Introduction to policy, policy making & information policies

BSIM0003 Information Policy Introduction to policy, policy making & information policies Seminars 1 - 2 HKU Faculty of Education

Content • Administrative details • Macro & micro policies • What underpins information policy • Information policy issues • Definitions • Examples • Sample websites • Next seminar….. HKU Faculty of Education

Subject administration • Aims & objectives • Class format • Assessment • Expectations HKU Faculty of Education

Objectives On completion of this subject, the student should be able to: • Understand the nature of policies & policy making • Describe the goals of policy making • Identify stakeholders in the information policy formulation process HKU Faculty of Education

Objectives • Provide informed opinions on specific information policies at international, national & enterprise levels • Identify the need for & frame information policies for enterprises HKU Faculty of Education

Class format & assessment Delivery 12 X 2 hr classes = 24 hrs Assessment Continuous – 100% • 1 X individual assignment - 60% • 1 X group assignment - 40% HKU Faculty of Education

Policy : Definitions • A definite course of action adopted as expedient or from other considerations • A course or line of action adopted & pursued by a government etc • Prudence, practical wisdom or expediency Macquarie Dictionary HKU Faculty of Education

Policy : Purposes Policy is intended to control activity & guide it in directions which are desired for political, social, economic or professional reasons (depending on the nature of the policy). The notion of the ‘public good’ or ‘public interest’ is a key basis for public policy Policies may be very broad statements of vision or more specific in the form of strategic plans HKU Faculty of Education

Policy : Format A policy will often include: • Goals & objectives, ie what it is intended to achieve • Methods by which the various parts of the policy are to be implemented (procedures) • Where responsibility lies for implementation • Details of time schedule, resources & any other aspects relating to implementation HKU Faculty of Education

Policy : Consistency • Internal consistency – the definition should ‘fit’ with the goals & instruments • Vertical consistency – programs/activities should be logically related to the policy HKU Faculty of Education

Policy content • definition • goals • instruments Internal consistency Vertical consistency Programs / activities Policy : Internal & vertical consistency HKU Faculty of Education

Policies : Horizontal consistency Horizontal consistency Policy A Policy B HKU Faculty of Education

Public policy : Definitions ‘A course of action or inaction chosen by public authorities to address a given problem or interrelated set of problems’ Pal, 1997 ‘The commitment of public resources to certain courses of action to achieve certain goals, always in the context of differential power’ Doty & Wyllys HKU Faculty of Education

Policy : Public interest ‘Public interest….is one of a family of related terms which are used to distinguish the selfish or personal interests or cares of individuals or groups from the best interests of society as a whole. The Public Interest refers to some policy or goal in which every member of society shares equally, regardless of wealth, position, status or power’ Robertson, 1985 HKU Faculty of Education

Policy : Public interest Alternatively ….. ‘Public Interest is a term used by every politician to support his ideas’ Kiplinger HKU Faculty of Education

Policy formation The process of the inception of an idea to its passage as a law or other formal directive. A critical component is that there must be some intended goals for the policy or outcomes resulting from its implementation. It involves : • A proposal • Evaluation • Implementation HKU Faculty of Education

Policy proposal A policy has its origins in the need to solve a problem or effect a change. This would involve suggested actions to be taken with supporting arguments. Proponents of the proposed policy will promote it to parties that have influence in the policy making process, eg government officers etc HKU Faculty of Education

Policy evaluation Relevant bodies of knowledge are applied to the arguments in support of the proposed policy Apart from projected measures of success in achieving its goals, the proposed policy will be evaluated against sectional interests & agendas etc, as well as consistency with other policies Decision making models apply to the policy making process HKU Faculty of Education

Policy implementation • An organisation/dept/individual needs to be identified as responsible for implementing the policy • Resources need to be allocated to implementation • The policy needs to be communicated to those affected by it • Mechanisms to reward/penalise conformance/non-conformance to the policy need to be established HKU Faculty of Education

Policy implementation To measure conformance to the policy : • Policy goals should be clearly stated • The goals must be measurable • Implementation is directed to achieving the goals • Data to verify conformance must be collected HKU Faculty of Education

Information policy :Definitions ‘A governing principle, plan, or course of action concerning information resources & technology adopted by a company, organization, institution, or government, eg the political decision to use public funds to subsidize Internet access for schools & public libraries. In the USA, Congress & the President are advised by the National Commission on Library & Information Science (NCLIS) on decisions concerning national library & information policy’ ODLIS HKU Faculty of Education

Information policy :Definitions Information policy is designed to regulate or guide people, organisations & processes involved in information flow in society. A useful definition of public or government information policy is: ‘the set of all public laws, regulations & policies that encourage, discourage or regulate the creation, use, storage & communication of information’ (Weingarten, 1989) HKU Faculty of Education

So information policy can include regulation (via prescription & proscription) of information at all stages of the information lifecycle : Information policy :Application HKU Faculty of Education

Information policy :Application Information policies can equally be applied to all stages of the information transfer cycle: • Use • Create • Collect • Organise • Store • Provide access • Deliver HKU Faculty of Education

Nature of information policy Traditionally, writers on information policy have focused on policies governing the control of government information This trend has intensified in the last decade due to : • ??? • ??? • ??? HKU Faculty of Education

