Public Policy and Program Administration

Public Policy – a set of laws, guidelines, and actions decided and taken by governments in order to work in
favor of the public.
- A choice that government make in response to a political issue or public problem. It refers
to the decisions and actions of government and the intentions that determine those
decisions and actions. (Thei Geurtz)
- System of courses of action, regulatory measures, laws, & funding priorities concerning a
given topic promulgated by governmental entity or its representatives.
Program Administration – an activity relating to the general management, oversight and coordination of
community development program.
Public Administration – a field of business which is removed from the hurry and strife of politics and stands
apart from the debatable ground of constitutional body. A detailed and systematic execution of public law.
Every application of the general law is an act of administration.
- The management of men and materials in the accomplishment of the purpose of the state.
It relates to the conduct of the government business to the conduct of the affairs of any
other social organization, commercial, philanthropic, religious, or educational, in all of
which good management is recognized as an element essential to success.

Decision Making Models

1. Rational/Classical Model – the classical approach to understand the decision-making process. It gave
various steps in decision-making process.
2. Bounded Rationality/Administrative Man Model – decision-making involves the achievement of a
goal. It demands that the decision-maker should properly understand the alternative courses of action
for reaching the goals.
3. Retrospective decision model/Irrational Model - a favorite choice is already established. They
compare their favorite choice with other alternative decisions.
Academic Field in Public Policy and Program Administration
 Political Science
 Economics
 History
 Sociology
 Psychology
 Public Health
 Mathematics
 Statistics
 Survey Research
Policy – a law, regulation, procedure, administrative action, incentive, or voluntary practice of governments
and other institutions.
Economic Policy - a course of action that is intended to influence or control the behavior of the economy. It is
typically implemented and administered by the government. Some of the example are decisions made about
the government spending and taxation, about the redistribution of income form rich to poor, and about the
supply of money
Education Policy – it consists of the principles and government policies in the educational sphere as well as
the collection of laws and rules that govern the operation of education systems and educational institutions.
They are designed and implemented to achieve particular educational goals.
Health Policy – it is defined by the World Health Organization as the decisions, plans, and actions that are
undertaken to achieve specific healthcare goals within society.
Military Policy – it consists of those activities of a government which are primarily concerned with its armed
forces.
Engineering and Public Policy – it is the application of engineering, computer science, mathematics, or natural
science to solving problems in public policy.
Foreign Policy – it is the mechanism national governments use to guide their diplomatic interactions and
relationships with other countries.
Science Policy – it is coordinated measure that should be taken by governments to promote the development
of scientific and technological research and, especially, to guide the exploitation of research results to further
national economic growth and welfare.
Public Policy - a system of laws, regulatory measures, courses of action, and funding priorities regarding a
specific area of government’s function.
- A government’s position on a certain issue and what the government chooses to do or not
to do about such an issue.
 Government Functions – provide public services such as health, education, transportation, etc.
o Maintain Law & Order
o Protecting & Defending residents and citizens
o Protecting the Environments
o Collecting Taxes
o Regulating the Economy
 Example of Public Policy-
o Education Policy – such as education curriculum
o Criminal Justice Policy – whether allow or not the death penalty
o Social Policy – allowing and regulating pregnancy terminations
o Economic Policy – regulated the planning and collection of tax & spending
o Environment Policy – details the response to global warming
o Foreign Affairs & National Security – outline its position on global matters and plan
how to deploy it defense force and military services
o Social Welfare – details its plan on how improved the lives of the residence

