1. Scholars have developed various public policy
making models over the years in an attempt to
explicate the process and to teach students and
practitioners how to make public policy. Some scholars
study the policy process generally and try to develop a
knowledge base that can be applied across policy
domains.
The following are some of the models of policy making. These
are not the only theories/models.
2. Policy is a product, authoritatively determined,
implemented and evaluated by the government institutions:
Congress, presidency, other elective officials and the
bureaucracies both local and national.
In this model, a policy does not become a public policy
until it is legitimized by government entity concerned.
Government policies provide legal powers that demand
obligations from and command loyalty of the citizens. This type
of policy has its concomitant punitive components.
The structure of the various government institutions
contribute to the context of public policy. The Constitution
serves as the highest kind of policy to which all other policies
must subscribe. Laws passed by Congress, executive orders and
judicial decisions come second in terms of relevance and
priority.
3. The relationship among these political
and administrative institutions of government
determine to a large extent the content of
public policy. This also clearly describes and
visualizes how the doctrine of separation of
powers operates as well as the politics-
administration dichotomy.
4. President recommends legislation; may convene Congress; may veto legislation
Congress creates departments &
LEGISLATIVE appropriates money; confirms EXECUTIVE
BRANCH appointments; can override veto and BRANCH
impeach President
JUDICIAL
BRANCH
Source: Dye (1995)
5. A theoretical model of how public policy decisions are (or perhaps ought to be)
taken. All possible options or approaches to solving the problem under study are
identified and the costs and benefits of each option are assessed and compared with each
other. The option that promises to yield the greatest net benefit is selected.
Rational policy is one that achieves “maximum social gain”; that is,
governments should choose policies resulting in gains to the society that
exceeds cost by the greatest amount, and governments should refrain from
policies if costs are not exceeded by gain.
Basic Assumptions of Rational Model
•System is stable;
•The government is a rational and unitary actor and that its actions are
perceived as rational choices;
•The policy problem is unambiguous;
•Well defined objectives are established; alternatives and consequences
are known; preferences are clear; there are no limitations of time or cost;
and,
•Policy as maximum social advantage that maximizes the economic
benefit.
6. Rational-Comprehensive Model
1. Establishment
of complete set of
operational goals
with weights
4.
6.
INPUT
3. Prepara Compari-
All resources Preparation of 5. son of net
needed for complete set -tion of
Calcula- expecta-
pure complete OUTPUT
of alternative
rationality tion of net tions and
policies set of Pure
process expecta- identifica-
predic- rationality
tion for tion of
tions of policy
each alterna-
benefits
alternative tive/s with
and costs
highest net
for each
expectation
All data alternative
needed for
2. Establishment
pure
rationality of complete
process inventory of other
values and of
resources with
weights
7. Simply put, all considerations are looked into before the
decision is made. But is this the reality in decision making?
There are a lot of assumptions, requirements without which the
rational decision model is a failure. Therefore, they all have to be considered.
The model assumes that we have or should or can obtain adequate
information, both in terms of quality, quantity and accuracy. It further assumes
that you have or should or can obtain substantive knowledge of the cause and
effect relationships relevant to the evaluation of the alternatives. In other
words, it assumes that you have a thorough knowledge of all the alternatives
and the consequences of the alternatives chosen.
The following are the limitations for the Rational Decision Making Model:
requires a great deal of time
requires great deal of information
assumes rational, measurable criteria are available and agreed upon
assumes accurate, stable and complete knowledge of all the
alternatives, preferences, goals and consequences
assumes a rational, reasonable, non – political world
8. The main problem with rational-
comprehensive approaches is that it is often very
costly in terms of time and other resources that
must be devoted to gathering the relevant
information. Often the costs and benefits of the
various options are very uncertain and difficult to
quantify for rigorous comparison. The costs of
undertaking rational-comprehensive decision-
making may themselves exceed the benefits to be
gained in improved quality of decisions.
.
10. The incremental model emphasizes the structured sequence
of activities that are leading to the solution to a problem.
This model suggests that major decisions are broken down in
small steps taking place in three major phases: the identification,
development, & selection phases.
