CHAPTER FOUR : PUBLIC POLICY

MAKING PROCESS
Stages of public policy development

4.1.1 Problem identification & agenda setting

4.1.2 Policy formulation & adoption
4.1.3. Policy implementation and evaluation
4.1.4 Policy change
4.1.5 Policy dynamics, success and failure
 4.1.1 Problem identification & Agenda setting
• Policy-making presupposes the recognition of a policy
problem.
• Problem recognition itself requires that a social problem has
been defined as such and that the necessity of state
intervention has been expressed.
• The second step would be that the recognized problem is
actually put on the agenda for serious consideration of public
action (agenda-setting).
• Policy problems are unrealized needs, values or opportunities
for improvement that may be pursued through public action.
• The definition of problem or issue alternatives is the supreme
instrument of power
 Cont…
• “Defining the problems of the society and suggesting
alternative solutions is the most important stage of the
policy making process” Thomas Dye

• Problem identification can be done any time citizens or

groups make demands up on government to do
something.

• Problem definition is not an easy task and everyone

may not able to recognize and define a problem.

• Policy analysts are those who can investigate the

causes of problems in different perspectives.
 Cont…

• Policy problems can be perceived or succeed and make it onto

an agenda when meeting the following criteria:
 If an issue reached crisis stage
 Receiving media attention
 Seen as having wider impact,

Agenda setting
What is Agenda?

• “Agenda”: is collection of problems, understandings of

causes, symbols, solutions, and other elements of public
problems that come to the ‘attention of members of the
public and their governmental officials ( Birkland ,2011)
 Cont..

• In a political world, power belongs to those who can determine

the agenda

• Agendas exits at all levels of government

• Example ,an agenda can be something as concrete as a list of
bills that are before the legislature or series of beliefs about
the existence and the magnitude of problems and how they
should be addressed by the government ,by the private
sector ,by non profit organizations ,or though joint action by
some or all of these institutions
• Agenda setting is the process by which problems and
alternative solutions gain or lose public or elite attention

• It refers to the activities of various actors and groups that cause

issues to gain greater attention or prevent them from
gaining attention.
Levels of the agenda
 Cont…
• Agenda Universe:
– All ideas that could possibly be brought up and discussed in a
society or a political system
– The largest level of agenda

– All issues that are commonly perceived by members of the

political community as meriting public attention

– Many of the issues that draw the attention of legislative are not
likely to be discussed widely in the public.
– Because the public’s cognizance or identification of policy issues
is low.
– Awareness and information are mostly confined to a narrow
segment of the public known as “attentive public”
 Cont…
• Systemic agenda:

– All issues that are commonly perceived by members of the

political community as meriting public attention and as
involving matters within the legitimate jurisdiction of
existing governmental authority

– Recurs most often and expansive especially when there is

good national mood towards a specific subject e.g.
environmental protection, drug abuse
– However solutions to such agendas are usually eclipsed by
matters considered “urgent” or “timeliness” and “national
priority”
– Is considered a discussion agenda: general and sometimes
abstract rather than specific or detailed.
 Cont…
– Boundary within the legitimate jurisdiction of existing
governmental authority

– Something considered as government can provide solution

to it
– It must be transformed to institutional agenda to draw full
attention of legislators
• Institutional/ governmental agenda:
– List of items explicitly up for the active and serious
consideration of authoritative decision makers.
– Limited number of items reach from systemic agenda to
institutional agenda
– Due to the limited time and resources available to any
institution or society.
 Cont…
Decision/action agenda:
– Setting agenda is a competitive process, it is only few
issues that will reach end decision
– Items that are about to be acted upon by a governmental
body, such as bills, court cases ,and regulations
 Agenda setting styles
a) Bottom-up approach
b) Top-down approach

a) Agenda setting from the bottom-up

• Peoples-driven type of decision making and considered as a
“democratic-pluralist” model.

