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Public Policy Making - PPT 2

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130 views27 pages

Public Policy Making - PPT 2

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v9j6rqjvd2
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
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Introduction

Lecturer's Name: Dr Joshua Jebuntie Zaato

Education
 Secondary School: St Francis Xavier Junior Seminary, Wa, 1997
 BA: Legon, First Clsss Honours, 2003
 MA: Brock University, Canada 2007
 PhD: University of Ottawa, Canada, 2013

Working Experience
 University of Ottawa, Canada: 2007-2016
 Zayed University, Dubai: 2017-2021

HomeTown: Tumu, Upper West Region

Email: jjzaato@ug.edu.gh
Objectives:
Understand the importance, nature, and limits of public policies, their
success criteria and factors

Identify the numerous stakeholders, processes, and methods that lead to


the formulation of better public policies

Learn, know and master the instruments, tools and methodological


approaches use for designing evidence based policy making

Improve our ability to evaluate public policy performance and to master


the latest and numerous assessment and evaluation methods used
The Weberian Grand Bargain
Savoie, Donald (2005) has argued that the last 25 years have seen a breaking of the
bargain between bureaucrats and their political masters.

In the 1970s -1980s, the traditional bargain guiding the relationship between politicians
and career officials, which began to take shape in the early 1900s, was still in place.

If the policymaking and implementation process was a dance floor, ministers and
bureaucrats completely dominated it in the 1980s

Ministers and bureaucrats were able to operate in isolation and prepare policy initiatives
with limited public consultation and engagement in this closed and monopolised floor.
The Glue is Coming Unstuck
Savoies (2006) argues that today the dance floor is over-crowded with new actors:
lobbyists, interest and advocacy groups, think tanks, research institutes, policy
consultants and the media

They are “elbowing their way onto the dance floor” at the invitation of politicians

It’s a very different time and dance, one in which public servants “no longer control their
work environment to anything like the extent they did 25 years ago.”

In brief, government has become a porous operation, open to many policy actors.
This new dance requires new tools, skills and expertise that public servants might be lacking.
What is Public Policy?
A public policy is a complex phenomenon consisting of numerous decisions made by
numerous individuals and organizations in government (Howlett and Ramesh, 2003, p.8)

In this class, a “Public Policy is anything a government chooses to do or not to do” (Dye,
1972)

When we talk about public policies therefore, we fundamentally mean the actions and in-
actions of government.
 Public Policies therefore involve a choice to be made by government.

Public policy could therefore be a ‘negative or a non-decision’.


 This happens when a government decides to do nothing but maintain the status-quo (Howlett and Ramesh, 2003)

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The Policy Cycle
Merits of the Policy Cycle Public Policies

It breaks down the complexity of the process into a number of stages and sub-stages so
that each can be investigated separately or in relation to the others (Wu et al., 2010)

It allows for numerous and complex cases to be analysed in a comparative manner and at
each stage of the cycle.
we can know in a logical manner at which stage a particular policy is, and then determine its success at that stage

It can be used at the local (agency), national (government), and international (UN)level for policy analysis.
it can also be used to determine what each jurisdiction is doing at any particular time.

Since different stages can be studied separately, it can be used to determine where more
resources/training is needed
Demerits of the Policy Cycle Public Policies

It can be misunderstood to mean that policymakers use a very systematic, linear and
logical system all the time
In reality, the policy process is non-linear, sometimes impromptu and difficult to map out

It is a one-size-fits-all approach? Magical bullets are few and non-existent.

There are no indications as to who and what drives the policy from one stage to the other
and why.
For instance, what forces and drivers move a policy from adoption to implementation and why?

As an analytical tool, it is very good, but not as an actual and practical tool.
In short, there are usually no linear progression of the public policy process as implied by the ideal model.
What is Agenda-Setting?
In order to better understand Agenda-Setting, answers to the following questions are
critical.
Why do some issues end up getting government attention while other do not?
Why do governments feel to respond or act to some issues while ignoring others?
How come when some people, institutions, and actors speak, the government listens while it ignores others with similar
concerns?

At its most basics, therefore, agenda-setting is about the recognition of a problem, issue,
concern, and demand by the government (Howlett and Ramesh, 2003)

Problems are not objective, just sitting there waiting to be seen and recognised. Problem
recognition is a socially constructed process.
Policy Windows and Agenda-Setting?
Public Policies

John Kingdon (1984) developed the concept of Policy Windows to explain agenda-setting
processes in the US government.

A policy window is an opportunity provided by circumstances and characteristics of


political institutions that can lead to the opening/closing of windows of opportunity

Four main types of policy windows can be identified in the literature:

Routinized Political windows: here, the normal institutionalised procedures dictate


predictable window openings. E.g the budget statement might indicate changes to policy
Policy Windows and Agenda-Setting?
Public Policies

Discretionary Political Windows: here, the behaviour of individual


political actors leads to less predictable window opening. Statements by
the President, Ministers of State.

Spillover Problem Windows: related issues are drawn into an already


open window.

Random Problem Windows: random events and crisis open


unpredictable windows.
Challenges in Agenda-Setting
Public Policies
Public managers must have the expertise and capacity to anticipate, identify and act upon
the specific circumstance as and when the opportunity presents itself
This is necessary because opened policy windows are scarce and short lived

Wu et al., (2010) have identified five challenges public managers face in the agenda
setting stage.

