STAGE 1 OF POLICY PROCESS /

POLICY CYCLE

Topic 3

FSPPP, UiTM
ADS514: Intro to Public Policy.
Policy Problems and Agenda Setting

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Content:
• Meaning of public problem, policy problem, policy agenda
• Structuring policy problem process
• Agenda setting process (kingdon’s model)
• Types of policy agenda

FSPPP, UiTM
ADS514: Intro to Public Policy.
• Agenda denial
• Policy decisions
• Loss of agenda status

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Lesson outcome
At the end of this topic, students should be able to:
1. Describe meaning of public problem, policy problem, policy
agenda
2. Describe structuring policy problem process

FSPPP, UiTM
ADS514: Intro to Public Policy.
3. Describe agenda setting process (kingdon’s model)
4. Describe the different types of policy agenda
5. Describe agenda denial, policy decision, and loss of agenda
status

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Definition of terms
• Public problem
• The public matters - actions that affects more than just those
directly involved with the action
• Example: taking drugs without prescription, global warming, dirty
air etc.

FSPPP, UiTM
ADS514: Intro to Public Policy.
• This action has indirect consequences towards society.

Refer chapter 3
Refer Anderson page 89-90. Anderson distinguishes private and
public problem by giving example of shortage of gasoline.

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SHORTAGE OF GASOLINE
• Car of Smith and passenger
• Can be solved by just filled up the gasoline
• But it will become the public problem when:
• Shortage of gasoline is widespread and continued in a city

FSPPP, UiTM
ADS514: Intro to Public Policy.
• The problems need government interference by giving any
appropriate solutions.

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Definition of terms
• Policy problem
• a situation or a condition (or matter) that causes dissatisfactions
of masses that require governmental actions to resolve
• Example, air pollution, water pollution, flood problem, and
hardcore poverty are considered as unsatisfactory situation or

FSPPP, UiTM
ADS514: Intro to Public Policy.
condition for masses that need to be redressed by the
government.

• The problem that need policy decision / government actions

to resolve

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Definition of terms
• Policy agenda
• Issues that government has considered for actions

Problem Issue Agenda

FSPPP, UiTM
ADS514: Intro to Public Policy.
1

3
(Policy
Agenda)

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Structuring policy problem process
The process involve 3 main steps / stages of activities:

2.

FSPPP, UiTM
ADS514: Intro to Public Policy.
1. 3.
Transforming
Identifying public Gets
public problem into issue into
problem issue agenda

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Step 1:
Identifying public problem
• identifying whether or not problems existed in the society
(what matters public is ‘talking about’),
• whether the matter is a public problem or a private problem
and whether government need to take actions towards the
matter

FSPPP, UiTM
ADS514: Intro to Public Policy.
• This stage is concerned with a set of facts, belief and
perception on how people think about situation / condition /
matter in the society that leads to the needs for the
government to take actions

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Condition for a Situation to Become
Public Problem
1. People must not consider the situation as normal or
inevitable
2. Appropriate or worthy for government to take action
3. Condition must be defined as problem and articulated by

FSPPP, UiTM
ADS514: Intro to Public Policy.
someone and brought to the attention of the government
4. A condition is a problem only if something can be done to it.

Example: Earthquake – is it a problem?

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Step 2:
Transforming public problem into issue

Public problem become issue if situation of the problem signals

public badly require government to take action towards it

Problems V.S. issues:

FSPPP, UiTM
ADS514: Intro to Public Policy.
• Problems render life unpleasant and inconvenient.
• Issues imply an interpretation of the problem, a set of values
and an understanding of the proper role of government.

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How to convert (transform) public problem to issue

Factors need to consider:

• identify what causes the situation/problem,
• trace the root of the problem,
• consider complexity of the problem

FSPPP, UiTM
ADS514: Intro to Public Policy.
Refer Anderson page 88- 90 – homeless issue – to explain the
nature of public problem and how it become an issue of
concerned to policy makers (government)

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Step 3:
Gets issue into agenda

• A process where government make decision on which

issue to pick to resolve. This process is known as
agenda setting process

FSPPP, UiTM
ADS514: Intro to Public Policy.
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AGENDA SETTING
What is agenda setting?:
• the ‘politics of selecting issue for active consideration’

