Practical Guide for Policy Analysis: The Eightfold Path to More Effective Problem Solving

225 Pages·2015·1.25 MB·English

by  Eugene Bardach

FIFTH EDITION
PRACTICAL
A

GUIDE for
POLICY
ANALYSIS
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FIFTH EDITION
PRACTICAL
A
GUIDE
for
POLICY
ANALYSIS
THE EIGHTFOLD PATH
TO MORE EFFECTIVE
PROBLEM SOLVING
Eugene Bardach
Richard and Rhoda Goldman School of Public Policy,
University of California, Berkeley
Eric M. Patashnik
Frank Batten School of Leadership and Public Policy,
University of Virginia
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Bardach, Eugene.
SAGE Publications India Pvt. Ltd. A practical guide for policy analysis: the eightfold
B 1/I 1 Mohan Cooperative Industrial Area path to more effective problem solving / Eugene
Mathura Road, New Delhi 110 044 Bardach and Eric Patashnik.—Fifth edition.
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ABOUT THE AUTHORS
Eugene Bardach has been teaching graduate-level policy analysis work-
shop classes since 1973 at the Goldman School of Public Policy,
University of California, Berkeley, in which time he has coached some
500 projects. He is a broadly based political scientist with wide-ranging
teaching and research interests. His focus is primarily on policy imple-
mentation and public management, and most recently on problems of
facilitating better interorganizational collaboration in service delivery
(e.g., in human services, environmental enforcement, fire prevention,
and habitat preservation). He also maintains an interest in problems of
homeland defense, regulatory program design and execution, particularly
in areas of health, safety, consumer protection, and equal opportunity.
Bardach has developed novel teaching methods and materials at Berkeley,
has directed and taught in residentially based training programs for
higher-level public managers, and has worked for the Office of Policy
Analysis at the US Department of Interior. He is the recipient of the 1998
Donald T. Campbell Award of the Policy Studies Organization for cre-
ative contribution to the methodology of policy analysis. This book is
based on his experience teaching students the principles of policy analy-
sis and then helping them to execute their project work.
Eric M. Patashnik teaches policy analysis at the Frank Batten School of
Leadership and Public Policy, University of Virginia. He previously held
faculty positions at Yale University and at the UCLA Luskin School of
v
vi ABOUT THE AUTHORS
Public Affairs. Patashnik is a Nonresident Senior Fellow of the Brookings
Institution, an elected fellow of the National Academy of Public
Administration, and the editor (beginning 2016) of the Journal of Health
Politics, Policy and Law. He received his master’s in public policy degree
from the Goldman School of Public Policy, University of California,
Berkeley. He served as associate dean for Academic Affairs of the Batten
School from 2009 to 2012. Patashnik’s research focuses on the politics of
American national policymaking, especially health policy, the welfare
state, and the role of Congress. He received the Jefferson Foundation
Award for excellence in teaching at UVA. He is the author or editor
of numerous books, including Reforms at Risk: What Happens After
Major Policy Changes Are Enacted, which won the Louis Brownlow Book
Award of the National Academy of Public Administration. Earlier in his
career, Patashnik was a legislative analyst for the US House Subcommittee
on Elections.
CONTENTS
PREFACE xi
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS xiii
INTRODUCTION xv
PART I
THE EIGHTFOLD PATH 1
Step One: Define the Problem 1
Step Two: Assemble Some Evidence 12
Step Three: Construct the Alternatives 18
Step Four: Select the Criteria 27
Step Five: Project the Outcomes 46
Step Six: Confront the Trade-Offs 65
Step Seven: Stop, Focus, Narrow, Deepen, Decide! 71
Step Eight: Tell Your Story 72
PART II
ASSEMBLING EVIDENCE 83
Getting Started 84
Locating Relevant Sources 86
Gaining Access and Engaging Assistance 93
vii
viii COnTEnTS
Conducting a Policy Research Interview 98
Using Language to Characterize and Calibrate 107
Protecting Credibility 108
Strategic Dilemmas of Policy Research 110
PART III
HANDLING A DESIGN PROBLEM 113
It’s a Production System 114
Crosswalks to the Eightfold Path 115
Define the Problem  Focus on a Primary Outcome 115
Construct the Alternatives  Configure the System’s
Organizational Structure and Its Operating Processes 116
Select the Criteria  Define the Objectives to Be Achieved 122
Project the Outcomes  Test Whether It Will Work 122
Confront the Trade-Offs  Examine the System
from Multiple Perspectives 123
Design a Transition Strategy 123
PART IV
“SMART (BEST) PRACTICES” RESEARCH: UNDERSTANDING AND
MAKING USE OF WHAT LOOK LIKE GOOD IDEAS FROM SOMEWHERE ELSE 125
Develop Realistic Expectations 125
Analyze Smart Practices 126
Observe the Practice 131
Describe Generic Vulnerabilities 135
But Will It Work Here? 136
Back to the Eightfold Path 139
APPENDIX A
SPECIMEN OF A REAL-WORLD POLICY ANALYSIS 141
Preface 141
Summary 142
Reducing Consumption: More
Enforcement against Typical Dealers 144
COnTEnTS ix
Reducing Consumption: More Enforcement
against Higher-Level Dealers 148
Reducing Cocaine-Related Crime 152
Conclusion 154
APPENDIX B
THINGS GOVERNMENTS DO 155
I. Taxes 155
II. Regulation 156
III. Subsidies and Grants 157
IV. Service Provision 158
V. Agency Budgets 159
VI. Information 160
VII. The Structure of Private Rights 160
VIII. The Framework of Economic Activity 161
IX. Education and Consultation 162
X. Financing and Contracting 162
XI. Bureaucratic and Political Reforms 163
APPENDIX C
UNDERSTANDING PUBLIC AND NONPROFIT INSTITUTIONS:
ASKING THE RIGHT QUESTIONS 165
Mission 165
Environment 165
Performance Measurement 166
Technology 167
Production/Delivery Processes 168
Frontline Workers and Co-Producers 169
Partners and Other Outsiders 169
Centralization/Decentralization 170
Culture and Communications 170
Politics 170
Leadership 171
Change 171