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Planning Analysis: |
Decision-making Structures...Technocracy (or the technocratic approach) is defined as the application of technical knowledge, expertise, techniques, and methods to problem solving.
Three Types of Policy Decisions...
- Democracy refers to citizen involvement activities in relation to government planning and policy making.
- Technical decisions that are based solely on the application and extrapolation of scientific issues
- Value decisions are concerned with the resolution of important normative or societal issues. Value issues involve normative determinations of "what should be". Although scientific information can provide guidance with respect to value decisions, it is rarely the sole determinant
- Mixed decisions that have both technical and value components. Technical decisions rely on scientific techniques and extrapolations to determine the potential of "what is".
Rational Decisions...
A decision is rational to the extent that it is shown empirically to match the best available means of achieving a given end.
Characteristics of Policy Problems....
They are not well defined
- Their solutions cannot generally be proven to be correct before application
- No problem solution is ever guaranteed to achieve the intended result
- Problem solutions are seldom the best and the cheapest
- The adequacy of the solution is often difficult to measure against the "public good"
Basic vs. Researched Analysis....
| Researched Policy Analysis | Basic Policy Analysis |
| Extensive inventory phase | Limited inventory, focused on specific issues |
| Search for alternatives which are narrowed before public presentation | Constrained search for alternatives |
| Preparation of a plan | Preparation of memoranda, issue papers, policy papers of draft legislation |
| Client: the public interest | Specific client |
| Long-term process | Short-term process |
Policy Analysis Principles....
Learn to focus quickly on the central decision criterion of the problem
- Think about the types of policy actions that can be taken
- Avoid the tool-box approach to analyzing policy
- Learn to deal with uncertainty
- Say it with numbers
- Make the analysis simple and transparent
- Check the facts
- Give the client analysis, not decisions
- Push the boundaries of analysis beyond the "policy envelope"
- Be aware that there is no such thing as an absolutely correct, rational, and complete analysis
Policy Analysis Process....
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September 30, 2003