Incremental trial-and-error process is needed to solve a big
problem in small steps. When roadblocks are hit, decision
making can recycle back to the last known good state. The policy
process is one of disjointed incrementalism or muddling through.
Make incremental decisions to achieve an objective and avoid
total commitment to a decision you cannot change if the stakes
are high and the situation allows. In each small step you do not
fundamentally “rock the boat”.
11. Characteristics of Incrementalism (muddling through)
•Public policy deals with moving targets;
•The process is not completely rational, analysis is limited, information is
ambiguous and subject to interpretation;
•Different stakeholders may hold varied opinions about means and ends;
•The process of mutual adjustment of many actors with their own interests and
perceptions about what is the public interest or good;
•Helps to forge compromise and reduce unnecessary conflicts;
Helps to build legitimacy; and,
Forecasting helps decision making in uncertain contexts; yet, the political short
term may remain the main concern (e.g. elections).
12. Incrementalism is the antithesis of intrusive
central planning, which can create rigid work systems
unable to deal with the actual problems faced at the
grassroots level.
Some scholars point to a danger associated with
focusing on incremental decision rather than "systemic
overhaul." The danger is that any solutions reached will
involve only relatively insignificant changes for the existing
conflict situation and that these changes will be made "only
at the margin." Radical innovations may be lost if parties are
overly cautious in their attempts to come to an agreement.
14. The multiple streams model of policy-making is defined by J.W.
Kingdon (1984).
The model which focuses more on the flow and timing of policy
action than on its component steps, is useful in understanding the
complexities and realities of policy-making.
In this model, particular attention is paid to three streams:
the problem stream, the policy stream, and the political stream, which
move independently through the policy system
As noted by Porter and Hicks, this model aims to explain why
some issues and problems become prominent in the policy agenda and
are eventually translated into concrete policies, while others never
achieve that prominence. Kingdon’s starting point is the "garbage can
model" of policy-making, developed in 1972 by Cohen, March, and Olsen.
This model contradicts the rational approach to decision-making, claiming
that policies are not the product of rational actions, because policy actors
rarely evaluate many alternatives for action and because they do not
compare them systematically.
15. Kingdon’s model underlines the
existence of three distinct, but
complementary, processes, or
streams, in policy-making. It is the
coupling of these streams that
allows, at a given time and in a
given context, for a particular issue
to be turned into a policy.
16. The emergence of a major problem or issue,
the proposal of a solution, and a conclusive
political climate are important factors in order for
a problem to be placed on the government’s
agenda. The arrival of a window of opportunity is
also usually required for the government to take a
problem into consideration. Such a window of
opportunity may be predictable (e.g. an election)
or unpredictable (e.g. a crisis).
17. The problem steam
The rationale behind this stream is that a given situation has to
be identified and explicitly formulated as a problem or issue for it to
bear the slightest chance of being transformed into a policy.
A situation that is not defined as a problem/issue, and for which
alternatives are never envisaged or proposed, will never be converted
into a policy. The feeling that a current or foreseen situation is wrong
and that something should, and can, be done to modify and/or improve
it is thus a prerequisite for turning an issue into a policy.
Moreover, it is necessary to be able to demonstrate that the
problems mentioned can actually be attributed to causes within human
control and thus that action can be taken to change the situation.
18. The solution stream
This stream is concerned with the formulation of policy
alternatives and proposals.
New policies will never be shaped if there are no ideas or
policy proposals on which they can be based and
developed.
An important aspect of the streams model developed by
Kingdon is linked to the idea that such proposals and
solutions, which must be technically feasible, are not initially
built to resolve given problems; rather they float in search of
problems to which they can be tied.
19. The political stream
Although they take place independently of
the other two streams, political events, such as an
impending election or a change in government, can
lead a given topic and policy to be included or
excluded from the agenda.
Indeed, the dynamic and special needs
created by a political event may change the
agenda.
20. It is not always necessary for all three streams to meet
simultaneously for a policy to develop. In some cases, partial couplings,
the convergence of two of the streams, are sufficient.
Contrary to the other models, the streams model does not
picture the policy-making process as one that involves steps and
stages.
