Debre Birhan University

College of Business and Economics

Department of Management
Master of Project Management
Public Policy Formulation and Implementation

PMGT 5002

By: Buzeye Zegeye (Ph.D.)

 About
BUZEYE ZEGEYE
Ph.D., MBA, MPA, BA, BED, JICA Business Advisor, UNCTAD
certified Entrepreneurship trainer, Member of Board of Director
for Gebrihier Industry and Service S.C, Chair Person of Board of
Director for Finote Lihiket Trading S.C, Researcher, Founder and
member of Zemen Postgraduate College, Founder and member
of DBH Management Consulting PLC
The general objectives of the course are, therefore, to:
1. Advance the study of public policy formulation and implementation as a major topic of
the social sciences and of human thought in general, and that of public administration in
particular,
2. Spotlight the dynamics and evolutionary changes in the understanding, approaches, and
contents of public policies,
3. Examine the possibilities for closing the gap between actual policymaking and better
possible policymaking by giving special attention to policy knowledge and indicating the
ways to encourage better integration on knowledge and decision making power, and
4. Contribute to the improvement of public policymaking/formulation and implementation
CHAPTER ONE: Introduction
Meaning of Public Policy
• Policy refers to a broad statement that reflects future goals and
aspirations and provides guidelines for carrying out those goals.
• Hill (1993) defines ‘policy’ as ‘the product of political influence,
determining and setting limits to what the state does’.
• To be more precise, when a government takes a decision or chooses a
course of action in order to solve a social problem and adopts a specific
strategy for its planning and implementation, it is known as public policy
(Anderson 1975)
Cont’d…

According to Rumki Basu (1994:270), a policy can be broadly defined as

a "proposed course of action of an individual, a group, an institution or
government, to realize a specific objective or purpose within a given
environment".

The policy is a set of interrelated decisions taken by a political actor or

group of actors concerning the selection of goals and the means of
achieving them within a specified situation.
Cont’d…

Policy has been defined as "a matter of either the desire for change or
the desire to protect something from change" (Barber, 1983:59).

A policy is typically described as a principle or rule to guide

decisions and achieve rational outcome/s.

A purposive course of action based on societal values,

followed in dealing with a matter or concern, and predicting the
outcome that would result from the achievement of the
purpose.
Distinctive Characteristics of Policies

Authoritative

Enforceable

Flexible and adaptable

Feasible

Clear/Transparent

Consultative
The Meaning of Public Policy

Public policy has been defined differently, which is a reflection of its

multi-faceted nature, yet all draw elements of public decisions, choices,

positions and statements of intents.

Policy can be broadly defined as a proposed course of action of an

individual, a group, an institution or a government to realize a specific

objective or purpose within a given environment.

Cont’d…

Marshall Dimnock defines it as “the consciously acknowledged rules of

conduct that guide administrative decisions.”

 Public policies are those, which are developed by governmental bodies

and officials, though non-governmental actors and agencies may also

exert direct or indirect pressure or influence in the policymaking process

“public policy is simply whatever governments choose to do or not do”.

Cont’d…

Public policy can be comprehensively defined as a "purposive and

consistent course of action produces as a response to a perceived
problem of constituency, formulated by a specific political process;
adopted, implemented and enforced by a public agency.“

Policy serving as the enabling and guiding framework for

government in all sectors and at all levels.
Cont’d…

Public policy is all about:

The intention of the legislator authority towards society

The direction in which the legislator wants to steer society

The Utilization of national resources

Feature of Public Policy

First, purposive or result oriented action rather than random behavior is

the hallmark of public policy. Public policies in modern political systems

are not chance happenings.

Second, public policy refers to the action or decisional pattern by public

administrators on a particular issue over a period rather than their

separate discrete decisions on that matter in an ad hoc fashion.

Third, policy is what governments actually do and what subsequently

happens, rather than what they intend to do or say they are going to do.
Fourth, public policy may be either positive or negative in form.

Positively, it may involve some form of government action regarding any

issue or problem; negatively, it may involve a decision by government

officials not to take action on a matter on which governmental opinion,

attitude or action is asked for.