• It is exercised in what is known as an open society where any

social problems can be identified by individuals, groups,
candidates/political leaders seeking election,
• All social ,economic and political issues will come into light
to attract public attention.
 Cont…
• Mechanisms used in bottom-up agenda setting
I. Public opinions and opinion polls
– Controversies over the validity
– Considered as unstable and subject to change with in
limited span of time and lack of consensus on issues e.g.
views towards abortion
– Most information received by decision makers are from
the elites not from the ordinary citizen.
II. Media effects and media power
– Sometimes Media persons believe they are the public by
confusing their own opinions with that of public opinion.
– Decision makers may act to response to the media
opinion as it was public opinion.
 Cont…

III. Communication with policymakers

– Opportunity to get access to the grass root public helps to
find out relevant and authentic pressing issues from the
horse’s mouth
– The outcome of the information gathered may result in
misinterpretation of public needs due to intermediate
interferences.

IV. Use of think-tanks

their recommendations lay ground work for policy making
 Cont…
b) Agenda setting from top-down
• Some people argue that government understands and pays
attention to all of their needs, concerns and views.
• When policymakers often overlook or underrate public
opinions at the lower level, policy is made from top- down
approach.
• Mechanisms /manifestations of the top-down agenda
1. Elite (elitist) agenda setting: Usually represent leaders in
business, finance, the media, as well as the government
in power
• It is argued that such leaders perceive that societal needs as
threatening to their interests.
• This leads to agenda setting that begins in corporate board
rooms and groups.
 Cont…
2. Political entrepreneurship
• This takes place during votes where promises are made before
voters.
• Public appearance, interviews, public speeches, and press
releases become so common.
• This helps to creates favorable image for electoral
candidates looking for public office.
• It must be noted that most messages do not contain policy
contents, except in very general terms (e.g. tax reduction for
the poor, care for the working force, etc) that motivate
voters
 Cont…
3. Interest groups
• Advance their policy preferences and proposals with some
members of the parliament who share similar interests.

• Also initiate valuable technical knowledge to policy

formulation,

• Provide precise language to the proposed bills and

amendments.

• Can provide testimony at parliamentary hearings and on

technical reports analyzed by the parliamentary staffs
 Cont…
Iron triangles in agenda stetting
• ‘Iron triangles’, are also known as or ‘triple alliances’,
‘sub-government’ perspectives .

• Of all the public policy agenda setters three of them are

critical ones:
– legislative ( congressional/parliamentary),
– administrative agencies ,and
– the relevant interest groups.
 The sub-government /iron triangle model
Legislative /Parliament Committees
Adopted from Lester and Stewart ,Public policy (senators and staffers )
(2000:74)

THE IRON TRIANGLE

PLAYERS

Interest Groups
Administrative Agencies (professional &
(Career officials and political corporate
appointees ) representatives)
 Reflective questions
1. Who sets agenda in Ethiopian reality?

2. Which of the agenda setting styles do you think is more

relevant and appropriate for the Ethiopian reality, and why?

3. Can there be a bridging mechanism to some of the pitfalls of

bottom up & top-down approach?
 Cont…
• Fewer participants to be involved in policy formulation than
were involved in the agenda-setting process, and more of the
work take place out of the public eye.
• policy formulation takes place in government bureaucracies,
in interest group offices, in legislative committee rooms, in
meetings of special commissions, in think tanks.
• In other words, policy formulation often is the realm of
experts.
• policy formulation uses the concept of policy design.

• Policy design refers to a framework of ideas and

instruments—to be identified and analyzed.
• To design policies ,decision makers must explicitly
consider five elements of policy design
 Cont…

• Table 7.1
 1.The goals of the policy

• Categories of goals

 Equity
 Efficiency
 Security
 Liberty

• To eliminate, to reduce, or to contain is the question to be

addressed by goals.
 2. The causal model
• Emphasizes how to define the problem, which affect the
choice of policy solution

– “What causes the problem and what intervention would

alleviate that problem”?
• Identifying the purposes or motives of a person or group and
link those purposes to their actions provides a basis for
establishing causal relationship in human behaviors.

