Pubic Policy & Policy Making

What is Policy?

A policy often comes in the form of general

statements about priorities, written regulations
or guidelines, procedures and/or standards to
be achieved.
At its simplest, policy refers to a distinct path of
action which is suitable for the pursuit of
desired goals within a particular context,
directing the decision making of an organization
or individual.
 What is Public Policy?
Generally speaking public policy is what the government chooses
•  

to do, or not to do. It is a decision made by government to either

act, or not act in order to resolve a problem.

•  Public policy provides guidance to governments and

accountability links to citizens.

• Decision-making is clouded by values, rather than based purely on

objective data. Most issues tend to involve deeply held values/
interests and large amounts of money, making the policy process
very complex.

• The policy process is a process of balancing different solutions

that address the different aspects of a cluster of problems.
 Every policy has three key elements:

• a problem definition,
• goals to be achieved,
• and the policy instruments to
address the problem and achieve
the goals.
• Policy may be formal or informal: a formal policy might
take the form of a planned policy document that has
been discussed, written, reviewed, approved and
published by a policymaking body. It could be a
government’s national plan on Diabetes control, for
instance.

• An informal policy might be an ad hoc, general,

unwritten but widely recognized practice or
understanding within an organization that a course of
action is to be followed. Even though this policy may not
be made explicit in writing it still exists in practice.
 Who Makes Public Policies?

• Policy comes from those who have legitimate

authority to impose normative guidelines for
action.
• It is made by:
– elected officials acting in concert with advisors
from the higher levels of the administration
– non-elected officials then are required to
implement the policy through programs
 What is a Policy Framework?

• A policy framework is a broad set of policies

that governs the actions of groups and
organizations. The broad set of policies forms
a web and impacts new policy development
and policy amendments.
• The presence or absence of a policy affects all
other policies within the web (both existing
and new).
 What is the Public Policy Cycle?

Public policy development is an iterative process, rather

than a linear one. There are five key phases which result in
public policy:
• 1. The emergence of a problem
• 2. Placing this problem on the government’s agenda
• 3. The formulation of various alternatives
• 4. The adoption of a policy.
• 5. The implementation and evaluation of the policy.

• In reality, the process is less orderly than this: the idea of

a ‘cycle’ facilitates more organized thinking about policy.
 WHO IS INVOLVED IN THE POLICY CYCLE?

The policy cycle links a variety of key players in the policy process through
their involvement with the different stages.
 
Individuals, institutions and agencies involved in the policy process are
called actors.
 
Government is often thought of to be the only entity involved in policy
making. Government does have the ultimate decision-making and funding
power, but there are many other actors that contribute to public policy,
often in a network on which government relies for the delivery of complex
policy goals.
 
 The Actors:
Government:
 
Parliament:
 
Public Servants:
 
Political Parties:
 
Media:
 
Interest Groups:
 
Legal system:

Public:
• Since the policy process is a crucial element in educational
planning, it is essential to clarify the concepts of 'policy'
and 'policy making' before proceeding any further

• Understandably, competing definitions of 'policy' are

numerous and varied. For our purpose, policy is defined
functionally to mean:
• An explicit or implicit single decision or group of decisions
which may set out directives for guiding future decisions,
initiate or retard action, or guide implementation of
previous decisions.
• Policy making is the first step in any planning cycle and
planners must appreciate the dynamics of policy
formulation before they can design implementation and
evaluation procedures effectively.
 Public policy development process –
• Enhance the capacity to develop public policy
• The intention is to learn how governments do what they do:
a) Problem identification and definition
b) Policy Formulation –
i. research, information gathering,
ii. policy instruments,
iii. analysis,
iv. networks,
v. options,
vi. policy design and
vii. recommendations
 Policymaking contd….
c) Agenda Setting –
c) goal setting,
d) policy planning
d) Decision-making
e) Policy implementation
f) Evaluation
 “Policymaking”
• The term 'policy making' like 'policy' implies competing
conceptions and assumptions.
• A study of the theoretical and empirical work of social scientists
reveals the two essential dimensions of policy making:
– who does it (the actors) and
– how (the process).

Historically, the actor in policy making has been considered unitary and
rational; more recently policy analysts have introduced the organizational
(public interest) model and the personalistic (self-interest) model.
– The process element has fluctuated between a synoptic
(comprehensive) approach and an incremental approach.
 The possibilities-
• the synoptic method entails, in its extreme form, one single
central planning authority for the whole of society,
combining economic, political, and social control into one
integrated planning process that makes interaction
unnecessary. It assumes:

a) that the problem at hand does not go beyond man's cognitive capacities
and
b) there exist agreed criteria (rather than social conflict on values) by which
solutions can be judged and
c) that the problem- solvers have adequate incentives to stay with synoptic
analysis until it is completed (rather than 'regress' to using incremental
planning.)
• Incremental policy making, on the other hand, relies on interaction
rather than on a complete analysis of the situation to develop a
blueprint for solving problems.
• The incremental approach to policy making is built on the following
assumptions:
a) Policy options are based on highly uncertain and fluid knowledge, and
are in response to a dynamic situation (ever changing problems, and
evolving contexts);
b) No 'correct' solution can therefore be found, or technically
derived from a diagnosis of the situation. Thus, no sweeping or
drastic reforms should be attempted;
c) Only incremental and limited policy adjustments can be made;
and
d) Policy adjustments are expected to remedy an experienced
dissatisfaction with past policies, improving the existing situation
or relieving an urgent problem.
Consequently, these adjustments should be tentative - and
in some cases temporary - and must be revised as the
dynamics of the situation evolve.

