See discussions, stats, and author profiles for this publication at: https://www.researchgate.

net/publication/336927323

The Policy Formulation Process

Conference Paper · June 2008

CITATIONS READS
0 413

1 author:

Clever Madimutsa
University of Zambia
11 PUBLICATIONS   5 CITATIONS   

SEE PROFILE

Some of the authors of this publication are also working on these related projects:

Implications of public sector reform for public sector unions in Zambia : a case study of the Civil Servants and Allied Workers Union of Zambia in Lusaka District View project

Political Party Systems in Africa Project View project

All content following this page was uploaded by Clever Madimutsa on 31 October 2019.

The user has requested enhancement of the downloaded file.

Clever Madimutsa

Department of Political and Administrative Studies, University of Zambia

Paper presented to the Centre for Policy Dialogue (CPD)/Friedrich Ebert Stiftung (FES)

Seminar on “Policy Development in Political Parties”, Lusaka, 12 June 2008

Introduction

In the course of our daily lives, we are affected directly and indirectly by many policies.

These policies can be public or private/business in nature. A public policy is what the

government chooses as guidance for its actions. On the other hand, a business policy is

what a company chooses as guidance for its actions. A policy can be defined as „a

purposive course of action taken by those in power in pursuit of certain goals or

objectives‟ (Sapru, 1994:3). Examples of policy goals or objectives would be to resolve

particular problems in society such as HIV/AIDS, poor education services, energy crisis,

poverty and corruption, among others.

The process of making a policy, in any sector, involves going through a number of

interdependent stages. These are: problem identification/policy agenda setting, policy

formulation, policy adoption, policy implementation and policy evaluation. For the

purposes of this paper, we are going to discuss the policy formulation process. To achieve

this, the paper will begin by discussing the idea of policy formulation and its importance

1
to an organisation. Secondly, we will look at forces in the policy formulation process.

Thirdly, we will outline the key steps in the policy formulation process. Fourthly, we will

look at the importance of consultations and involvement of stakeholders in the policy

formulation process. Fifthly, we will discuss policy marketing. Sixthly, we will discuss

policy implementation. Seventhly, we will look at policy evaluation. Finally, a

conclusion will be given.

The idea of policy formulation and its importance to an organisation

To begin with, the concept of policy formulation refers to the process of identifying

courses of action, often called alternatives or options, to resolve problems faced by a

particular organisation (Anderson, 2003:27). In this case, an organisation could be a

business firm/company, government department, ministry or political party. The idea of

formulating a policy comes as a result of policy demands or claims for action on a

particular issue that are made by other actors. The actors could be citizens, customers or

the civil society, among others. For example, a demand could be made to prohibit certain

activities within the community or organisation. In response to these policy demands,

officials like government ministers, Members of Parliament (MPs), party officials and

company directors make decisions that give direction on what should be done. The

decisions may be to enact a statute, issue executive orders, make administrative rules or

make judicial interpretations of laws (ibid: 4).

The importance of formulating a policy is that it acts as the formal expression of the

organisation‟s intentions and goals and what should be done to achieve the same goals.

2
This creates order in the organisation, which in turn, helps the organisation to move from

the past to the future. In this case, the future state would be to develop the economy or to

sustain improvements in the social system or to increase the capacity of the organisation

(Sapru, 1998:11).

Forces in the policy formulation process

The process of formulating a policy involves the exercise of power by different

individuals and groups. These individuals and groups put some kind of pressure or force

in the policy formulation process. The force comes from the following actors:

1. Individual citizens: - in a representative democracy, it is assumed that power

flows from people (individual citizens). This entails that power to formulate

policies is delegated from the people to representatives who form the legislature

and in turn formulate policies on behalf of the people. In this case people initiate

the process of policy formulation by voting for candidates whose opinions and

values they know. In fact, the aspect of subjecting certain office-holders to

periodic elections ensures that „attention is paid to the interest of those who are

represented.‟ Through the legislature, the representatives of the people formulate

policies by a majority vote (ibid: 48).