– Mechanical cause
– Accidental cause
– Intentional cause
– Inadvertent cause
The Causal Model Revisited
 3. Policy Tools/Instruments

• Policy tools can be defined as ‘elements in policy design that

cause agents or targets to do something they would not do
otherwise or it is an instrument with the intention of
modifying behavior to solve public problems or attain policy
goals’

• Policy instruments or tools are also called ‘techniques of

control’ that are by one means or another ,overtly or
subtly ,....designed to cause people to do things , refrain from
doing things ,or continue to do things that would otherwise not
do
 Classification of policy tools
• Five Categories of Generic Policies

1. Market Mechanism: Freeing, facilitating, and stimulating

markets

2. Incentives: Using taxes and subsidies to alter behavior

3. Rules: Establishing rules

4. Non-market Supply: Supplying goods through non-market

mechanism

5. Insurance and cushions : Providing insurance (economic

protection)
 Categories of policy instruments (Howlett &
Ramesh,2003 )
Policy types Examples
Organization -Based •Direct provision
Instruments •Public enterprises
•Community and voluntary organizations
•Market organization (consumers and producers
market )
•Government reorganization

Authority- Based •Command and control

Instruments •Delegated or self regulation

Treasure -Based •Subsides :Grants, tax incentive, Loans

Instruments •Financial Disincentive: Taxes and user charges

Information- Based • Public information campaigns

Instruments • Advertizing
• Research Inquiries & investigative commissions
 4. The Targets of the Policy
• Who is the target of the policy? Targets need to be identified.

• Often policy aims to change the behavior of people in a more

desired direction.

• Behavioral assumptions of target groups becomes important in

the choice of policy tools.
 5. Implementation of the Policy

• Who, what, and how to carry out the designed policy into
action.

• Typical problems at the implementation stages

– Vague definition of the policy objectives but no description

of how to implement

• Government typically has some level of discretion in

designing implementation strategy

– Series of decision making follows after the adoption

 Evaluation criteria of policy tools
1) Certainty: Certainty of the administrative process and the
compliance of targets
2) Timeliness: Extent to which the tools works quickly
3) Less cost: Expense of the tool
4) Efficiency: Extent to which the tool creates maximum
outputs for a given input
5) Effectiveness: Extent to which the tool is likely to achieve its
goals
6) Flexibility: Ease with which the tool can be altered to
changing needs and circumstances
7) Visibility: The extent to which the program is well known or
less well known
8) Accountability: Extent to which implementers are
accountable for their actions.
9) Choice: Degree of citizen preference afforded by the policy.
 Policy alternatives
Policy alternatives can be described as changes related to ends
of policy making (i.e. abstract policy goals or more concrete
program specifications) and to means of policy ( i.e. basic
policy instrument type or existing instrument components)

Level of generality of policy content

Conceptual /policy Practical /Programme
element

Ends Policy goals Programme specifications

Policy

Means Basic Instruments Instrument components

source : policy alternatives model .Howlett &Ramesh,2003:147

Policy formulation in summary
 Policy Adoption
• Policy adoption is a selection of a particular
policy option through political institutions

• Law making process is a mandate of the

parliament/ congress in many countries

• It is done by proximate policymakers who have

constitutional mandates.

• Policy legitimatization is a phase of going and

attracts the attention of mass media and most
political scientists
 Case: Hierarchy of Policy adoption in Ethiopia
• The Constitution of the Federal Democratic Republic of
Ethiopia is the apex of the policy adoption hierarchy.
• The Proclamations are passed by Parliament and signed by the
president of FDRE

• Regulations are approved by Cabinet/Council of Ministers and

signed by the Prime Minister

• Ministerial Directives are issued by authorized ministry and

signed by its Minister

• Guidelines and manuals which explain policies , rules , and

procedures but are not themselves legally binding documents.
 Cont…
• Legislators’ procedures of policy adoption
1) HPR channels incoming bills to a committee

2) A committee then publicizes the bills

3) It organizes a public hearing and entertains

suggestions delivered in different ways

4) It presents to the House Speaker a well-documented

report on the bill.
5) Finally, the House speaker and the committee in
question chair House deliberations on the report
 Group reflective questions

1. How is the procedure of the Council of Ministers’ policy

adoption ?
2. Identify the policy legitimation venues in Ethiopia? What is
the basis for such multiple policy venues? And discuss the
process.
 Policy Implementation
• Policy implementation is regarded as the accomplishment
of policy objectives through the planning of programmes
and projects.

