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THE DYNAMICS
OF PUBLIC POLICY: A
SYSTEMS MODEL
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Stages
• Stages of public policy
• problem identification and definition
• agenda setting
• policy formulation
• policy legitimation
• policy implementation
• policy change
• policy evaluation
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Policy Process Model

Policy Cycle
Problem definition/ Policy
Agenda setting evaluation
feedback

Policy formulation Policy change

Policy
Policy implementation
legitimation
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Stage One: Identifying Problems

• There are always a lot of problems and they can be

defined in different ways.

• Relatively few identified problems receive attention

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A political problem involves

• A perception that something is wrong

• A belief that the problem can be ameliorated by public

action
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Why Do Some Problems Receive

Attention?
• A. Problems-- that become an agenda item

• Issues that government officials and/or the public focus on

(fuel economy, clean air, unemployment)

• Issues mandated by law and/or commonly monitored (annual

reports to Congress, child vaccinations, education outcomes,
international events)

• Focusing events: the attacks on 9/11 and Hurricane Katrina

brought attention to America’s preparedness for disasters
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Politics and Participants

• B. Politics

• Problem becomes focus of attention because of a change in

administration—Romney versus Obama

• C. Because of the participants: Important people or

groups are interested in the problem

• president and staff

• congressional leadership
• media
• powerful interest groups
• judiciary
 Four types of Issue Agendas

Agendas can be classified in four groups…

 periodically recurring issues
 sporadically recurring issues
 crisis-based issues
 new or “chosen” issues

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Agendas as Political Power

• Establishing the agenda means control over policy

• Political power can be used to alter the agenda

• Political power can be used to keep issues off the agenda

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Agenda Setting

Problem stream

Opportunity for
Policy stream agenda items

Political stream
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Policy Formulation begins with Problem

Definition
• Can the problem or problems be
defined?
• What is the major problem or problems that need to be solved?

• Is there agreement on the basic

problem or problems?
• More often than not, agreement is
lacking or disputed.
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Stage Two: Policy Formulation

• Define policy alternatives that can be debated.

• Who’s involved? Very fragmented in American system.

• Members of Congress
• Executive/Bureaucracy
• Government Staffs
• Interest groups
• Judiciary
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Who designs or writes policies?

• The public bureaucracy—government agencies

• Select committees

• Think tanks

• Interest groups—generally very important

• Members of Congress and their staffs

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How are Policy Options or Solutions

vetted?

• Technical Feasibility/costs

• Consistency with community values

• Support from important groups

• Anticipation of future problems or constraints

• Debates between the political parties

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Example: Welfare Reform

Problems Identified and Debated

• Increases in the number of unemployed people on welfare

• Increases in the number of children born out-of-wedlock
• Increases in parental abandonment
• Increase in welfare costs
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Democratic Party Plan

• Require work of able-bodied adults and make sure work
pays a decent wage
• Improve child support enforcement
• Set up programs to prevent unwanted pregnancies (sex
education)
• Support work for adults with child care and health care
services
• Create public service and subsidized jobs
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Republican Plan
• Cap welfare spending
• Turn welfare over to the states
• Set lifetime limits on how long healthy adults can
receive welfare
• Allow states to use strong sanctions to force change in
habits
• Deny assistance to teens who become pregnant
• Eliminate aid to legal immigrants
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Compromise: New Legislation Passed in

1996

• Caps spending on central welfare program--TANF

• Turns welfare over to states, but sets guidelines
• Requires supported work of healthy adults
• Puts a lifetime limit on welfare enrollment
• Requires both parents to accept responsibility for children
• Funds abstinence sex education for teens
• Denies welfare to most legal immigrants

• A compromise but one that gave the Republicans most of

what they wanted.
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Stage Three: Policy Legitimation

• Policy has a better chance of being implemented as
intended if it is considered to be legitimate

• It is legitimate if:

• Citizens agree that government action is required and

appropriate—but there might be a lot of disagreement
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Stage Four: Policy Implementation

• Activities that put policies into effect

• Passing the required laws

• Formulating rules and regulations

• Allocating a budget

• Setting deadlines

• Assigning enforcement or implementation authority

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Implementation Often Involves Delegation

• To carry out the policy agencies may delegate power to

other government entities or even private subcontractors.
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Delegation of Authority Occurs when:

Government confers upon an administrative or private

subcontractors rulemaking power that it could exercise itself.
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Limits on Discretion
• Administrative Procedures passed into law limit the
authority of implementing agencies

• Congress and the executive branch establish

oversight procedures and requirements

• Example: The food stamp program in Texas

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Presidential Oversight of Policy

Implementation Includes
• Appointment Power
• Budgetary Power
• Reorganizations
• Guidelines for Enforcement
• Executive Orders
• Required evaluations
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Congressional Oversight of
Implementation Includes
Committee Hearings
• Budgetary Power
• Investigations (General Accounting Office)
• Informal (phone calls, letters, etc.)
• Enactment of a statute
• Deadlines
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Stage Five: Evaluation of Change

• Different types of changes
• direct vs. indirect
• short-term vs. long-term

• Evaluation puts information back into the policy process—

this is called feedback.

• Normally a policy has to be in effect for some time (even

years) before its impact can be measured.
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Developing Evaluation Criteria:

Some Examples

• Effectiveness, efficiency, fairness, political feasibility

• Are their unintended consequences

• Decide which criteria fit the problem(s)

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Evaluation may include

• Measurement of Change

• Listing of positive and negative changes

• Listing of changes that still need to be accomplished

• Cost-Benefit Analysis: How much has change cost?

• What is the ethical impact of the law?

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Stage Six: Feedback

• Information and data on impact of law or regulation is
communicated to government officials and public.

• Feedback plays a role in shaping amendments to exiting

laws or the passage of new laws.

• This is the learning stage.

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Incrementalism
• Since most policy problems are addressed in incremental
fashion –addressing part of the problem but not all of it-

• The feedback loop often results in the process starting

over, often building on the laws that have been
implemented.

• Sometimes the feedback process results in rejecting the

old approach in favor of a new direction.
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Policy Process Model

Policy Cycle
Problem definition/ Policy
Agenda setting evaluation
feedback

Policy formulation Policy change

Policy
Policy implementation
legitimation