2. Political parties: - in the case of public policies, political parties serve as links

between citizens and government policy makers. Firstly, political parties tend to

have programmes or manifestoes that they present to the citizens. Ordinarily,

people would vote for a particular party based on its programme rather than

individuals. „The electorates expect that the party they vote for, if elected to

3
 office, will formulate policies on pledges made in the election manifesto.‟

Secondly, the party that wins the elections is expected to implement its

programme while opposition parties must present alternative programmes. At this

stage, the choice of public policies can be influenced by exercising control over

party officials who are in government such as the President and Vice-President,

among others (ibid: 49-56).

3. Pressure groups: - these are formal structures whose members share a common

interest. Examples of such groups include civil society organisations. These

groups „strive to influence the decisions of the government without attempting to

occupy political office‟ (ibid: 52).

Official policy formulators

Despite pressure groups putting force in the policy formulation process, they are not

official policy formulators. Official policy formulators are those officials who have the

legal authority to formulate policies. These officials include:

1. Legislatures: - these are the supreme policy making bodies of organisations

especially in government. For example, the legislature in a government system

would be the National Assembly/Parliament. Similarly, other organisations such

as political parties and business companies also have bodies of similar standing,

that is, the supreme policy making organs. These include national conventions

and board of directors, respectively.

2. The Executive: - this is the organ of an organisation that is responsible for

implementing policies. For example, in a government system, this organ is usually

4
 headed by the president and comprises several government ministries and

departments. This organ participates in policy formulation because the legislature

tends to delegate a substantial amount of policy formulation authority to the

president. Similarly, other organisations like political parties tend to have organs

that are in charge of implementing policies and would have delegated authority to

make policies in certain areas. For example, the executive would be given power

to make decisions and administrative appointments that would facilitate effective

implementation of policies.

3. The Judiciary: - apart from enforcing the law, the judiciary in a democratic state

plays a key role in policy formulation. The courts, especially the Supreme Court

plays this role through judicial review of laws. Judicial review refers to „the

power of the judicial courts to determine the constitutionality of actions of the

legislature and executive and declare them null and void if such actions do not

conform to the constitutional provisions.‟ In this regard, when a judge interprets

the meaning of legislative provisions then his/her interpretation becomes the

policy for the issue being contested (Sapru, 1998: 78).

5
The key steps in the policy formulation process

In the case of public policies, the following are the key steps in the policy formulation

process:

Step 1 Step 2
Minister identifies a problem in his/her sector Draft bill is published in the
i.e. demands being made by people for action Government Gazette for
to be taken by the ministry e.g. demands on comments by various
bad roads, crime, waste, inefficiency, etc. stakeholders e.g. members of
Minister drafts a bill for the proposed policy. the public, political parties,
Draft bill shows policy objectives and courses NGOs, etc. This is done
of action or alternatives to achieve the within a given period of time.
objectives. This is done after consultations
with key stakeholders like ministry officials,
policy analysts, political parties, NGOs, etc.

Step 3 Step 4
Draft bill is redrafted by the ministry taking Draft bill is submitted to
into consideration comments from various Cabinet for consideration
stakeholders

Step 5 Step 6
Draft bill is taken to government legal Draft bill is taken to the
advisers for certification (usually under the National Assembly for
Ministry of Legal Affairs/Department of consideration
Justice)

Step 7 Step 8
Within the National Assembly, the bill is The National Assembly
referred to the relevant committee for debates the bill and
consideration. The committee calls for approves it.
submissions from stakeholders to help refine
the bill. The committee then submits a report
for debate in the National Assembly.

Step 10
Step 9
The Act is published in
After approval by the National Assembly,
Government Gazette and it
the bill goes to the Republican President for
becomes the policy for that
Assent so that it becomes an Act, Law or
sector, ministry or
Policy.
government department.

6
Even other organisations such as political parties and companies have organs similar to

those of government and follow the same steps in the process of formulating their

policies.

The importance of consultations and involvement of stakeholders in the policy

formulation process

The importance of consultations and involvement of stakeholders in the policy

formulation process is to create the sense of policy ownership among stakeholders. In

other words, it enables the stakeholders to see the policy as reflecting their beliefs or

needs. If there is limited or lack of involvement of stakeholders then the affected

stakeholders might regard the policy as unnecessary. This is because it may be seen as

offending their ideological inclinations. The result would be strong opposition to the

policy. Eventually, there would be need to go through the formulation process again so as

to make the policy more effective or to remove portions that appear to be

ineffective/offensive (Anderson, 2003: 274).