• Fifth, public policy, at least in its positive form, is based on law and is
authoritative. It has a legal sanction behind it, which is potentially
coercive in nature and is binding on all citizens. This is the main point of
difference between public policy and policies of private organizations.
Chapter Two: Policy Formulation
Cont’d…
• Policy formulation is necessary prior to every action in every form of
organization, private, or public. It is a prerequisite for all management at
different levels.
• Policy formulation is quite a critical phase of the policy process. The
success or failure of a policy depends mainly upon the policy designs and
policy formulation processes.
• Dimock defines policy formulation as "the consciously acknowledged
rules of conduct that guide administrative decisions"
Cont’d…
• Policymaking occurs in the determination of major objectives, in the
selection of methods of achieving these and in the continuous
adaptation of existing policies to the problems that face a government.
• Policy formulation involves the process of identifying and crafting a set
of policy alternatives to address a problem and narrow down the
alternatives to arrive at a final policy decision.
Cont’d…
• According to Cochran and Malone, policy formulation takes up the
“what” questions: “What is the plan for dealing with the problem? What
are the goals and priorities? What options are available to achieve those
goals? What are the costs and benefits of each of the options? What
externalities, positive or negative, are associated with each alternative?”
Cont’d…

As Dye puts it, policy formulation takes place in government

bureaucracies, in interest group offices, in legislative committee rooms,

in meetings of special commissions, in think tanks with details often

formulated by staff.
Public Policy Formulation Process

1.Phase one: Initiation

Step 1: Agenda-setting/issue (problem) identification

Step 2: Policy instruments

Step 3: Policy Analysis

Step 4: Stakeholder engagement, consultation and co-ordination

Cont’d…

2. Phase two: Generation

Step 5: Policy formulation, decision-making and policy drafting

3. Phase Three: Implementation

Step 6: Policy Implementation

4. Phase Four: Evaluation

Step 7: Policy Monitoring and evaluation

Step One: Agenda –Setting/problem Identification
• Process of identifying policy issues/problems, which requires the
attention of a legislator
• Process wherein the members of the society identify their needs, desires
and demands and wherein a legislator decides to place these issues on
the agenda for deliberation
Cont’d…
• The setting of the policy agenda allows a legislator to become sensitized
to some of the critical policy requirements that affect society
• Issue identification can be conducted by forecasting the future with the
use of extrapolative techniques such as Delphi techniques,
brainstorming and scenario sketching
• The origin/source of the various organizational policy-related issues
• Prioritization of issues
Step Two: Policy Instruments/Sources
• Legislation and government policy and priorities
• Taxation (the budget)
• Persuasion (and the public pressure)
• Inspection and Audits
• Minutes of meetings
• Legislative records
• Provisions of services
• Newsletters, media briefings and Community meetings
Step Three: Policy Analysis
• Step-by-step way of unpacking and understanding policy choices and
comparing possible outcome
• policy analysis needs to explore as rationally and honestly as possible
the implementations and possible outcomes of adopting policy
• The importance and value of continual policy analysis
• Policy analysis is an attempt to determine the costs and benefits of
various alternatives or to evaluate the validity of existing policies. E.g.
Force field analysis
• Policy analysis is an attempt to bring about and transform information
pertinent to particular policies to resolve problems pertaining to those
policies
 The value and Benefits of Policy Analysis
• To determine whether they are in effect contributing towards the
general well-being of society and/or serving the best interests of
organizational stakeholders.
• The making of rational choice in policy
Cont’d…
• Assists the stakeholders in policy to comprehend the importance of
values, particular interest and business considerations.
• Compares not only objectives or resources, but also alternative
programs. It makes errors easy to identify by working with historical
contexts and bears in mind that senior managers must implement
policies and that citizens are involved.
6-step Policy Analysis Process
1. Identify the underlining values and aspirations
2. Understand the problem in its context
3. Identify the alternative courses of actions
4. Decide which dimensions of the problem are most important
5. Predict the likely outcomes of different courses of action
6. Measure the chosen course of action against important values and
aspirations
Step Four: Stakeholders Engagements, Consultation and Coordination
• Objectives: To ensure accountability, responsiveness and openness and
upholding the right to access to any information held by the state.
• Constant interaction with society
• Extensive consultation and coordination between the various stakeholders
• Interest group e.g. civic society; associations and loyyyists
• Public participation
Stakeholder Engagement strategy
• Step 1: Identify stakeholders
• Step 2: Prioritize stakeholders
• Step 3: get to know and understand stakeholders
• Step 4: Stakeholder relationship management
Step Five: Policy Formulation and Adoption
Factors to consider
• Policy recommendations are normally drafted by senior managers and
then referred to higher management authority for deliberation.
Approval and adoption
• It remains the responsibility of the highest decision making authority
(executive powers) to approve or reject a particular policy
recommendation
• The matter could be referred back to management for further
investigation
• A policy-maker or decision maker has to be sure of the ability of officials
to actually execute a policy-administrative, operational, and managerial
capacity to implement the decision.