• Who, what, and how to carry out the designed policy into
action

• Policy implementation is a dynamic ,non linear process

• It is also best seen as a form of network governance – it

demands extensive coordination among a wide range of
actors.
 Models of Implementation process

 Top-down (forward mapping) approach:

• views policy implementation as a series of chains of command
• This approach understand policy implementation by looking at the
goals and strategies.
 Bottom-up (backward mapping) approach:
• views implementation from the perspective of street level
bureaucrats (who implement policies at the point of contact with
the target population).

 Synthesis: A Third generation of implementation research

• Top policy makers can make choices of policy instruments or tools
to structure implementation while realizing that the motivations
and needs of lower level implementers must be taken into account.
 Main actors in policy implementation
• Implementation affects and is affected by a multitude of
actors who define problems and solutions in a given
policy domain
 Political institutions
1) Legislative bodies are often involved in implementing
public policy

2) Courts are also involved in implementation:

– When various entities bring lawsuits in the federal district
courts to enforce public laws ;
– When interpretation of administrative rules and
regulations are due
 Cont…
3) The bureaucracy
• The actual act of administrating policy is performed by
civil servants operating in various kinds of administrative
agencies
• The usual form of government agency involved in
implementation is ministry

• Different bureaucratic agencies at different level of

government (federal, state or local ) are involved in policy
implementation

 Interest /pressure groups

• Various interest groups influence administrative agencies
 Cont…
 Target groups
• Target groups are groups whose behavior is intended to be
altered by government action, play a direct and indirect role in
the implementation process
 Barriers of Policy implementation

 Political barriers: slow authorization, weak political support,

bureaucratic opposition and poor implementation incentives

 Analytical competence barriers : vague or multiple missions,

changing priorities, poor design

 Operational barriers: fund limitation, weak management

structure , coordination capacity, lack of clarity in operational
plans
 Cont…
To solve the above problems there is a need to:
a) Build constituencies support for policy change

b) Secure sufficient resources

c) Prepare for implementation problems

d) Designing a strategic implementation roadmap

e) Developing effective managerial and accountability systems

 Policy Evaluation
• Evaluation is the systematic assessment of the operation
and/or the outcomes of a program or policy, compared to a set
of explicit or implicit standards, as a means of contributing to
the improvement of the program or policy.

• Policy evaluation assesses the effectiveness of a public policy

in terms of its perceived intentions and results.

• Implicit assumption of evaluation is about success or failure

of public policy.
 Types of Policy evaluation

• There are many types of policy evaluation depending on :

– The nature of policy actors ,
– The way they are conducted, and
– What is intended to be done with the findings
• These are administrative evaluation; judiciary
evaluations ; and political evaluations
A) Administrative evaluations :
• Is usually restricted to examining the efficient delivery of
government services while respecting the principles of justice
and democracy .
• Intended to ensure that policies are accomplishing their
intended goals at the least cost.
 Cont…
1. Effort evaluations
• Attempt to measure the quality of program inputs ,such as
personnel, transportation, office space ,and so on ,all of
which are calculated in terms of the monetary costs they
involve .