Policy marketing

Formulation of a policy, on its own, is not enough. The benefits of a policy can only be

realised when that policy is implemented. However, policy implementation may not be

easy. Sometimes, serious political struggles may emerge at this stage, especially when

dealing with very controversial issues like environmental protection, affirmative action

and abortion. Stakeholders that suffer losses in the policy formulation process may want

7
their needs to be met by influencing or disrupting implementation of the policy (ibid:

194). As such, there is need to market the policy so that it becomes acceptable to

stakeholders and enhance its implementation. This requires dissemination of information

about the adopted policy to various stakeholders and lobbying for their support. A

number of methods can be used to do this. They include holding conferences, briefings

and meetings.

Policy implementation

This is the stage at which the policy is put into action. It involves organising and

directing resources so as to achieve the objectives of the policy. At this stage institutions

are established, facilities constructed and services provided. However, policy

implementation is not a very predictable process. This is because stakeholders may

continue to have differing interests. As such, there is need for coordination and

cooperation among stakeholders.

Actors in the implementation process

In the case of public policies, the organ that implements policies is the executive wing of

government, which is made up of ministries and government departments or

administrative agencies. These are the ones that organise inputs or resources like human

resources, money, materials and equipment that are necessary to implement the policy.

The other actor is the legislature, which holds administrative agencies accountable for

what they do. This is done through committee hearings and investigations that are used to

review the implementation process (ibid: 198). The judiciary also plays a role through

8
judicial interpretation and application of the law. The civil society can also be engaged in

implementing policies. For example, some NGOs and community organisations can be

used to implement policies in particular sectors of the economy like agriculture,

education and health sectors.

In the case of policies for other organisations such as political parties and companies,

they can also have organs similar to those of government so that the same procedures of

policy implementation are followed.

Policy evaluation

After implementation of a policy, it is important to establish the extent to which policy

objectives have been achieved. This is done through the process of policy evaluation.

Evaluation allows the policy to be measured in terms of its effectiveness to resolve the

initial problem. In most cases, evaluation tends to show that the policy was able to solve

one problem and at the same time create another problem. For example, there could be a

policy aimed at protecting the environment by way of heavy fines on industrial

emissions. On the one hand, this policy would enhance preservation of the environment.

On the other hand, the same policy would make the cost of production to be very high

thereby making goods and services very expensive for poor people. Eventually, poverty

levels would increase. This becomes a new problem, which requires a new agenda to be

set and to go through the policy formulation process again so as to deal with the new

policy problem. At this point, we can see that the process of policy making is a cycle,

without a starting or end point.

9
Conclusion

In conclusion, it can be mentioned that a policy is guidance for action. It can be for a

public or private organisation. Policy formulation is one of the interdependent processes

of policy making, which involves the exercise of power by different individuals and

groups who may do so through their representatives. Despite pressure groups putting

force in the policy formulation process, they are not the official policy formulators.

Official policy formulators are those organs and officials who have the legal authority to

formulate policies such as legislatures, the executive and judiciary in the case of public

policies.

The key steps in the process of formulating public policies include problem identification

and drafting of the bill, publishing the draft bill in the Government Gazette, redrafting the

bill, submitting the bill to Cabinet, certification of the bill by government legal advisers,

debating and approval of the bill by the National Assembly, assenting of the bill by the

president and publishing the policy in the Government Gazette. The whole process

requires sufficient consultations and involvement of stakeholders so as to create the sense

of policy ownership among them. After formulation, the policy is supposed to be

implemented. Thereafter, the policy should be evaluated so as to establish the extent to

which policy objectives have been achieved.

References

Anderson, J. E. (2003). Public Policy-Making. New York: Houghton Mifflin.

10
 Sapru, R. K. (1998). Public Policy Formulation, Implementation and Evaluation. New

Delhi: Sterling Publishers Private Limited.

11

View publication stats