Outline the different stages of the policy process. Give examples to illustrate the differences in each stage.

Dorian Demanuele Lecturer: Mr. L. Xuereb

Contents

Introduction Initiation Formulation Implementation Evaluation Review Conclusion References Bibliography

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Introduction The act or process of setting and directing the course of action to be pursued by a government, business, etc.

The above is the definition of policy-making from a dictionary. It shows that, contrary to what many think, policy making is more than just decision making. It is a whole process. Usually, the process is divided in 5 stages initiation, formulation, implementation, evaluation and review.

Initiation stage A very common saying in English is Necessity is the mother of invention. All the great ideas in history came as a result of problems that emerged at the time. To a certain extent, this applies to policy as well. In most cases, policy originates as a response to a problem. A recent example concerns education in Malta. The government perceived the idea of streaming as a problem since streaming children from an early age may dishearten certain students. Therefore a solution needed to be found.

Of course, not all policies originate from the government. Other members of the civil society may put forward their ideas. The opposition, pressure groups, the media and the general public all can put pressure on the government to implement certain policies. The larger the number of parties involved, the more it is likely that certain policies will be implemented. Pressure may also be exerted from the EU. We can take for example the recent directives about hunting, and the consequent sanctions that may be applied if Malta does not adhere to these directives. Another important role is plated by the media, which has the ability to

amplify even small incidents and, by influencing public opinion, exerting pressure on the government.

Two other factors which one must consider at this stage are science and technology. A clear example is global warming. Without the use of science, it would be very difficult to note the small changes in the temperature, which in the long run could have devastating effects on our planet. However, following their studies, scientists made people aware of this increase in temperature and the possible effects on the planet. The application of science, that is technology, will help the government in deciding how the issue could be tackled.

Formulation stage Once the government is aware of the problem, the following step is the decision of what to do about the problem. This means that, while keeping in mind the present situation of the country, a policy is developed.

Various groups of people are involved in making public policy. In most cases, policy is made by officials appointed by the government, if not by members of government themselves. When necessary, they are supported by advisory commissions. Involved in this stage are also interest groups. The importance of these groups lies in the fact that in most of the cases they have technical knowledge about the matter. For instance, before the 2010 budget was approved by the parliament, both the GWU and the GRTU made their proposals, thereby offering some alternatives to the government.

Ultimately, all the parties that could potentially be affected by the proposed measures can make their proposals. This was clearly seen when a consultation document was presented

regarding he reform on special schools. In an article on The Times of Malta, it was stated that The minister encouraged people to give their feedback on the reform, which should start being implemented in the [following] scholastic year.

In deciding which course of action to take, the policy makers may consider certain practices already present in other countries. However, policy makers should keep in mind that each country has its unique situation, and therefore modifications need to be made to the policy to overcome certain national barriers.

There are two main models of policy formulation. If the rational model is used, first the goals are set and then the means for achieving such goals are chosen. On the other hand, using the incremental model, there is a gradual improvement to achieve the goals which are a compromise of all the parties involved. Obviously each method has its uses, with the rational model being more adequate for complex issues while the incremental model is more adequate where policy is continually changed. A good example of incremental policy is the governments vision for Eco-Gozo. In the Proposed Action 2010-2012, it is stated that the vision is:

Gozo will become an eco-island by 2020, supported by a keen and committed sustainable community. We want to see quality of life in Gozo improving further through education, economic development and social progress.

Undoubtedly, it is not possible to change Gozo into Eco-Gozo in one day. Therefore, a gradual change is needed over a number of years.

The final decision is usually take by the legislative branch of the state, that is, the parliament votes whether or not the policy should be implemented.

Implementation stage At this stage, work is transferred from the government to the administration, whose job is to enact the policies formulated in the previous stage. Most of the time, implementation is carried out by the government departments. For instance, in 2009, there was a reduction in the Income Tax. This law was enacted by the Department of Inland Revenue which is responsible to the government for the administration of the Income Tax and Capital Transfer Duty Acts and the enforcement of social security contributions under the direction of the Ministry of Finance.

However, there may be other bodies which implement policies. For instance, some policies are enacted by the judicial branch of the state. This usually happens when laws need to be enacted. In other cases, implementation may be left in the hands of agencies, who receive funds from the government. For instance, in 2009, the government wanted to reduce unemployment by offering more training and courses, especially to the unemployed. The implementation of such policy was left in the hands of the ETC, which receives funds both from government and the EU.

In implementing policy, it is necessary that the parties involved are realistic, both when it comes to the resources needed to complete the project as well as the time needed to complete the project. It is also necessary that those people implementing the policy communicate between them and that they understand the aim of the policy so that execution could be carried out better.

Compliance is important in this stage. In his book Public Policy-making, James E. Anderson states that All public policies are intended to influence or control human behaviour in some way, to induce people to act in accordance with governmentally prescribed rules or goals. Therefore it is necessary that citizens understand the importance of the laws so that they obey them. Otherwise, the laws will be useless and policy would have failed.

In this stage, there is a debate of whether to use the top-down approach or the bottom-up approach. Using the first approach, the executors follow the orders of policy-makers. The argument behind this method is that The act of implementation presupposes a prior act, particularly the act of formulating what needs to be done. (The Public Policy Process by Michael Hill) In other words, executors have no power to choose what to implement. Using the bottom-up approach, executors have more flexibility, and this allows them to cope with the changing world.