Problem Identification and Agenda Setting

  Problem Identification – it consists of clearly identifying the root cause of a problem and then
developing a detailed problem statement which is basically a short paragraph that summarizes the
issues to be considered
- Factors that Influence Problem identification
o Government’s capacity to anticipate challenges that the public face.
o The effectiveness of government’s public transportation processes to engage with
relevant stakeholders on public issues and on how to address them effectively.
o The availability of data and evidence to enable the government to confirm that such
issue is real and that is in the government’s mandate and objective to address it.
o The media’s role in translating and communicating the challenge in a way that
resonates with citizens.
 Agenda Setting – what government officials or elected political officials find important to discuss.
This process involves actually getting the public issue on government’s agenda to be addressed by
either elected officials of government officials.
- Public Agenda Setting – this is when the majority of the public influences what topics are
deemed important. It is usually involving a dramatic event, a controversy, or something
happens that affects a wide range of people. Such matters will be placed on government’s
agenda because politicians, government officials, and the media will usually react to the
matters which are the public interests.
- Politics Agenda Setting - this happens when elected officials and politicians use their
influence and authority to push their political agendas to citizens. This usually involves a
politician advertising for support from citizens to back an issue they feel strongly about. This
type of agenda setting is usually seen during election campaigns when there is a high level
of media coverage on politicians.
- Media Agenda Setting – this is when the media determines the agenda with regards to
which stories are considered important. Journalists, editors, newsroom staff, and media
institutions shape the political reality by choosing which stories to broadcast and use the
media to push focus on specific issues to the public. The media is powerful and usually
directs how the public should think about an issue. Based on the Public’s reaction, the
matter would then be placed on governments’ agenda.
- Stakeholders in Agenda Setting
o Community Members
o Community Leaders
o Advocacy Groups
o Civil Society Organizations
o The Media
o Politicians
o Government officials
o International players
- Setting an issue on government’s agenda is important to ensure that the matter is being
attended to by the relevant stakeholders. Agenda setting is also important in allocating the
necessary resources and funding in order to address public issues.
Developing and Drafting a Public Policy - a well drafted public policy ensures that the government’s objective
and goals are clearly outlined.
 - Tips for Drafting a Good Public Policy
o Consider a need for Public Policy – policymakers need to consider if there is a need
for a new public policy or amend an existing one or consider leaving the current
situation. Factors in New/Amend Policy:
 Changes in society
 Changes in technology
 Political regime changes
 Demands from donors and funders
 International commitments
 Pressure from courts, lobby groups, or advocacy groups
o Using Template – this simplifies policy creation and results in policies that are easier
to categorize and understood the adopted public policy should contain at least the
following information:
 Purpose of the Policy
 Scope of the Policy
 Definition and Terminologies
 Date of Application
 Policy Guidelines
 Responsible Institutions
 Reference to Related Policies
 Repeal Clause
o Using Plain and Intentional Language – policy makers need to ensure that the public
policy is written in a plain language and where possible, such policy is available in
other official language of the country.
o Establish a Success Criteria – this ensures that the policy advisors and government
institutions manage the progress and properly evaluate the outcomes of the policy.
o Ensure that the Policy is Regularly Reviewed – government policies must be
reviewed regularly to ensure that they remain current and relevant.
Policy Implementation – it is a series of activities undertaken by the government and other to achieve the
goals and objectives articulated in the policy statements of the government.
- Key Roles-Players
o Regulator
o Government Officials
o Public
- Approaches
o Top-down approach – when policies are set at higher levels of politics and then
communicated to subordinate levels who are charged with the technical,
managerial, and administrative role of putting such policy into practice.
o Bottom-up approach – sees policy implementation as an interactive process
involving policy makers implements from various levels of government as well as
lower level administrator such as frontline staff.
o Managerial Approach – is a business-like model with an emphasis on efficient
techniques of implementation.
 o Principal Agent Approach – it recognizes the relationship between principals who are
those who define policy and agents represented by those who implement policy
 It is marker driven
 It recognizes decentralized process
 It is paradigm shift from the hierarchy to participation and teamwork
- Factors affecting Policy Implementation
o Interest Groups
o NGO
o Business and Economic Lobbyists
o Other Political Activity
- Challenges
o No valid basis for the policy
o Opposition from key stakeholders
o Insufficient human/financial resources
o Lack of clarity on guidelines or roles
o Conflicts with other existing policies
o Lack of coordination and collaboration
o Lack of motivation or political will
- Guidelines to have successful Policy Implementation
o Consultation to all relevant stakeholders
o Public policy must by tailored to the organization
o Define obligations clearly
o Make the policy realistic
o Publicize the policies and written
o Training of all stakeholders in policies
o Be consistent in your policy implementation
o Review public policies regularly

Policy Evaluation – process of determining the quality, effectiveness, impact, and cost of public policy and
assessing whether the objectives and the goals of such public policy have been attained
- Objective
o To determine why such a policy was adopted in the first place
o To determine the success or failure of such policy as previously indicated
- Main purpose
o To determine whether or not an adopted public policy is a success. If it is found to
be success, then whether such policy may be continued and replicated in other
areas.
- Considers when the implementation failed:
o Consider whether or not the foundation of the policy was based on incorrect data,
unforeseen circumstances, or false theories.
o Consider whether or not there is a need to adjust some of the processes of
implementation
o Consider whether or not there is a need to cease from continuing with o expanding
on such public policy
 - Types of Policy Evaluation:
o Formative Evaluation – the program is fully acceptable before implemented
o Process Evaluation – used as policy begins
o Outcome Evaluation – measure the longer term effect
o Impact Evaluation – measure the immediate result
o Cost-benefit Evaluation – can be done after the implementation is completed
- Benefits
o Helps government to improve the designs
o Enhance the chance of policy goals and objectives of being achieved
o Assist in determining costing for implementing such policy
o Identify are of improvements to provide the best services possible
o Promote public accountability
- Importance
o Public policies represent decisions and actions made by those in power
o May have been relevant a couple of years ago may no longer be relevant to the
currents times
o Ensures that governments are aware of any changes
o Assess whether or not issues which were raised in the public policy have been
addressed or if such issues are still relevant
Policy Studies – it encompasses analysis of the process of policymaking, that is, the policy process itself, as
well as analysis of the contents and outcome of policy. It also refers to the analysis, development, and
evaluation of policies.
Policy Analysis – the process of identifying potential policy options that could address your problem and then
comparing those options to choose the most effective, efficient, and feasible one.
Program Evaluation – is the systematic inquiry that describes and explains the policies’ and programs’
operations, effect, justification, and social implications.
Distributive Tendency – is the tendency of the congress to lean toward distributive politics, especially in order
to gain political support or claim to credibility.
Policy Alienation – refers to the framework for examining experiences with new policies that public officials
must implement.