Session-2_Problem-Identification-and-Agenda-Setting.pdf

Problem Identification

1. Session 2:
Problem Identification and
Agenda Setting
Jalton Garces Taguibao, Ph.D
Associate Professor
Department of Political Science
University of the Philippines, Diliman
Email: [email protected]

2. 1 2
3 4

3. Policy and Problems
•“Problem Identification”
•“Problem Selection”
•“Problematization”

4. Policy and Problems
Conceptualizing a Problem…

5. Policy and Problems
Conceptualizing a Problem…
…from an issue (or issues)

6. Policy and Problems
Conceptualizing a Problem…
…from an issue (or issues)
…requires a STORY.

7. Issues and Problems
•An issue is a concern and/or object of attention that is
assigned a value
•A set of issues arecommunicated & organized in a
hierarchy of importance or priority in a specific time.
•Ranked or ordered issues comprise an Agenda
•Issues come to be as these merit attention
•Practical question: Which issues should come first?
Last? How is this determined?

8. Issue Dynamics
•Competition among issue proponents to gain
the attention of decision-makers, policy elites,
and the public
•Issues are “social problems” raised as a
demand of groups, argued to be important,
and deserving of government action.
•How to persuade why certain issues deserve
attention over others?

9. Types of Issues
•Subject/Thematic Issues
–Specific issues-related to substantive matters
–broad in scope and societal coverage (e.g. education, economy, security,
social welfare, etc.)
•Policy Issues
–Issues surrounding the call for government action through legislative
policy or administrative intervention (e.g. in the case of education,
Republic Acts on Education or Administrative Policy within the
departments which will implement these)
•Program/Project Issues
–Specific issues pertaining to the formulation or implementation of projects
or programs in a particular area of discussion or locality
–(e.g. Issues related to the implementation of a program to increase
enrollment; decrease inefficiencies in an office)

10. Issue-Attention for Agenda
•An issue receives attention (and may be included
in the agenda) if:
❑It has reached crisis proportions
❑It is critical and relevant to a larger issue of higher
importance (intervening)
❑The expected outcomes and impact of the issue are
significant and wide in scope
❑It has been made popular or fashionable
❑It requires urgent response or resolution
Scale, Relevance, Impact, and Urgency

11. Where do issues come from?
Within and Outside Government

12. Origins of Issues, Problems, and
Public Policy
From Within Government
•Government (agencies) articulate a chosen issue and
structures it as a “problem”
•An issue is included in the agenda for government
action
•The public is typically unaware of the issues that catch
the attention of government and the formulation of the
issue as a problem, until its formal
announcement/communication.

13. Issues, Problems and Public Policy
From Outside Government
•Issues are raised and structured by groups
external to government
•Issues are made important and
communicated through advocacy
communication campaigns and media-
information campaigns

14. How do issues find their way
in an agenda?
A Theoretical Insight

15. Kingdon’s Multiple Streams
•Attention is given to an issue when three
independent streams converge into a
policy window (an opportunity)
•The attention allows the issue to enter the
agenda space

16. Kingdon’s Multiple Streams
•Problem–construction, structuration and definition
•Policy Solutions–acceptable interventions and
solutions; feasibility
•Politics–national mood, public opinion and context-
to-issue-value
Policy Windows
–Routine –procedural events creating opportunities
–Discretionary –opportunity resulting from individual
behaviors/actors
–Random –unforeseen events creating opportunities
–Spill-over –opportunities from related issues

18. Role of Public Managers and
Policy Issues
•Draw and sustain attention and intensity of a
policy issue
•Verify and valuation for policy ideas and
prospective innovations
•Shape policy priorities and agenda
•Ensure various policy issues and their channels
are coherent and do not conflict (to advance these
to agenda status)

19. Questions and Comments
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7 minute break

20. For Workshop
Problem Tree and Objective Tree

21. Problem Analysis and Structuration
I. PROBLEM ANALYSIS
1.Analyze the existing situation and related to
your policy concern
2.Identify the policy issues or problems in this
context
3.Select and Define the core problem of the
situation
4.Visualize cause and effect relationship via a
Problem Tree

22. Problem Tree
EFFECTS/CONSEQUENCES
(Direct and Subsequent)
CORE PROBLEM
ROOT CAUSES
(Conditions/Direct)

23. Problem Tree (Example)

24. Analysis of an Objective
II. Correspondingly:
1.Describe expected outcomes/situation by
solving the problem
1.Identify actions, options, or alternatives to
solve the problem. (use verbs)
1.Visualize means and ends of the core
objective in an Objective Tree

25. Objective Tree
•An Objective Tree is a Problem Tree that is transformed
into a set of future solutions to the problems. Each
negative problem is converted into an objective by
rewriting it as a positive future statement (Johns
Hopkins University, 2013).
•Examples:
•Problem statement:“river water quality is
deteriorating”can be reformulated into“quality of river
water is improved”.
•Problem statement:“loss of confidence in public
services”can be transformed into“people’s confidence in
public services is restored”.
•Problem statement:“public transportation is in bad
condition”can be reformulated into“public transportation
is kept in good condition”.

26. Objective Tree
Core Objective
Effect 1 Effect 2
Means 1 Means 2

27. Objective Tree (Example)

28. Problem and Objective

29. Thank you very much :)