4. DEFINING THE FUNDAMENTAL
CONCEPTS
Policy:
A policy is typically described as a principle or rule to guide
decisions and achieve rational outcome/s.
A purposive course of action based on societal values, followed
in dealing with a matter or concern, and predicting the
outcome that would result from the achievement of the purpose
Public policy:
Policy serving as the enabling and guiding framework for
government in all sectors and at all levels.
5. PUBLIC POLICY
Public policy is all about:
The intentions of the legislative authority towards
society
The direction in which the legislator wants to steer
society
The utilization of national resources
10. STEP 1: AGENDA-SETTING/PROBLEM
IDENTIFICATION
Process of identifying policy issues/problems, which require the attention
of a legislator
Process wherein the members of society identify their needs, desires and
demands and wherein a legislator decides to place these issues on the
agenda for deliberation
The setting of the policy agenda allows a legislator to become sensitized to
some of the critical policy requirements that affect society.
Issue identification can be conducted by forecasting the future with the use
of extrapolative techniques such as the Delphi technique, brainstorming
and scenario sketching
The origin/source of the various organizational policy-related issues
Prioritization of issues
11. STEP 2: POLICY
INSTRUMENTS/SOURCES
Legislation and government policy and priorities
Taxation (the budget)
Persuasion (and public pressure)
Inspection and audits
Minutes of meetings
Legislative records
Provision of services
Newsletter, media briefings and community meetings
12. STEP 3: POLICY ANALYSIS
Step-by-step way of unpacking and understanding policy
choices and comparing possible outcomes
Policy analysis needs to explore as rationally and honestly as
possible the implications and possible outcomes of adopting
policy
The importance and value of continual policy analysis
Policy analysis is an attempt to determine the costs and
benefits of various alternatives or to evaluate the validity of
existing policies e.g. Force field analysis
Policy analysis is an attempt to bring about and transform
information pertinent to particular policies to resolve
problems pertaining to those policies
13. THE VALUE AND BENEFITS OF
POLICY ANALYSIS
To determine whether they are in effect contributing towards the
general well-being of society and/or serving the best interests of
organizational stakeholders
The making of rational choices in policy
Assists the stakeholders in policy to comprehend the importance of
values, particular interests and business considerations
Provides tangible facts
Compares not only objectives or resources, but also alternative
programmes, it makes errors easy to identify by working with
historical contexts and bears in mind that senior managers must
implement policies and that citizens are involved
14. STEP 3: POLICY ANALYSIS
continued…
The role of the policy analyst:
Advisor
Advocate
Pre-requisites for policy analysis:
Refer to pages 18-20
15. 6-STEP POLICY ANALYSIS PROCESS
Identify the underlying values and aspirations
Understand the problem in its context
Identify the alternative courses of actions
Decide which dimensions of the problem are most important
Predict the likely outcomes of different courses of action
Measure the chosen courses of action against important values
and aspirations
16. STEP 4: STAKEHOLDER ENGAGEMENT,
CONSULTATION AND CO-ORDINATION
Objective: To ensure accountability, responsiveness and
openness and upholding the right to access to any
information held by the state
Constant interaction with society
Extensive consultation and co-ordination between the various
stakeholders
Interest groups e.g. civic society; associations and lobbyists
Public participation
17. STAKEHOLDER ENGAGEMENT
STRATEGY
Step 1: Identify stakeholders
Step 2: Prioritize stakeholders
Step 3: Get to know and understand stakeholders
Step 4: Stakeholder relationship management
19. STEP 5: POLICY
FORMULATION AND ADOPTION
Factors to consider
Policy recommendations are normally drafted by senior managers
and then referred to higher management authority for deliberation,
approval and adoption
It remains the responsibility of the highest decision-making
authority (executive powers) to approve or reject a particular
policy recommendation
The matter could be referred back to management for further
investigation
A policy-maker or decision maker has to be sure of the ability of
officials to actually execute a policy - administrative, operational
and managerial capacity to implement the decision
20. POLICY CONTENT/TEMPLATE
Purpose statement
Applicability and scope
Background/Contextualization
Definitions
An effective date
A responsibilities section – e.g. oversight and governance structures
Policy statements
- rules - indicating the specific regulations,
requirements, or modifications to organizational behavior that the
policy is creating