Policy

Implementation,
Failure, and
Learning
The Implementation

The process by which

policies enacted by
government are put
into effect by relevant
agencies.

Approaches to the Study

The first era (late 1960’s - early 1970’s)
focused on individual case studies and
did not create more generalizable
theory that could be applied to and
tested with other cases.
The second era (mid 1970’s) sought to
create a systematic theories of the
policy process that were generalize.

Top-down Approach
The carrying out of a policy
decision—by statute, executive
order, or court decision, whereas
authoritative choices are
“centrally situated” by actors who
strive to achieve the “desired
outcomes.”

Bottom-up Approach

Initiates with the target groups

and service deliverers because
they find that the target groups
are the actual implementors of
policy.

Submitted By: Priscillah Mae E. Paasa

 TOP-DOWN
APPROACH
ASSUMPTIONS
Clear and
consistent goals
—articulated at
the top of the
hierarchical
environment
Knowledge of
pertinent cause
and effects
Clear hierarchy
of authority
Rules
established at
the top and
policy is aligned
with the rules

Resources /
capacity to carry
our the
commands from
the top
 TOP-DOWN
APPROACH
Top-down often initiate their analysis with
the statutory language, which “fails to
consider the significance of actions taken
earlier in the policy-making process”.
Thus, implementors often engage cues
from various groups, which differ in
intensity and history, none of which may
be reflected in the statutory language.

The implementors ignore or eliminate the

political aspects of implementation. For
instance, top-downers set clear goals for a
policy, while the legislation “often requires
ambiguous language and contradictory
goals” in order to gain enough votes for
passage. This approach may be desirable
in theory, but its practice may result in
“policy failure.”

Top-down implementors see the “statute

framers as key actors,” however, local
officials and people impacted by the policy
could more reasonable be considered as
the key independent variable of analysis.
BOTTOM-DOWN
APPROACH
Street-level
bureaucrats
Bottom-up approach is a way of studying policy and
implementation that considers the abilities and motivations
of the lowest-implementers, and tracks policy design from
the level to the highest levels of the government.

"Backward
mapping"
The bottom-up approach recognizes that goals are ambiguous rather
than explicit and may conflict not only with other goals in the same
policy area, but also with the norms and motivations of the street-level
bureaucrats. bottom-up approaches value understanding how conflict
can be alleviated by bargaining and sometimes compromise to
maximize the likelihood of achieving the policy goals.

DeLeon and DeLeon (2001) find that bottom-uppers are more

likely to be reflective of community interests, while top-
downers are more likely to impose policy narrowly upon
focused interest groups (478). They conclude that bottom-up
implementation is “more realistic and practical” and much
more “democratic” than the top-down approach (Ibid). Further,
if the policy is indeed meant to coerce people’s behavior, then
the bottom-up approach may go beyond informing people of
the proposed legislative action to manipulate behavior. In fact,
bottom-uppers may garner the consent of the target group
before their representatives’ vote for the law.

Bottom-up modeling makes sense when there is no

single dominant program (such as in a state's penal
code, which consists of many policy statements
regarding the nature and severity of crimes) and when
one is more interested in the local dynamics of
implementation than in the broad sweep of design. It is
useful to consider the local factors, from both practical
and academic perspectives, since local experience with
implementation success or failure can yield important
lessons for policy implementers.
POLICY
IMPLEMENTATION,
FAILURE, &
LEARNING

Referrences:
Birkland, Thomas A. (2016) Intoduction to
the Public Process, Theories, Concepts, and
Models of Public Policy Making. Routledge.
Top-down and Bottom-up Approaches within
Implementation. (2013, February 21).
Political Pipeline.
https://politicalpipeline.wordpress.com/20
13/02/21/top-down-and-bottom-up-
approaches-within-implementation/

PA 211 - A
SUBMITTED BY:
PRISCILLAH MAE E. PAASA