Solutions are put forward by interested parties both inside and outside of the government. Agenda setting typically goes through these stages:. This step involves the development of policy options within the government. This occurs after officials narrow the range of possible policy choices by excluding infeasible options. In this step, different interested parties attempt to have their favored policy solution rank high among the remaining options.
This step often involves a period of intense debate. In this step, government leaders decide on a particular course of action. Ideally, it is the course that will best address the problem for the most members of the public. In this step of the policy making process, governments put the chosen public policy option into effect. Officials us e the tools of public administration that impact the distribution of government goods and services or make changes in how the government taxes the public.
The changes should reflect the sentiments and values of the affected parties. Interested parties both within and without the government monitor the impact of the policy and determine if it is achieving the intended goal.
This can lead to further changes in public policy done in light of the impact of the original policy. In reality, the policy making process is not typically so linear. However, these five steps provide a framework to better understand public policy formation and help students identify the strengths and weaknesses of the system. All Rights Reserved. When reporting and commentary is unbiased it can provide a forum where debate over various cases for policy adoption takes place.
On the other hand, an unfavorable media bias may undermine a policy proposal. For example, unfavorable media coverage undermined the George W. George W. Governors or mayors can adopt policies to bring about change on a state or local level.
However, the president has the sole responsibility of determining what policies are adopted on a nationwide level. Once the relevant government bodies adopt policies, they move into the next phase of the policy process, policy implementation. Policy implementation is the fourth phase of the policy cycle in which adopted policies are put into effect. The implementation of policy refers to actually enacting the proposed solutions.
Whether a given policy has been implemented successfully depends on three major criteria:. In addition to the aforementioned elements, policy implementation can further be complicated when policies are passed down to agencies without a great deal of direction. Policy formulation is often the result of compromise and symbolic uses of politics. Therefore, implementation imposes a large amount of both discretion and confusion in agencies that administer policies.
In addition, bureaucratic incompetence, ineptitude, and scandals may complicate the policy implementation process. The above issues with policy implementation have led some scholars to conclude that new policy initiatives will either fail to get off the ground or will take considerable time to be enacted.
The most surprising aspect of the policy process may be that policies are implemented at all. Policies must be evaluated once in place, but still tend to become entrenched over time and often do not receive any kind of evaluation.
Policies may be evaluated according to a number of standards. They may be informally evaluated according to uncritical analysis, such as anecdotes and stories. Policies may also be substantively evaluated through careful, honest feedback from those affected by the policies.
More formal research can provide empirical evidence regarding the effectiveness of policies. Finally, scientific research provides both comparative and statistical evaluations of whether policies produce clear causal results. Policy evaluation can take place at different times. Administrators seeking to improve operations may assess policies as they are being implemented. After policies have been implemented they can be further evaluated to understand their overall effectiveness.
In spite of the many ways policies may be evaluated, they are often not evaluated at all. Formal and scientific research is time consuming, complicated to design and implement, and costly. While more informal evaluations focused on feedback and anecdotes are more accessible, they also tend to be contaminated with bias.
Policies can be difficult to assess. Some policies aim to accomplish broad conceptual goals that are subject to different interpretations. Healthy air quality, for example, can be difficult to define in ways that will be universally accepted. Policies may also contain multiple objectives that may not be compatible.
For example, two of the objectives of the Telecommunications Act were creating jobs and reducing cable rates. If sufficient amounts of revenues are not made, companies must either cut jobs to maintain low rates or must raise rates to create more jobs.
Policies that do have compatible objectives can still be difficult to evaluate when only a few of the objectives are accomplished. One person may deem the policy successful for accomplishing some of the objectives, while another may deem the policy unsuccessful for not accomplishing all of the objectives. In general, public policies become entrenched over time and are difficult to terminate even if they are evaluated by various standards.
Interest groups that can advance their cause to the policymaking process tend to possess certain key traits. Many different types of groups attempt to influence United States policy. For instance, certain demographic groups may favor policies that benefit them the most. The flooding of a town near a river raises the question of whether homes should be allowed to be built in a floodplain.
New legislation on combating terrorism the USA Patriot Act, for example was a response to the attacks of September 11, Policy formulation means coming up with an approach to solving a problem. Congress, the executive branch, the courts, and interest groups may be involved. Contradictory proposals are often made.
The president may have one approach to immigration reform, and the opposition-party members of Congress may have another. Policy formulation has a tangible outcome: A bill goes before Congress or a regulatory agency drafts proposed rules. The process continues with adoption.
A policy is adopted when Congress passes legislation, the regulations become final, or the Supreme Court renders a decision in a case. The implementation or carrying out of policy is most often accomplished by institutions other than those that formulated and adopted it. A statute usually provides just a broad outline of a policy. For example, Congress may mandate improved water quality standards, but the Environmental Protection Agency EPA provides the details on those standards and the procedures for measuring compliance through regulations.
As noted earlier, the Supreme Court has no mechanism to enforce its decisions; other branches of government must implement its determinations. Successful implementation depends on the complexity of the policy, coordination between those putting the policy into effect, and compliance.
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