Policy formulation and processes

Policy formulation at a glance.

1. Presented by:
Henry Clarke Kisembo

2. What is Policy
Acourseofactionthatwillcreateadesiredobjective
intheinterestofthemassesorthepeopleinagiven
country.

3. Types of Policies
Substantive and Administration policy
Thefirstisconcernedwiththelegislation,programs
andpracticesthatgovernthesubstantiveaspectsof
communitywork.Thisdimensionofpolicyincludes,for
example,incomesecurity,employmentinitiatives,
childcareservicesandsocialexclusion.

4. Types of Policies
Thesecondtypeofpolicyfocuseslargelyupon
administrativeprocedures.Theseinvolve,forinstance,
thecollectionofstatisticalinformationon
neighbourhoodsandtheevaluationofcomplex
communityprograms.

5. Types of Policies
Vertical and Horizontal Policy
Horizontalpolicy-makingisdevelopedbytwoormore
organizations,eachofwhichhastheabilityor
mandatetodealwithonlyonedimensionofagiven
situation.Horizontalorintegratedpolicyiscreated
betweenpartsofanorganizationoramong
organizationalcomponentsthataresimilarin
hierarchicalposition[Smith2003:11-12].

6. Types of Policies
Governmentsincreasinglyarefocusingtheirefforts
uponhorizontalpolicy-makinginrecognitionofthe
factthatmanyoftheobjectivestheyseektoachieve
arecomplexandrelatetothemandatesoftwoormore
departments,jurisdictionsornon-governmental
organizations.Areasofcommoninterestinclude,for
example,climatechange,Youthemploymentandthe
rangeofconcernsrootedincitiesandcommunities.

7. Types of Policies
Vertical Policy
Verticalpolicyiswhatwethinkofasthenormalor
traditionalwayinwhichpolicydecisionsaremade.It
isdevelopedwithinasingleorganizationalstructure
andgenerallystartswithbroadoverarchingpolicy,
sometimescalled“corporate”or“framework”policy.
Suchdecisionsaremadeatheadofficeandguide
subsequentdecisionsthroughouttheorganization.

8. Types of Policies
Reactive and Proactive Policy
Reactivepolicyemergesinresponsetoaconcernor
crisisthatmustbeaddressed–healthemergencies
andenvironmentaldisastersaretwoexamples.
Proactivepolicies,bycontrast,areintroducedand
pursuedthroughdeliberatechoice.Increasinglyhave
beenrecognizedasvitalkeysthatunlockthedoorsto
botheconomicwealthandsocialwell-being.

9. Types of Policies
Current and Future Policy
Thosethatarecurrentlyonthepublicagendaand
thosethatarenot.Issuesalreadyonthepublicpolicy
agenda(e.g.,healthcare)oftenhavehighprofile.A
formalprocesstoamendorimprovetheexisting
arrangementgenerallyisinplace.

10. Types of Policies
Ifanissueisnotcurrentlyorneverhasbeen‘alive’on
thepublicagenda,thenthereisworktobedonein
makingthecaseforitsimportanceandraising
awarenessabouttheimplicationsofnon-response.
Makingthecaseusuallyinvolvesgatheringevidence
thatsupportsthepolicy.Relevantevidenceincludes,
forexample,researchfindings,evaluationdataand
resultsfromfocusgroups.

11. Purpose of Public Policy
Publicpolicyhasaclearanduniquepurposewhichis;
seekingtoachieveadesiredgoalthatisconsideredto
beinthebestinterestofallmembersofsociety.
Examplesincludecleanair,cleanwater,goodhealth,
increasedemployment,aninnovativeeconomy,active
trade,higheducationalattainment,decentand
affordablehousing,minimallevelsofpoverty,
improvedliteracy,lowcrimeandasociallycohesive
society,tonameafew.

12. Policy development as a decision
making process
Apublicpolicyisadeliberateand(usually)careful
decisionthatprovidesguidanceforaddressing
selectedpublicconcerns.Policydevelopmentcanbe
seen,then,asadecisionmakingprocessthathelps
addressidentifiedgoals,problemsorconcerns.Atits
core,policydevelopmententailstheselectionofa
destinationordesiredobjective.

13. Policy development as a decision
making process
Theactualformulationofpolicyinvolvesthe
identificationandanalysisofarangeofactionsthat
respondtotheseconcerns.Eachpossiblesolutionis
assessedagainstanumberoffactorssuchasprobable
effectiveness,potentialcost,resourcesrequiredfor
implementation,politicalcontextandcommunity
support.

14. Policy development as a decision
making process
Inshort,anygivenpolicyrepresentstheendresultofa
decisionastohowbesttoachieveaspecificobjective.
Mostpeopleactuallyapplyasimilarprocessinthe
decisionstheymakeintheireverydaylives–even
aroundfairlyinconsequentialchoices.

15. Public Policy and Poverty reduction
Poverty reduction involves multiple pathways
Likemanypublicpolicyconcerns,povertyisa
complexissuewhoserootscanbetracedtomany
differentfactors.Theseincludelowlevelsofliteracy
andeducation;poorhealthorseveredisability;
economicshockssuchasrecessionorlabourmarket
restructuringthattypicallythrowsubstantialnumbers
outofwork;andsuddenchangeinlifecircumstances,
suchasseparation,divorceordeathofaspouse.

16. Public Policy and Poverty reduction
Whileithasnotbeenestablishedthatanyoneorallof
thesefactorsactuallycausepoverty,researchevidence
findsthattheytendtobecorrelatedwithhighlevelsof
poverty.Acorrelationmeansthatthesefactorsare
generallyfoundtoco-exist.Thepresenceofmultiple
correlatesofpovertymeansthatarangeofsolutionsis
requiredtoaddressthismultidimensionalproblem.

17. Policy formulation processes
Several steps comprise the policy process
1.Selectingthedesiredobjective.
2.Identifyingthetargetoftheobjective.
3.Determiningthepathwaytoreachthatobjective.
4.Designingthespecificprogramormeasurein
respectofthatgoal;Target,CostandFinancing,
Politicalissues.
5.Implementingthemeasureandassessingitsimpact.

18. Conclusion
Publicpolicyrepresentsadecision,madebyapublicly
electedordesignatedbody,whichisdeemedtobein
thepublicinterest.
Policydevelopmentinvolvestheselectionofchoices
aboutthemostappropriatemeanstoadesiredend.A
policydecisionistheresultofamethod,whichin
theoryatleast,considersarangeofoptionsandthe
potentialimpactofeach.Theweighingofoptions
takesintoaccountvariousfactors,including:

19. Conclusion
whobenefits(themorethebetter).
whomightbenegativelyaffected(thefewerthe
better).
timerequiredtoimplementthesolution.
associatedcostandfinancing.
politicalcomplexitiesofafederategovernment
structure.

20. Conclusion
At the end of the day, the formulation of public policy
involves a process of making good decisions –for the
public good.