• Process of choosing which issue to select and consider

FSPPP, UiTM
ADS514: Intro to Public Policy.
actions / plan of actions to resolve issue (problem)

• the process by which problems and alternative solutions gain

or lose public and elite attention”. Birkland P.106

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AGENDA SETTING
PERSPECTIVE
• Elitist perspective
• Pluralist perspective
• Sub-government perspective

FSPPP, UiTM
ADS514: Intro to Public Policy.
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Elitist perspective
• Elitism is the exact opposite of pluralism
• In elitist theory power is seen as concentrated amongst a few
groups or individuals, including the government. To use the
same example as before; elitist theory would suggest that only
a few major pressure/interest groups, such as the NRA or
AARP, actually have any influence, and that even they struggle
to gain power because it is concentrated in the hands of a few

FSPPP, UiTM
ADS514: Intro to Public Policy.
members of government.
• claims that the policy playing field is fundamentally skewed
toward the interests of the rich and powerful.
• In the elitist scenario, the interests of less powerful groups are
ignored and excluded from the agenda, to the detriment of
public interest. 
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• The elitist framework of policy agenda setting leads to
suppressed interests and non-decision.
• The historical response to HIV/AIDS is a clear example of the
elitist policy framework. 
• President Ronald Reagan chose to not address the disease

FSPPP, UiTM
ADS514: Intro to Public Policy.
formally until 1987, when more than 20,000 Americans had
already died of AIDS. 
• The slow response to HIV/AIDS in the United States, South
Africa, and internationally, serves as an example of the elitist
policy framework.
• elitist interests suppressed the minority and excluded their
collective voice from the policy agenda. 17
Pluralist perspective

• suggests that various groups with equal political influence for a

place at the agenda setting table. 
• Groups with particular interests compete in, what is understood
to be, a competitive market economy-like policy arena for the
attention of agencies and central actors in the agenda setting

FSPPP, UiTM
ADS514: Intro to Public Policy.
process.
• Pluralism suggests that power is spread amongst different
groups in society, and that it is the pushing and pulling between
these different groups that explains how decisions are made and
how governments are influenced. 
• powerful pressure/interest groups are a classic example of
pluralism because they show how power is divided amongst
these different competing groups and not concentrated with one 18
organisation.
Sub-government perspective

• a secondary or subordinate government : an informal or

unofficial association of persons or institutions that exercises
considerable influence on a formal government or
organization
• A network of groups within the American political system

FSPPP, UiTM
ADS514: Intro to Public Policy.
which exercise a great deal of control over specific policy
areas.
• Also known as iron triangles, sub-governments are composed
of interest group leaders interested in a particular policy, the
government agency in charge of administering that policy, and
the members of congressional committees and
subcommittees handling that policy.
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Agenda setting process (Kingdon’s Model)

FSPPP, UiTM
ADS514: Intro to Public Policy.
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Policy window will open by 3 streams / routes
Policy window
Agenda is set once policy window open
3 routes / streams for policy window to open:
Problem streams: comprises of matters by which policy player
demand action to resolve

FSPPP, UiTM
ADS514: Intro to Public Policy.
• Policy-proposal streams: comprises of alternative to solve problem.
Alternatives are proposed by policy advocacies
• Politics streams: comprises of political actions/decision towards
public matters. Examples: campaign by interest groups, election
result,
The three routes will converge and policy window will open. Once
policy window open, agenda is set ( i.e. issue has reached agenda
status) 21
Recap:
When does government give attention to an issue?
when does issue becomes agenda (policy agenda)?

Once policy window opens

• When will the policy window opens? – by the time government
decided to consider taking action to resolve the issue
(disagreement) / as and when the three streams converged

FSPPP, UiTM
ADS514: Intro to Public Policy.
• Refer Anderson, page 93, Figure 3.3 – Kingdon’s Agenda-Setting
Model

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Why governments give attention to an issue?

• Because there are disagreement among public towards a

particular public problem, and government need to
resolve the disagreement.

• Issues that gets government attention is regarded as

FSPPP, UiTM
ADS514: Intro to Public Policy.
have been achieved agenda status & this issue is now
known as policy agenda

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policy agenda
• Issues that government has considered for actions (policy
agenda) are of 2 main type:

• Systemic agenda
• Institutional agenda

FSPPP, UiTM
ADS514: Intro to Public Policy.
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Systemic agenda (popular agenda)

• Issues that might require governmental action.

