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.