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Public policy making. UGBS 105: Introduction to Public Administration. Outline. Meaning of public policy Types of public policy Sources of public policy The process of making public policy Why some policies do not work Making public policies work Summary. What is public policy?. - PowerPoint PPT Presentation
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Public policy making
UGBS 105: Introduction to Public Administration
Outline
Meaning of public policy Types of public policy Sources of public policy The process of making public policy Why some policies do not work Making public policies work Summary
What is public policy?
Policy refers to a set of guidelines, or rules and regulations, which determine and underline the ways individuals or groups behave in a particular environment
Public policies are proposed courses of action, directed towards accomplishing some purposes or goals within the context of public business
Key features of public policies
Developed by governmental bodies (MDAs) Goal-oriented, problem-solving instead of
random actions or chance behaviours Sometimes responsive to demands by
private citizens or organized groups from within the public sector itself
Mostly have winners or losers or both Based on the rule of law
Types of public policies
Substantive policies: They directly distribute benefits or costs to citizens
Procedural policies: How things get done Distributive policies: Allocation of
resources/services to particular segments of larger society
Regulatory policies: Impose restrictions on behaviours
Self-regulatory policies Redistributive policies
Sources of public policies
Official policy makers have legitimate authority to take certain decisions in the public interest
Examples include – Legislators, CEOs, Judges, Administrators
However, the environment of their actions determine what they do largely
Sources of public policies
Constitutional and other legal
demands
Political party manifestoes
Pressure groups
International conventions
The policy making process
Problem identification / Agenda setting Data collection Data analysis / diagnosis Option appraisal Implementation Monitoring Evaluation Feedback
Why some policies do not work
Lack of political commitment Political considerations may dampen the zeal
of implementation Resource constraints Effects of policy demands on citizens Intractability of many public problems Unanticipated problems
Why some policies do not work (cont’d)
Lack of technical expertise Failure to consider the political nature of the
policy process Inaccurate data Lack of broad participation/consultation Lack of proper monitoring, evaluation and
feedback
Making public policies work
Broad participation and consultation
Human factors/skills (technical expertise)
Resource availability The governance angle: Commitment from the
policy actors to let it work
Summary
It would be extremely difficult to govern a country without a public policy. They provide the beacons for governance
Policies come in different types and with different intentions but the ultimate aim is about service to the people
Public policies emerge from various sources and it is important to consider the importance and influence of each
Summary
The process provides a guide to arrive at good pubic policies
Different kinds of barriers work against the success of public policies
Public policies are made to work if interest is shown right from the design stage to the feedback phase
Policies must be made to work since they should not be assumed to work on their own
Trial questions
Identify any public policy that has not succeeded and discuss why you think it failed.
Why do you think it is very difficult to satisfy so many people through public policies?
Trial questions (cont’d)
Public policies form the bases of governmental decisions that direct activities within a country. Discuss.
Discuss the importance of the citizen’s understanding of the process of making public policies in a developing country like Ghana.