• public at large are talking about the issue, but nothing is being
done yet by policy maker

FSPPP, UiTM
ADS514: Intro to Public Policy.
• Example:
decision to withdraw Malaysian students from Egypt
temporarily; natural disaster

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Systemic agenda:
Characteristics
• merit public attention,
• they have widespread awareness or attention;
• the concern is shared by a large segment that some
action is required;

FSPPP, UiTM
ADS514: Intro to Public Policy.
• there is shared perception that the matter requires
government attention
• issue falls within the authority of some governmental
department / units;

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 Institutional agenda
(public/governmental agenda)
• issues that legislators or public officials feel obliged to give
serious attention to.
• Issues that become very specific (not general).
• Issues that demand attention of decision makers at
institutional level.

FSPPP, UiTM
ADS514: Intro to Public Policy.
• Government action towards the issue is discretionary and
mandatory

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Deciding actions to resolve policy issue
• Deciding what action to take towards issues that has reached
agenda status (policy agenda)

FSPPP, UiTM
ADS514: Intro to Public Policy.
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Types of decisions
Two type:
1. policy decision
Make decision to take action towards the selected issue
(policy agenda)

FSPPP, UiTM
ADS514: Intro to Public Policy.
2. non-policy decision
Make decision not to take any action towards the selected
issue (policy agenda) (refer Anderson page 100). This mean
policy agenda is neglected or suppressed

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Policy decision criteria:

• Policy decision criteria refers to all the factors that may

influence policy choices. They include:
• Values
• Party affiliation

FSPPP, UiTM
ADS514: Intro to Public Policy.
• Constituency interests
• Public opinion
• Decision rules

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Agenda denial
• Meaning
issues proposed are denied access to policy agendas / kept off
the agenda

FSPPP, UiTM
ADS514: Intro to Public Policy.
• how issues are kept off the agenda?
• Why are they kept off, who engages in the opposition(s), and
what are some of the tactics employed? 
•  Refer Agenda denial theory - R. W. Cobb’s and M. H.
Ross’ Cultural Strategies of Agenda Denial,

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Agenda denial tactics
• Political actors keep threatening issues off the agenda, Why?
& How? - Refer Anderson page 99
 The opponent of agenda status uses many tactics to deny policy
issue:
• Tactics:

FSPPP, UiTM
ADS514: Intro to Public Policy.
• Deny that a problem exists
• The problem is not appropriate for government action
• Create fear about societal consequences of government action.
• Argue that a problem can be resolved by non-governmental
means
• Advocacy of a commission to further study a problem
• Recourse electoral activity
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Non decisions-making / Non-Policy
Decision
• a problem or policy alternative is kept off of the agenda,
whether by force or culture.
• agenda items are deliberately kept-off the institutional agenda
by those who control agenda setting process: why?

FSPPP, UiTM
ADS514: Intro to Public Policy.
• For political reason, or
• For economic reason
• In other words, it involves killing the issue

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Conditions for Non-policy
decisions
3 conditions / situations:
a) when dominant elites act openly or covertly to suppress an
issue which are not in their interests.

FSPPP, UiTM
ADS514: Intro to Public Policy.
b) when political candidate or administrative officials anticipate
that elites will not favor their interests.
c) when political system itself is structured in a way to facilitate
the resolution of some kinds of issues and to obstruct the
resolution of other.

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loss of agenda status.
• Refer Anderson page 101
• In the case of non-policy decision, it means issues
that have reached agenda status lost its status
(disappear from agenda). Why? and when?:

FSPPP, UiTM
ADS514: Intro to Public Policy.
• Action may have been taken on the issue
• Government decided not to take any action towards
the issue
• Government decided to take action on other
problems / issues
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• Public no longer take them as problem / issue
Reasons for Loss of agenda
status
1. Policymakers may feel that the problem has been taken care of
and turn their attentions to something else.
2. Changes in the conditions that gave rise to the problem.
3. Appearance of new and more pressing issue.
4. People becoming accustom to a condition and no longer labeling

FSPPP, UiTM
ADS514: Intro to Public Policy.
it as problem.
5. Gradual decline in the intensity of public interest on it.

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 END OF LECTURE

Q&A
Thank You

ADS514: Intro to Public Policy.

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