An issue may languish for some period because of a mismatch in values, concerns, or resources but then something may change to make an issue ripe for consideration.  United We Stand, Divided We Fall The achievement of policy goals can be accomplished only if supporters demonstrate a united front. Collective action is almost always more effective than individual action. Collaboration through networking, alliances, and coalition building can demonstrate broad support for an issue. A 2010 Gallup poll of health care leaders found that the lack of a united front by national nursing organizations was viewed as a major reason why nursing’s influence on health care reform would not be significant (Khoury, Blizzard, Moore, & Hassmiller, 2011). To maximize nursing’s political potential, we must look for opportunities to reach consensus or remain silent in the public arena on an issue that is not of paramount concern. Sometimes diverse groups can work together on an issue of mutual interest, even though they are opponents on other issues.  The Best Defense is a Good Offense A successful political strategy is one that tries to accommodate the concerns of the opposition. disassociating from the emotional context of working with opponents and is the first step in principled negotiating.  A person who is skillful at managing conflict will be successful in politics. It is also important to anticipate problems and areas for disagreement and be prepared to counter them. In developing a good defense, arm yourself with data and information about the issue. Know the supporters and opponents of the issue. Professional nursing organizations are useful sources for up-to-date information on key issues facing the profession and health care.  Don't Make Enemies and Don't Burn Bridges To burn one's bridges is to cut off any potential future support or collaboration with a person or organization. Building bridges rather than burning them is a much smarter option for the future. In case of defeat, congratulate the winner and move on to learn from the experience to thrive.  Rome Was Not Built in a Day It takes a long time to do important work, to create something long lasting and sustainable. Policy successes will not happen immediately. It will take the involvement of many workers or volunteers and countless meetings, going through the political analysis of an issue and pursuing a political strategy to find a policy solution.  It is critical not to overestimate the importance of that building process nor underestimate the importance of adding another brick. Political analysis is the process of examining an issue and understanding the key factors and people that might potentially influence a policy goal. Political analysis involves nine components: identification of the issue, context of the issue, political feasibility, the stakeholders, economics and resources, values assessment, networks and/or coalitions, power, and proposed solutions. Power could be personal or positional, and is based on several different sources, including control over Reward, punishment, informational, expertise, and connection. Once a political analysis is completed, it is necessary to develop a plan that identifies activities and strategies to achieve the policy goals.  Conclusion Nurses have the skills to be active participants in the political arena. Proper identification and understating of issue is the half of solution. Force field analysis model of public policymaking is the best ways for analysis the context of issue. Collaboration through networking, alliances, and coalition building can demonstrate broad support for an issue. Effective political strategy requires an analysis of the power of proponents and opponents of a particular solution. You need to be smart enough to use the proper ways for successful political strategies.  References Alhassan, A., Siakwa, M., Kumi-Kyereme, A., & Wombeogo, M. (2020). Barriers to and Facilitators of Nurses’ Political Participation in Ghana. Policy, Politics, & Nursing Practice, 21(1), 29–42. https://doi.org/10.1177/1527154419899602 Basaran, S., & Duygulu, S. (2014). Turkish nurses’ assessments of their power and the factors that affect it. Journal of Nursing Management, 23(8), 1039–1049. https://doi.org/10.1111/jonm.12250 Mason D., Dickson E., McLemore M., Perez A. (2020). Policy and politics in nursing and health care (8th ed.). Elsevier/Saunders. McNett, M., Tucker, S., Zadvinskis, I., Tolles, D., Thomas, B., Gorsuch, P., & Gallagher-Ford, L. (2022, August 12). A Qualitative Force Field Analysis of Facilitators and Barriers to Evidence-Based Practice in Healthcare Using an Implementation Framework. Global Implementation Research and Applications, 2(3), 195–208. https://doi.org/10.1007/s43477-022-00051-6 Wilson, D. M., Anafi, F., Kusi-Appiah, E., Darko, E. M., Deck, K., & Errasti-Ibarrondo, B. (2020, August). Determining if nurses are involved in political action or politics: A scoping literature review. Applied Nursing Research, 54, 151279. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.apnr.2020.151279 Woodward, B., Smart, D., & Benavides-Vaello, S. (2016). Modifiable Factors that Support Political Participation by Nurses. Journal of Professional Nursing, 32(1), 54–61. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.profnurs.2015.06.005 Any Questions