Lecture 8

Public Policy Analysis and

Application
Lecturer: Abdinasir I.
Saacadaale
 Lecture Objectives

Be able to:
• Apply appropriate policy analysis and techniques in
policy formulation
• Appreciate policy process in Somaliland
• Appreciate the nature and organization of political
support and process
• Use repositories of available data and information to
assess policy options
 Lecture

1. Define policy analysis

2. Policy Analysis Frameworks
What is analysis?
1) A separating or breaking up of any whole into its
parts so as to find out their nature, proportion,
function, relationship, etc.;
2) An examination of the relations among variables;
3) The tracing of things to their source; the resolving of
knowledge into its original principles.

"analysis" comes from a Greek word meaning to

loosen, or to break up a complex whole into parts that
can be understood
 What is policy analysis?
• "Unloosing the Gordian knot" a metaphor for the practice of policy
analysis
– Gordian was a King of Phrygia: a Greek legend

• The problem is that, for most causes of policy, the Gordian knot resists
loosening
– Essence of policy analysis
• we try to understand the knotty problems of policy, rather than propose simple,
universal solutions
• Every knot (policy problem) is a little different, and if you want to untie the knot, to
understand it, you have to have a process for simplifying complex problems, for
focusing on parts to get an idea of the nature of the whole
– A politician elected for a five year term is unlikely to have the patience to want
to appreciate the uniqueness, depth, and difficulty of the policy being analyzed
 Policy analysts are not very popular with politicians
— Unfortunately, most of our problems will not be solved by impatient “Knot-
whacking”
 What is Policy Analysis? Cont.
What collective actions would promote the good society?
What is the best results that can actually be achieved?

Public policy analysis seeks to answer this questions

We will be looking at how analysts arrive at the “best” policy

choice

Good policy analysis is not impossible. It is just hard!

i.e. untying the “Gordian knot”

With some idea of what a good policy would look like, we

may know a bad or mediocre one when we see it

Benchmarks assists in comparison of what we observe

Policy analysis is the process of
– Assessing, and deciding among, alternatives based
on their usefulness in satisfying one or more goals
or values
 Taxonomy of policy analysis

• Public policy analysis

• Policy research
• Policy process analysis
• Stakeholder analysis
 Definition
Public policy analysis

• Broadly defined as advice to decision makers in the public

sector
• Or more specifically;
– It is client-oriented advice relevant to public decisions and
informed by social values
– Focuses on problem solving
• Covers problem analysis and solution analysis
– i.e. diagnose and prescribe
• Problem analysis consists of an analysis of both market and
government failures
• Solution analysis includes some explicit goals and an
evaluation of alternatives
 Policy Research
• A social science approach to research on policy problems
• Broader perspective recognizes that:
– all social sciences are concerned with development of theories that
eventually may contribute to a better understanding of societies
– Policy research focuses on relationships between variables that
reflect social problems and other variables that can be manipulated
by public policy
• i.e. a verifiable hypothesis of the form: if the government does X, then Y
will result.
• A narrow perspective
– focuses on social science-based research that explicitly aims to
enlighten public policy choice
• Good policy analysis requires well-grounded predictions of the
consequences of policies, whether the ones currently in place or
alternatives to them. These predictions require the policy analyst to
draw on policy research
• Mainly directed at academic audience
 Analysis of policy process

• A political science approach to policy analysis

– The how, why and when policies get adopted
• Audience:
– Administrative and political clients
• Good policy analysis must incorporate an understanding of the
prospects for adoption of policy alternatives
• Understanding policy processes provides a policy analyst
broader frameworks for interpreting the complexity of the
political world
• Helps inform political and organizational analysis
• Understanding of policy process also helps public decision
makers improve the potential for adoption of their desired
policies
• Audience for specific policy process analysis are political and
administrative clients
 Stakeholder analysis
• Also called political/organisational analysis
– Not only should a good policy analysis incorporate an understanding of the
prospects for adoption of policy alternatives
– It must also pay attention to implementation if realistic prediction are to be
made
– Successful implementation requires intra- and inter-organizational co-
operation or compliance. i.e. a strategic client focus
– Hence, policy analysts must understand political and organizational analysis
• Focuses on relevant stakeholders:
– Beliefs and motivations
– Resources
– Strategic orientation (i.e. vision)
– Willingness to compromise
– Ability to influence others
• Analysis assists to anticipate the outcomes when others react to
policy/others’ actions
 Policy Analysis and Policy Advocacy
Policy Analysis Policy Advocacy

Involves a primary concern with Explaining public policies government

explanation rather than prescription ought to pursue

Requires systematic inquiry Requires skills of rhetoric,

persuasion, organization, and
activism
An effort to develop and test general
propositions about the
causes and consequences of public
policy and to accumulate
reliable research findings of general
relevance
 Policy Analysis as Art and Craft
• Policy Analysis is ART
– It requires insight, creativity, and imagination in identifying
societal problems and describing them, in devising public
policies that might alleviate them, and then in finding out whether
these policies end up making things better or worse

• Policy Analysis is CRAFT

– Although it requires knowledge of economics, political science, public
administration, sociology, psychology, law, statistics,
natural sciences, and so on, it requires craft
– development of craft skill almost always requires practice
– Effective preparation of new public administrators in policy analysis
therefore requires creating opportunities within their curricula for
practice through projects, workshops, and other experiences in actually
doing policy analysis.
 Policy Analysis Frameworks

• Recall the definition of analysis: break down into component

parts
– Components of the analytical process are specified as a series of steps
– See policy text books
• Michael C. Merger (2000, Ch 1, pg 7): Five steps
• Eugene Bardach (1996): Eightfold paths to more effective problem
solving
• Weimer and Vining (2011, ch. 15): Eight rationalist approach steps
– Problem analysis
– Solution analysis
 W & V Rationalist approach to policy analysis
Problem analysis
Understanding the problem
Choosing and explaining relevant goals
and constraints
Selecting a solution method
What it entails
Assess the symptoms (conditions that
concern client) using relevant empirical
evidence
Frame the problem as a market or
government failure
Model the problem to identify leverage
points i.e. identify variables that can be
manipulated through policy
Select substantive and instrumental goals
Justify their selection
Generally multi-goal analysis
In special cases cost-benefit analysis, cost-
effectiveness, or other related analytical
approach
 Rationalist approach to policy analysis
Solution analysis What it entails
Choosing impact categories for goals Indentify impacts for assessing progress
toward goals
Some goals may require multiple impacts

Concretely specifying policy alternatives Alternatives must be sufficiently detailed

to facilitate prediction
Include status quo to avoid action bias

Predicting impacts of alternatives Predict impacts of each alternative

Make a prediction in terms of all impact
categories
All impacts should be identified

Valuing impact of alternatives Apply normative criteria to impacts

Assessing and recommending Compare alternative in terms of impacts
Recommend alternative based on explicit
consideration of tradeoffs.