2. Performance evaluations
• Examine program outputs rather than inputs ,such as
number of patients seen ,number of children taught

• The main aim is to determine what the policy is producing

irrespective of the stated objectives
 Cont…
3. Process evaluations
• Examine the organizational methods ,including rules and
operating procedures ,used to deliver programs

• The objective is to see if the process can be streamlined and

made more efficient
4. Efficiency evaluation
• Assess the cost of a program and judge if the same
amount and quality of outputs are produced at lower cost
5. Effectiveness /Adequacy of performance evaluations/
• Compare the performance of a given program to its
intended goals to determine whether the program meeting its
goals
 Cont…
B) Political evaluations
• Are typically carried out on an adhoc basis by everyone with
any interest in political life ,
• Are one-sided simply attempting to label a policy failure or
success through
– Consultative committee, taskforces ,and inquires
– Actors such as the media, think tanks, political parties ,
interest groups, community leaders , public relations/
lobbying campaign , and public opinion launched by
non-governmental organizations
 Cont…
• Usually neither systematically nor technically but essential to
change policy

• Aims at giving independent advice , and opposing or

supporting the government ,or to bring some issues to the
government attention

C) Judicial evaluation: Judicial Review and Administrative

Discretion
• Judiciary evaluation is concerned with legal issues related to
the manner in which government programs are
implemented

• Judiciary are concerned with possible conflicts between

government actions and constitutional provision or
established standards of administrative conduct.
 Cont…
• Review government actions either on its own initiative or by
individuals or organizations filling a case against a
government agency in a court of law

Contributions of policy evaluation

• Synthesize and demystifying what is known about a problem
and its proposed policy remedy

• Develop new information about policy effectiveness and

explains its implication
 Actors in the Policy evaluation process

– Policy evaluations are conducted by a variety of actors , both

within and outside the government

Within governments
• Usually conducted by the primary agency in charge of
implementing the policy.
– Most governments also have central agencies with
exclusive or major evaluation responsibilities ,such
as Government Accountability Office, Auditor
General, etc

• Legislatures often have their own special units in charge of

evaluation
 Cont…
Non- governmental actors
• There also exists an even a large number of non-
government actors

• The most important non-government evaluators are

service users who have first hand information

• Universities ,think tanks, and consulting firms offer paid and

unpaid evaluation
• Media also offer their own evaluation of policies
• The general public ,who act as voters during elections

• Political parties also offer evaluations of government

policies to gain partisan political advantages
 Policy change
• There are three fold possible outcomes of policy evaluation:
 A policy can be judged successful and continue in its present
form
 A policy can be judged inadequate in some respect and
efforts are then suggested for its change/ reform
 A policy can be judged a complete failure or success and can
be terminated

• Policy change is the modification or replacement of goals and

means in light of the new information and shifting political
environment.
• Policy change outcome of policy evaluation serves to feed
back to some other stage of the policy stage.
 Policy Termination

• policy termination is a complete cessation of the Policy.

• Is a costy process

• Reluctance of decision makers to adopt this course of action is

mostly observed.

• This is due to the inherent difficulties of arriving at agreement

on policy failure and success.
 Policy dynamics : Success and Failure

• Society is a dynamic entity with needs, demands and

preferences that continually change, develop, and grow over
time.

• Globalization is the main cause for such changes.

• Public policy is a reaction to environmental demands for the

change in the status quo.

• If the policy system therefore stays in touch with the needs,

demands and preferences in environment, and fine-tune its
policies to keep pace with the changes in those needs, demands
and preferences, societal stability can be enhanced . (Meyer
and Cloete, 2006).
 Cont…
• Owing to rapid globalizing world, there is an enormous policy
transfer/policy learning from different countries.

• In a ‘fragmented policy world’ i.e with varied interests and

values it is difficult to fully examine policy success and policy
failure.
• Policy success and policy failure are reflections made after
policy implementation and evaluation.

• As bovens and t’Hart (1996:4) have argued, the absence of

fixed criteria for success and failure, which apply regardless of
time and place, is a serious problem, for any one who wants to
understand policy evaluation.
 Reflective Exercise
• Why do you think that policy change or policy termination is
not an easy task? How many public policies have you
witnessed in your sectoral institutions that have been changed
or terminated for good? List some of the causes for their
change or termination?