G . T. Allison (1971) developed two alternative models to

the commonly assumed model of the unitary rational
policy-maker:
a) the Organizational process model, and
b) the governmental politics model.
 The MODELS-
• The first model assumes a complex government consisting
of a conglomerate of semi-feudal, loosely allied
organizations, each with a substantial life of its own.
Decisions are based on the output of the several entities,
functioning independently according to standard patterns of
behaviour but partially coordinated by government leaders.

• The second model carries this concept further. While it also

assumes an organizational approach to decision making, the
Governmental Politics model plays up the part of individuals
in the process.
• Government decisions are not made by a monolithic
state based on rational choice, but rather are negotiated
by various leaders who sit on top of the organizations
involved in that particular decision-making process.
• Each leader is compelled by his own conception of the
problem as well as by the imperatives of his organization
and his own personal goals.
• A consolidated model for policy making. Neither of the
two dimensions alone (process and actors) fully captures
the dynamics of policymaking.
• They need to be combined and restructured into a
different configuration, as the topography in the
following figure:
Dimensions of policymaking
 Changes in the practices and concepts of educational planning

• Take note of the changes and make a note of

the need for inclusiveness
– Formal system of education and the recent
application in other nonformal settings
• Quality vs. the literacy rate quantity
• Regulatory mechanisms
– – the financing methods
– – examination and certification procedures
– Incentive structures
POLICIES, HOWEVER, DIFFER IN TERMS OF THEIR SCOPE,
 COMPLEXITY,DECISION ENVIRONMENT, RANGE OF CHOICES,
ANDDECISION CRITERIA.

•Issue-specific policies are:

•short-term decisions involving day-to-day
management or, as the term implies, a particular
issue.
•A programme policy is concerned with the design of
a programme in a particular area, while
•a multi-programme policy decision deals with
competing programme areas
•Finally, strategic decisions deal with large-scale
policies and broad resource allocations.
• Obviously, the broader the scope of a policy is,
the more problematic it becomes.
• Methodological and political issues become
more pronounced such as, definition of the
problem in conflictive societies; use of analytical
techniques and optimization; questions of
proper theoretical base, measurement, valuation
and aggregation; hard objective data vs. soft
subjective data; and technical analysis vs. public
participation
This Is DEPICTED BELOW:
• For example:
• Strategic: How can we provide basic education at
a reasonable cost to meet equity and efficiency
objectives?
• Multi-programme: Should resources be allocated
to primary education or to rural training centres?
• Programme: How should training centres be
designed and provided across the country?
• Issue-specific: Should graduates of not-urban
centres be allowed to go into higher levels of
schools?
• Another example:
• Strategic: Should we, or do we need to
introduce diversified education?
• Multi-programme: How should we allocate
resources between general education,
vocational education, and diversified
education?
• Programme: How and where should we
provide diversified education?
• Issue-specific: How should practical subjects
be taught in diversified schools?
 Key issues:
1. Education and development
2. Equity considerations
3. Quality of education
4. Structure, administration and management of
education
5. Curriculum
6. Cost and financing of education
7. Planning techniques and approaches
8. Information systems, monitoring and evaluation
 Analyzing the Existing Policy

• What instruments?
• Which group should determine the criteria for
evaluation?
 Dimensions for analyzing public policies

What effect does the policy have on

Effectiveness
the targeted education problem?

Unintended What are the unintended effects of

Effects effects this policy?

Durability
Equity What are the effects of this policy on
different groups?

Cost What is the financial cost of this

project?

Implementation
Feasibility Is this policy technically feasible?

Do the relevant stakeholders view this

Acceptability
policy as acceptable?
 IDENTIFYING THE PROBLEMS:
• CURRICULUM-
– UTILIZATION
– FACILITAION OF RESOURCES (INFRASTRUCTURE- ACCESSIBLE BY
ALL)
– Material should be less stereotypical, attention to gender issues,
revise the value system, moral ethics)
• POOR MANAGEMENT
• WEAKNESS OF SCHOOL COMMITTEE
• ACCESSIBILITY
• AUDIT BY A THIRD PARTY
– CIVIL SOCIETY RESPONSIBILITY
 RECOMMENDATIONS

– DECENTRALIZATION
– Revising the evaluation system
– GENERAL EDUCATION FOR ALL UNTIL CLASS VIII
• SPECIALIZATION
• STANDARDIZED
– ACCOMODATING DROPOUTS
– PHYSICAL EDUCATION, HEALTH AWARENESS