These are:
The increasing use of crisis-driven agendas
Prevention is better than cure, but most often, politicians wait until its too late.
Agenda setting is mostly a lip service opportunity by politicians
Over crowding of the policy agenda is a pervasive problem
Agenda setting might be hijacked by the media, special interest groups
Actors in Agenda Setting in Ghana

Policymakers (President, Cabinet, Ministers, Parliament, Bureaucrats)

Government Institutions (Agencies, Ministries/Departments, Courts)

The media, social networks (Twitter, Facebook, etc)

Think Tanks/Civil Society (CDD, Imani, CEPA, IEA)


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Policy Formulation
After a government recognises the existence of a public problem and the need to address it,
policymakers need to decide on some course of action

Deciding and formulating a course of action is the second most important stage in the
policymaking process

At its basics, therefore, policy formulation involves assessing the various options
available for addressing a public problem
It involves assessing available options, narrowing them down and selecting the optimal one.

It is therefore a cycle that involves defining, considering, and accepting or rejecting


options in the policy formulating process.
The Policy Formulation Process
Jones (1984) has identified six (6) broad characteristics of the policy
formulation process:
It needs not be limited to one set of factors and actors and it may proceed even without a clear definition of
the policy problem

Formulation is usually done in a particular government institution and that institution might become
synonymous with the policy

It may occur without any support from inside or outside government for any proposal put forth

There are turf-wars involved in the formulation process

Several appeal points exists for those that loose out of the initial formulation process

The process is not neutral. There are always winners and losers.
Players in Policy Formulation/Adoption
In any given political system, the role of actors is determined by and depends upon the
nature of the political system and the specific nature of the policy problem

Broader generalizations of actors include:

Senior elected (cabinet) and Appointed (bureaucrats) officials

Legislatures and specific legislative committees through legislative overview and review

The key government Ministry/Department/Agency under whose jurisdiction the policy falls

International Financial Institutions (IMF/WB/WTO/OECD)

Consultants, think tanks, NGOs


Policy Implementation
“After a problem has made its way to the policy agenda, various options proposed to
solve it, and a government makes a choice among various options, what remains is
putting the decision into action” (Howlett and Ramesh, 2003, p.185)

At its basics therefore, policy implementation involves putting into action the intentions
and decisions of government
Breathing life into vague, unclear, and conflicting intentions and beliefs

It involves the allocation of normative and empirical inputs:


Normative inputs: political support, coordination/collaboration between and among actors
Empirical inputs: funding, personnel, time,

Policy Implementation is inherently a political process


Actors/Activities in Policy Implementation
Bureaucracy is the most important actor in the policy implementation process.

Departmental turf wars also plays a big role in the policy implementation role
e.g. bureaucratic agencies at different levels of government (National, State/Provincial, and Local)

Implementation is often expensive and long and requires continued funding and which is
neither permanent nor guaranteed
Manage expectations and budget for the unexpected

Unions, NGOs, and Civil Society can enhance or constrain policy implementation
What is needed is collaboration and networking among and between all stakeholders

International Financial Institutions like the World Bank/IMF and the entire donor
community and funding plays a big role
Operational Capacity Barriers
Fund and resource limitation:
•The shortage or unavailability of funds is a classical challenge to policy implementation

Poor Institutional memory and organizational expertise


oNew challenges demand new ideas and expertise. Some organizations just don’t have what it takes

Lack of clarity in Operational plans:


Mismanagement of approved and funded plans
Poor monitoring and regulation of oversight agencies
Policy Evaluation
After a policy has been chosen, adopted, and implemented, governments next assess how
it is doing
other actors and interest parties are also usually engaged in their own assessments in
order to support , oppose or demand changes to it

Policy evaluation can therefore be defined as a determination of how a policy has actually
fared, once implemented
It involves an assessment of the means used and the ends achieved

After evaluation comes reconceptualization where the policy might be terminated,


modified, or the status quo maintained
Formal Actors in the Policy Evaluation Process
The first groups of actors or interest groups in the policy evaluation process are the
Formal Actors:

Politicians and bureaucrats in government departments and agencies;

Depending upon the political system, opposition political parties;

International Financial Institutions (IMF/WB); and,

Policy analysts and audit units in individual government departments and agencies
Informal Actors in the Policy Evaluation Process

Informal Actors Include:

Protests, demonstrations, boycotts, and strike actions by labour;

Think Tanks, Research Institutions

NGOs, and Civil Society Organizations

The Media
Different Types of Evaluation Public Policies

Howlett and Ramesh (2003) have identified three main levels of policy evaluation.

These are:

Administrative Evaluation

Judicial Evaluation

Political Evaluation
Administrative Evaluation Public Policies

It is also known as Value For Money (VFM) Evaluation and performed in government
departments and agencies by specialist.

Five types exists:


Effort Evaluation: it measures the quantity and quality of program inputs (personnel, funding, time)

Performance Evaluation: focuses on outputs rather than inputs (number of kids in school, crime rate, number
of nurses).

Effectiveness Evaluation: is the program doing what it is supposed to do? Focus on outcomes, effects,
impact

Efficiency Evaluation: attempts to assess the costs of a program to determine if the same amount can achieve
more at a lower costs
Value for Money Evaluation
The Office of the Auditor General of Canada’s (2000) Manual for Value-For Money Audit/Evaluation defined it
as:
oa systematic, purposeful, organized and objective examination of government activities.

It aims to provide Parliament with:


an assessment on the performance of policies and programs;
with information, observations and recommendations to promote an answerable, honest and productive
government; and
encourages accountability and best practices.

Its scope includes the examination of:


environmental effects of government activities;
Accountability and transparency relationships;
protection of public assets and promotion of good governance; and
Judicial Evaluation Public Policies

This relates to the legal issues with which certain government programs are formulated
and implemented

Also known as judicial review, they are carried out by the judiciary and are concerned
with possible constitutional conflicts

The judiciary can and does review government policies and programs either on its own or
when its powers are invoked
For instance, the Supreme Court of the US was asked to rule on the constitutionality or otherwise of the
Healthcare Reform Act

Different legal and political systems grant courts different powers of review.

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