Practical Guide for Policy Analysis: The Eightfold Path to More Effective Problem Solving PDF
Preview Practical Guide for Policy Analysis: The Eightfold Path to More Effective Problem Solving
FIFTH EDITION PRACTICAL A GUIDE for POLICY ANALYSIS SAGE was founded in 1965 by Sara Miller McCune to support the dissemination of usable knowledge by publishing innovative and high-quality research and teaching content. Today, we publish more than 850 journals, including those of more than 300 learned societies, more than 800 new books per year, and a growing range of library products including archives, data, case studies, reports, and video. SAGE remains majority-owned by our founder, and after Sara’s lifetime will become owned by a charitable trust that secures our continued independence. Los Angeles | London | New Delhi | Singapore | Washington DC 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 FOR INFORMATION: Copyright 2016 by CQ Press, an Imprint of SAGE Publications, Inc. CQ Press is a registered trademark of Congressional Quarterly Inc. CQ Press An Imprint of SAGE Publications, Inc. All rights reserved. No part of this book may be 2455 Teller Road reproduced or utilized in any form or by any Thousand Oaks, California 91320 means, electronic or mechanical, including E-mail: [email protected] photocopying, recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system, without permission in SAGE Publications Ltd. writing from the publisher. 1 Oliver’s Yard 55 City Road Printed in the United States of America London EC1Y 1SP Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data United Kingdom 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. India pages cm SAGE Publications Asia-Pacific Pte. Ltd. Includes bibliographical references and index. 3 Church Street ISBN 978-1-4833-5946-5 (pbk. : alk. paper) #10-04 Samsung Hub Singapore 049483 1. Policy sciences. 2. Decision making. 3. Problem solving. I. Patashnik, Eric M. II. Title. H97.B37 2016 320.6—dc23 2015028146 This book is printed on acid-free paper. Acquisitions Editor: Sarah Calabi Editorial Assistant: Katie Lowry Production Editor: Jane Haenel Copy Editor: Patrice Sutton Typesetter: C&M Digitals (P) Ltd. Proofreader: Alison Syring Indexer: Robie Grant Cover Designer: Gail Buschman Marketing Manager: Amy Whitaker 15 16 17 18 19 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1 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
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