Policy making and policy-capacity building

1. Policy making and policy-capacity building Prof. Tatiana Tomova tatiana.tomova@sclg.uni-sofia.bg

2. Introduction

3. Introduction

4. Policy concept • The notion: Whatever the government decides to do or to do not; • Behind the concept: the changed role of the State; • The Policy community: Horizontal interaction between State and Society actors • The interaction content: the trade of interest and influence

5. The related notions • Policy stakeholders: the groups, organizations or persons with influence and/or interest in the policy result • Policy objectives, instruments, results • Policy rationality: to achieve the policy objectives at reasonable price • Policy effectiveness: the grade of the policy objective achievement • Policy efficiency: the relation between the cost ant the benefits

6. The consequences of the policy concept use • The policy is the variable, the process traits are the factors; • The policy rationality depends on the Process parameters: the stakeholders and their interaction, the time for decision, the problem information etc.; • The policy rationality increase depends on the policy process parameters improvement.

7. Thesis • The main factors for the policy rationality is the rational behavior of the stakeholders, That means • Every stakeholder advocate its own interest And • Has the capacity for policy analysis

8. Stakeholders analysis in the area of child poverty: Table of stakeholders’ interest

9. Stakeholders analysis in the area of child poverty: table of interest and influence

10. Stakeholders analysis in the area of child poverty: Matrix of importance and influence

11. Policy analysis in six steps (Carl V. Patton) • Verify, define and detail the problem; • Establish evaluation criteria; • Identify alternative policies; • Evaluate alternative policies; • Display and distinguish among the alternative policies; • Monitoring the implementing policy.

12. The issues • The measurement of poverty • Relative against Absolute poverty: Not either, the both. (The European approach - Might it be contested?) • Standards to measure the relative poverty – comparison with whom? • The income – is it the unique measure? • The house conditions; • The consumption • Access to the culture • The entertainments

13. The problem identification: the problem tree

14. The issue • Which problem is more important: • The poverty existence, the size of poverty; • The poverty gap, the difference between the people on the level of poverty threshold and the poorest people; • The poverty persistence; • The poverty of the special groups;

15. The issues • Which is focal problem: • Those perceived as a focal by the stakeholders? • Those measured as a focal? • Not either, the both

16. The issues • Causes: • The lone-parenthood; • The low incomes of the household • The size of the household • The unemployment • The social policy

17. The issues • The effects • Drop-off the school • Teen pregnancy and early marriages • The criminality among young people • The risk behavior • The health problems • The persistence of poverty

18. The objectives tree • To transform the statements of the problems tree into desirable outcomes • What to do??? with • The lone-parenthood; • The low incomes of the household • The size of the household • The unemployment • The social policy

19. The criteria • Cost • Net benefit • Effectiveness • Efficiency • Equity • Administrative ease • Legality • Political acceptability

20. The issue • The efficiency against the equity? • How the equity achievement can be done in an efficient way??? The current answer: • Targeted (to the groups in need) programs • Sectoral (targeted to the special needs) programs • Programs management

21. The alternatives • To diminish the taxes / To increase the family allowances • Universal approach/ targeted approach • To give chances/to give benefits • To support families (parents)/ to support children

22. The choice of alternative • There is not an uncontested alternative • The political approach: The alternative approved by stakeholders seems the better solution; • The rational approach: The alternatives should be assessed through the criteria; • How to match the political and rational approach?

23. The Policy evaluation and monitoring • How to ensure the appropriate implementation of the policies and the out-comes achievement • Indicators for the desirable results: • The share of the pupils dropped-off the school; • The share of the pupils in the integrated schools • The share of the pupils in the out-school educational forms • The decrease of the infant mortality • The limitation of the risk behavior • The share of the children in the institutions • The share of the children executed crime • The number of the abused children.

24. The Policy capacity • Two types of actors: of the State and of the Society • Three axes of the policy capacity: • Institutional: • The procedures of horizontal coordination and participation • The institutional capacity of the NGO sector • Knowledge: • Skills for policy analysis • Ethical • Public responsibility

25. Thank you