(chapter:6 book 2) ANALYSIS MODEL

Policy Cycle and Its Products

Public policy is about making decisions and taking actions to solve social problems. Both
government officials and private groups play a role in shaping policies. These decisions depend
on available resources and the rules that govern how policies are made and implemented. To
study public policies effectively, we can divide them into two types of factors: dependent
variables, which are the policies and their effects, and independent variables, which are the
people and groups involved in making and applying the policies.

A public policy follows a cycle with four main steps. First, the government identifies a problem
and places it on its agenda. Second, laws and regulations are created to address the problem.
Third, the policies are put into action through specific plans and decisions. Fourth, the results are
assessed to see if the policy achieved its goals.

Each stage of the policy cycle produces different results. The first stage defines the problem and
outlines possible solutions. The second stage involves making the laws and rules needed to put
the policy into action. The third stage focuses on carrying out the policy, including deciding who
is responsible and how the work will be done. The fourth stage reviews the effects of the policy,
looking at how it has impacted people and whether it was successful.

It is important to understand public policy from two perspectives. The first is the substantive
aspect, which asks how the problem can be solved. The second is the institutional aspect, which
looks at which actors are involved, what rules they follow, and what resources they use to
implement the policy. While the second perspective is often recognized when creating laws and
regulations, it is sometimes overlooked in other stages, such as identifying problems, making
action plans, and evaluating results.

Even policies that seem purely institutional, like setting up administrative arrangements, have a
substantive impact. For example, in England, child protection policies involve many departments,
including education, health, law enforcement, and financial support. Choosing which department
leads the policy—such as switching from health to education—can shape how the policy is carried
out.

Policies do not exist in isolation. The decisions made in one stage directly affect the next. For
example, how a policy is planned will shape how it is implemented. This logical flow ensures that
public actions remain consistent and predictable. However, sometimes policies face challenges,
such as difficulty changing laws or adapting government practices. Rules like those in democratic
systems also influence policies by ensuring fairness and legality. In short, each stage of policy-
making builds on previous decisions, shaping how the policy develops and impacts society.
Effect Of The Games Actors Play On The Substantive And Institutional Elements Of A Policy

Public policies are not always simple and straightforward. Many different groups, like government
officials and private organizations, try to shape them. At each stage, these groups use rules and
resources to change or adjust decisions that were made earlier.

New people or groups can join the process, while others might leave. Some groups that were not
powerful before can gain influence by working together or using new rules. This can lead to big
changes in the policy. For example, farming organizations often try to make sure they get financial
support and benefits from the government.

Policies often face unexpected problems. Even when a plan seems clear, new issues can appear
when the policy is put into action. Problems that were ignored or unresolved earlier can come
back later in a different form.

Studies show that policies are shaped by many social and political factors, making their outcomes
hard to predict. This means that policies are influenced not only by past decisions but also by
changes in conditions, available resources, and the actions of different people involved at each
stage.

Integrated theoretical model

Public policy is shaped by different stages, where problems are defined, solutions are planned,
policies are implemented, and results are evaluated. The way policies develop is influenced by
the groups involved, the rules they follow, and the resources they use.

The first stage is identifying a problem, which often includes deciding who is responsible for the
issue and who should take action to solve it. Sometimes, groups that are blamed try to shift
responsibility to others or share the burden to avoid making major changes themselves. For
example, in environmental policies, industries and farmers might argue that other polluters
should also take responsibility. Similarly, in healthcare policies, poor service may be blamed on
social or economic issues rather than the health system itself.

Policies involve both substantive and institutional aspects. Substantive elements focus on how to
solve the problem, while institutional elements deal with the rules, resources, and people
involved in making decisions. These two aspects influence each other, meaning changes in laws,
resources, or involved groups can affect how policies are applied. For instance, if
environmentalists are included in agricultural policy discussions, new environmental rules may
be introduced.

The policy cycle follows four main stages: setting the agenda (identifying the problem),
programming (creating plans and rules), implementation (taking action), and evaluation (checking
results). Each stage builds on the previous one, and decisions made earlier shape what happens
next. However, the process is not always smooth or predictable. New groups may enter the
discussion, existing groups may gain or lose influence, and different resources may be used to
push certain ideas.

The effectiveness of policies depends on several factors. First, the content must stay consistent
with the original problem it aimed to solve. If the problem is redefined or different evaluation
criteria are used, the policy may lose its focus. Second, the groups involved in making policies
usually stabilize over time, creating a clear network of actors. Third, institutional rules play a role
in guiding strategies and shaping interactions among groups. Finally, different types of resources,
such as legal power, financial support, and public influence, are used strategically by different
actors to push their interests.

Public policy is complex because many groups influence decisions at different stages. Changes in
rules, resources, and involved actors can shift policies in unexpected ways, making the process
dynamic and difficult to predict.

Conclusion:

To sum up, this model helps to understand public policy as a changing and flexible process. It
makes it easier to study the different steps in policy-making and the key groups involved at each
stage. While it simplifies analysis by breaking policies into four steps, it avoids the problems of
seeing policy-making as a strict, step-by-step process. Instead, it acknowledges that policies can
be influenced by new events, learning, and unexpected changes.

To study policies, analysts should use two main approaches. First, they should look at how each
step in the policy cycle builds on the previous one. Second, if major differences appear between
two stages, they should investigate why—such as new groups influencing the process or different
rules and resources being used.

Despite the variety of policies, they all share a similar structure. Each stage produces specific
results, shaped by both the rules and the actual content of the policy. To make sense of these
stages, researchers should:

1. Define the result of each policy stage.

2. Identify the rules and ideas that shape this result.

3. Describe how decisions are made, including who is involved and what resources are used.

This approach also allows comparisons between policies in different countries or regions. By
looking at the people involved, the rules they follow, and the resources they use, analysts can
better understand how policies develop and change over time.