What is policy analysis and the process of policy analysis?
Answers
Policy analysis is more or less a six-step procedure, whether you are undergoing policy analysis for a private or public institution. While policy analysis is most often carried out in the public sector for policies concerning citizens of a local community or on a larger scale in Federal politics. The types of policies will of course vary greatly between the public and private sectors. The public sector is renowned for rigid steps when it comes to assessing policies, whilst a company in the private sector may have some of its own guidelines on how to carry out policy analysis processes.
Definition of the Problem
To begin the process of policy analysis, it's important to define what the problem is in the first place. You need to determine what the goal is for that specific policy. Ask yourself, why is this policy in place? What are we trying to do? Once you have a specific goal or a small set goals clearly outlined, you can then move onto the next step.
Establishing Evaluation Criteria
Now that you have clarified your company or organization's goal or goals for that particular policy, you can begin to establish some evaluation criteria. How will you know if a particular policy is successful or not in helping you to achieve your company's goal? Evaluation criteria should be clear and it's important that it's something that can be measured, rather than indefinable.
Determining Alternatives
With evaluation criteria, you can begin brainstorming. You can begin with the current policy which is in place, and start to think of alternatives. You will now have clear goals and criteria in mind, and this should help you to think of worthwhile alternatives. You may have a list of only five alternatives, or perhaps 50. The point is to think outside the box, and perhaps the old policy has been useful in the past, and has now become outdated due to external factors such as technological advances or a change in consumer behaviors.
Evaluating the Alternatives
This is where your evaluation criteria comes in handy. You will need to measure each policy up against the evaluation criteria in order to determine which one will be best to each your goals. It's important to remain unbiased and logical, rather than letting emotion get the better of you.
Deciding Which Policy is Best
Deciding which policy stands out will of course depend on your evaluation criteria. If you have a quantitative measure, you will of course be using numbers. However, a qualitative measure should by no means be less precise. Be prepared to display your results in a graph or in a pros and cons format.
Assessing the Outcome
Once you have your new policy, you need to make sure it's not only put into place, but monitored over the course of time. Whether you have somebody from your company responsible for this, or you hire a consultant depends on your business. Set up a meeting for as far as six months or five years in advance to reassess the progress and the results of your new policy.