Phases of Public Policymaking

1. Phases of Public Policymaking Pardee RAND Graduate School Gery Ryan gery@rand.org 2016

2. What is Policy? Class Exercise • Write your own 1-sentence definition of policy • List 5 examples of policies • Write your own 1-sentence definition of policy analysis

3. What is Policy? • Big and small policy • Policy-with-a-capital-P • Policy-with-a-small-p • Formal and informal • Explicit laws, rules, regulations • Implicit rules and expectations • Decisions policy makers will make • What to buy • Who to appoint

4. Policy Problems Come In Many Different Flavors Class Exercise • Write down 2 policy problems you would like to address?

5. How Do You Know There is a Problem? • If you observe change: • Deviations from norm • Changes or differences • Over time • Across groups • Across social and physical environments • Increases in consequences • Morbidity • Mortality • Costs (to whom) • Level of precision required depends on stage of problem evolution Policy problems are best expressed as too much or too little of something.

6. What is Policy Analysis? • The process of using systematic research to get better and more effective policies • It is what policy analysts do • Decision-makers/lever-pullers • Academics/critics • Advisors/Whisperers • Insiders • Outsiders

7. The Evolution of a Policy Problem and the Roles of Policy Analysts 5. Scaling Solutions Scalers Summative Evaluators 4. Evaluating Solutions Process Evaluators Implementers 3. Generating & Implementing Solutions Intervention Developers Policy Formulators 2. Examining the Problem Problem Assessors/Framers 1. Identifying & Defining the Problem Problem Measurers & Trackers Problem Identifiers Know where you are in a problem’s evolution and get ahead of the curve.

8. Intervention Design What is the nature of the problem? How large is the problem? Who does it affect? What factors account for the problem? What are the potential interventions? Which interventions are optimal? Outcome or Summative Evaluations Formative Evaluation Process Evaluation Outcome Analysis What are the outcomes of the intervention? How large is the effect? Who is most affected? What Does the Policymaker Want to Know? How do we build good interventions? Intervention Modification How well is the intervention being implemented? Who is benefiting most from the intervention? How could it be improved? How do we know if interventions are effective? Exploration of Mechanisms To what degree was the intervention being implemented as planned? What mechanisms account for the size of the intervention effect? Why did some benefit more from the intervention than others? How could the intervention be modified to improved effect sizes?

9. Policy Analysis Is About Choices 1. What is the phenomenon of interest? 3b. How will you collect or obtain this information? 5b. How will you interpret the results? 4. How will this data be managed and readied for analysis? 6a. To whom do you need to communicate your results? 2a. What is the policy problem? 5a. How will you analyze the data to address you research question? 3a. What information needs to be collected or available? 6b. How and through which channels will you communicate your results? 2b. What is the research question? 1. Selection & Understanding of Phenomenon 3. Data Collection 5. Analysis & Interpretation 2. Problem Identification 4. Data Management 6. Communication & Dissemination Phases of Policy Analysis

10. Policies Affect Different Parts of Societies and Cultures 4 1 Social Orgs. Social Orgs. Individuals Beliefs, Attitudes & Values Individuals Individuals 2 Social Orgs. Decision Environment + Behavior 3 Social Orgs. Individuals

11. For Social Systems To Work, Actors Must Be Socially Accountable To Each Other • Actors have roles & responsibilities • Roles are tied to expectations & standards • Roles are incentivized (i.e., rewards & punishments) • Performance of roles are monitored • Performance is evaluated • Consequences are meted out based on evaluations • Actors must have adequate capacity to meet expectations • Actors must have appropriate resources to perform roles Accountability is a social system’s glue – it is the system’s quality control and feedback mechanism