Evaluation Public Policy in theory and in Practice, states that this stage is important because it is both natural and logical that those who were part of that/those decision/s, or are responsible for administering the policy, should wish to follow the effects of their decisions or actions. What is actually done in this stage is checking whether the goals of the policy have been reached and whether further action needs to be taken.

For this stage to make sense, one must compare the results obtained from the policy with the objectives set in the initiation stage. At this stage it is important to make a distinction between outcome and output. Output refers to what the government actually does and it is

quantifiable. Outcome refers to the achievement of the government, which is harder to determine.

In making the evaluation, it is necessary that evaluators keep in mind that other factors may be changing. For instance, the government wants to decrease the unemployment rate by 2% points and implements certain policies. This decrease does actually happen but at the same time there is an unexpected boom, which contributed to the decrease. This means that the policy did not necessarily reach its goals. During this stage, it is necessary to remember that policies may have both short term and long term effects. Therefore, evaluators should be patient.

For the assessment to be done, the bottom-up approach is frequently used. This happens because feedback needs to be given mainly by those who are affected by the policy, both directly and indirectly. This is sometimes known as the stakeholder analysis. Clearly, there may be some who benefited and some who lost from a policy.

Another technique available to the evaluators is the cost-benefit analysis. In this case, one has to consider both the direct costs/benefits as well as the indirect costs/benefits, known as externalities. The importance of externalities, as James E. Anderson sees it is that Most of the outcome of public policies can be most meaningfully understood in terms of externalities. Obviously, not all costs and benefits are in terms of money.

A final thing to be considered in this stage is the sustainability of project and the impact it may have on the government finances.

Review Following the evaluation in the previous stage, the policy-makers have to decide what action to take. Generally, speaking, there are three courses of action that could be taken. These are continuation, revision or termination of the policy. If on the previous stage it was discovered that the policy is reaching its pre-stated objectives, then there is no need to change. If part of the results is achieved, then the policy is revised. If the policy is not reaching its objectives, then it is logical to terminate it.

However, according to Bardach, termination seldom occurs for a number of reasons. The most important reason is politics. People prefer innovative politics rather than ones who remove outdated policies. Moreover, by removing their own policies, politicians would be admitting their failure, especially in the light of the fact that policies are designed to last long. Policy termination could bring with it instability, both by affecting other policies, as well as by bringing conflicts between parties.

Still, termination does happen. For instance, in March 2009, the upper chamber of Italian parliament passed a law which allowed the Italian prime minister to suspend cases against him in court by 18 months. However, in October of the same year, the constitutional court struck off the law, saying that this immunity violated the principle that all citizens were equal.

With time, some legislations inevitably have to change because society changes. As Isaac Asimov said, It is change, continuing change, inevitable change, that is the dominant factor in society today. So while 30 years ago it made sense to force those females who got

married to stop working, presently it doesnt make any sense because of changes in the standard of living and trends of society.

Finally, one should note that to a certain extent, the review stage includes the other four stages. Therefore, it follows that policy-making is not only a process but also a cycle.

Conclusion Since policy making is a process, each step leads to another. Therefore, before moving to the following stage, it should be assured that all analysis and work was done correctly. In this way, errors would be minimised. Everyone involved in the process, from the legislators in parliament to the general public, must keep in mind that after all policy aims at giving the general public a better life.

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References Anderson, J. E. (1984) Public Policy-Making Third Edition. USA. University of London. Hill, M. (2005) The Public Policy Process. England. Pearson Education Ltd. Pollitt, C. et al. (1979) Public Policy in theory and in Practice. Great Britain. The Open University.

BBC News (October 8, 2009) Berlusconi immunity law overruled. Retrieved April 26, 2010. http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/8295716.stm Goodreads Inc. (2010) Quotes by Isaac Asimov. Retrieved April 26, 2010. http://www.goodreads.com/author/quotes/16667.Isaac_Asimov Inland Revenue Department website. Retrieved April 26, 2010. http://www.gov.mt/frame.asp?l=2&url=http://www.ird.gov.mt LoveToKnow, Corp. (1996-2010) Your Dictionary: Definition of Policymaking. Retrieved April 26, 2010. http://www.yourdictionary.com/policymaking Ministry for Gozo (Novermber 2009) Eco-Gozo. A Better Gozo. Proposed Action 2010-2012. Retrieved April 26, 2010. http://www.eco-gozo.gov.mt/pdfs/EcoGozo_proposed_action%202010_2012.pdf Reuters (April 19, 2009) Italy court seeks ruling on Berlusconi's immunity. Retrieved April 26, 2010. http://www.reuters.com/article/idUSLDE63I0WT20100419 The Times of Malta (July 10, 2009) Special schools reform launched. Retrieved April 26, 2010. http://www.timesofmalta.com/articles/view/20090710/local/special-schoolsreform-launched

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Bibliography Baldacchino, G. (2000) Introducing Social Studies. Malta. PEG Ltd. Colebatch , H. K. (2005) Policy. UK. Open University Press.

Budget 2010 Website Retrieved April 26, 2010. https://www.budget2010.com.mt/media_en.htm Slack, B. (1998-2010) The Policy Process. Retrieved April 26, 2010. http://people.hofstra.edu/geotrans/eng/ch9en/conc9en/ch9c2en.html

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