Nature of information policy ‘Information policy can be set at a national level, by the U.S. federal government; by state & local governments; & by other agencies & institutions, for example private companies or agencies within governmental units’ McClure, 1996 HKU Faculty of Education

Nature of information policy He adds that : ‘An information policy instrument is a written law, guideline, regulation or other official statement that describes how information will be collected, managed, protected, accessed & used’ HKU Faculty of Education

Nature of information policy However, in an information based society, all organisations need to consider the impact of information. As early as 1985, Hayes had argued that information policy… ‘is the basis for societal & institutional decisions concerning the allocation of resources to acquisition, processing distribution & use of information’ HKU Faculty of Education

Nature of information policy Information policy is… ‘a set of interrelated laws & policies concerned with the creation, production, collection, management, distribution & retrieval of information. Their significance lies in the fact that they profoundly affect the manner in which an individual in a society, indeed a society itself, makes political, economic & social choices’ Mason, 1983 HKU Faculty of Education

Nature of information policy In 1993, Burger noted that there is a… ‘disarray of approaches, circular definitions, & quasi-analyses’ which seems to indicate…that information policy, whatever it is, is exceedingly complex…One concept….does emerge, however. Information policy requires several different disciplines for evaluation: economics, law, political science, public administration, sociology, public policy, management science, & information science’ HKU Faculty of Education

Information policy : macro or micro At the macro level Public policy issues (which include the notion of the public interest) At the micro level Information flows, & policy issues & policy development within individual organisations HKU Faculty of Education

Information policy issues Information policy issues can be approached in 4 broad areas: • Legislation & regulation of information • Role of the information sector within the national & international economy; • Local issues which relate to the way information is used within organisations; • Contribution that information makes to the effective operation of an increasingly complex social system (Moore, 1991) HKU Faculty of Education

Information policy issues No single national information policy can possibly encompass the range of issues identified in these 4 areas. See for example : US National Commission on Libraries & Information Science. National Information Policy http://www.nclis.gov/info/nationalinfo.html HKU Faculty of Education

Information policy issues Moore advocates a ‘process of consciousness-raising’ where policy makers & those in positions of leadership : • Are made aware of the information problems & issues that exist • Contribute to debate & development of public policy in response to these problems & issues’ HKU Faculty of Education

Information policy issues • Develop policy at the organisational level, where policy responses are formulated on the basis of an understanding of the background to the issues, an appreciation of the need for flexibility in a rapidly-changing environment, & an awareness of the inter-connections between the different issues Moore, 1991 HKU Faculty of Education

Seminar discussion Use the worksheet to list examples of parts of the information transfer cycle, for which information policies could be created, eg restrictions on the publication of types of information could be considered create in the information transfer cycle Post your views on the ILN forum HKU Faculty of Education

Information policy example :Australia Recent national information policy development statements include : Australia. Dept of Communications. Information technoogy & the Arts. 2004, Strategic Framework for the Information Economy 2004 - 2006: Opportunities and Challenges for the Information Age. See http://www.dcita.gov.au/communications_and_technology/policy_and_legislation/australias_strategic_frameworkfor a commentary HKU Faculty of Education

Information policy :Hong Kong ‘The Secretary for Home Affairs has overall responsibility for policy formulation on information & related matters, while the Director of Information Services advises the Government on the presentation of its policies, & on public relations matters generally, within Hong Kong & overseas. The main aims are to ensure an open exchange of information in the community & to keep the media fully informed of the Government's plans, policies & activities & to promote Hong Kong's image abroad’ HK yearbook, 2004 HKU Faculty of Education

Seminar discussion What do you think are : • The main information policy issues facing Hong Kong? • The main information policy issues facing China? For both of these questions you could consider the relationship of PRC with HK Post your views on the ILN forum HKU Faculty of Education

Information policy websites • ALIA http://www.alia.org.au/policies/online.information.use.html • Foundation for Information Policy Research http://www.fipr.org/ • IFLA http://www.ifla.org/II/libpol.htm Search IFLA’s site for other information policies HKU Faculty of Education

Information policy websites • Association of Research Libraries http://www.arl.org/info/ • Center for Information Policy, University of Maryland http://cip.umd.edu/ • Information Policy Internet Resources http://www2.sis.pitt.edu/~mweiss/infopol-resources.html HKU Faculty of Education

Information policy websites • Documents Center, University of Michigan http://www.lib.umich.edu/govdocs/dlinf.html • Treasury Board of Canada Secretariat http://www.tbs-sct.gc.ca/ip-pi/index_e.asp HKU Faculty of Education

References Burger, R. 1993. Information policy : A framework for evaluation & policy research. Ablex, Norwood, NJ. Hayes, R. Ed. 1985, Introduction. Libraries and the information economy of California. UCLA, Los Angeles CA. McClure, C. 1996, Libraries and federal information policy. Journal of Academic Librarianship 22 (May) p. 214-8 Mason, M. 1983. The federal role in library and information services. Knowledge Industry, White Plains, NY. HKU Faculty of Education

References Pal, 1997. Beyond policy analysis: Public issue management in turbulent times. PTP Nelson, Scarborough, Ont. Robertson, D. 1985, Penguin dictionary of politics. Penguin, London. Weingarten, F. 1989. Federal information policy development. In C. McClure, P. Hernon & H. Relyea. (Eds) United States Government information policies. Eds. Ablex, Norwood, NJ. HKU Faculty of Education

Introduction to policy, policy making & information policies