Rather, it views the policy process as the result of the
intersection of at least two independent streams at one time. In this
model, there is no chronological sequence or priority among the
streams.
Streams act and react according to their own logic, until a
window of opportunity is opened and two or more streams coincide and
become a policy.
21. This model shows that the top of political and economic hierarchies set
the institutional agenda (top-bottom style). It focuses on who sets the agenda.
Elites include political officials, corporate representatives, interest groups, and
other influential people and institutions.
Agenda setting is viewed as follows:
Elites on their own randomly select issues they
specialize in, or observe hierarchies like congressional
committee structure.
Society’s elites may select issues that serve their own
interests and ignore the public’s interest.
The elitist model has the following key assumptions:
there exists a dominant class (elites) that monopolize political
power; and,
ordinary citizens (the masses) have relatively little power over
matters that are of concern to elites
23. Policies may be classified in many different ways. They help us
to understand when there is likely to be a conflict over the adoption,
enactment, and implementation of policies. The following are samples
of several different types of policies:
a.Reactive and Proactive policy
b.Substantive and Administrative policy
c.Vertical and horizontal policy
d. Redistributive and distributive policy
24. Reactive policy emerges in response to a concern or crisis from the
internal or external environments by:
resolving problems and issues
meeting stakeholder/public concerns
reacting to decisions by other governments, other levels of
government, or other departments with intersecting or
interrelated mandates
allocating fiscal resources, natural resources, etc.
reacting to media attention (generally adverse)
reacting to crises or emergencies.
25. Proactive policy is introduced and pursued through deliberate choice. It
regularly scans its operating environment, identifying potential issues
and factors that could affect the organization and predicts and prepares
to mitigate contingency through:
Planning
strategic management
risk management
criteria selection
priority making
26. Substantive policy is concerned with the legislation, programs and
practices that govern the substantive (content) of what the community needs. It
is about particular and specific issues - what government does.
Administrative or procedural policy focuses largely upon administrative
procedures. It is a policy that structures how the political process works - how
the government does things
27. Vertical policy is the normal or traditional
way in which policy decisions are made. It is
developed within a single organizational structure
and generally starts with broad overarching policy,
sometimes called “corporate” or “framework” policy.
Decisions are made at head office and guide
subsequent decisions throughout the organization.
At the regional level, regional or “strategic” policy is
developed, which translates the national decisions
to the regional level, taking into consideration the
specific requirements of the locus.
28. Department Secretary
(HEAD OFFICE)
Bureau Bureau Bureau
Regional Office Regional Office Regional Office Regional Office
Division Division Division
29. Horizontal policy-making, referred to as
integrated policy, is developed by two or more
organizations, each of which has authority or ability
to deal with only a part of the situation. It is created
among organizational components that are similar
in hierarchical position.
Horizontal issues are challenging because so
many players control one tool, one key. All of the
keys need to be aligned to bring a suitable and
appropriate result.
31. Other Classification of Policies
Process Primary Policy
Type Scope Applicable Duration Characteristics Makers
Statutory Societal Governs Practice In Force Until In Force Until Public
Succeeded By Succeeded By
Constitution / Norm Of Individuals & Deliberation
• Constitutional • Constitutional
Charter Organizations & Notice
Amendment Amendment
Laws Throughout
• New Law • New Law
Appellate Court Jurisdiction (i.e.
• Appellate Court • Appellate Court
Decisions State/Nation)
Decision Decision
-Fiscal Policy Resources For • Fiscal Period Public • Legislative &
Implementation Priority Policies Deliberation & Executive
Annual Budget • Subject To
Notice Approval
Revision Or
Acts &
Repeal By Plenary • University
Resolutions
Body Trustees
32. Process Primary Policy
Type Scope Applicable Duration Characteristics Makers
-Regulatory • Within Governs Practice Subject To • Agency Action. Cabinet Officers
Scope Of Of Individuals & Revision Or & Agency
Administrative • Public Notice
Primary Organizations In Repeal By Directors
Rules • Legislative
Policy. A Specific Policy Plenary Body Or
Approval.
Area Agency Action
• Force of Law
Institutional • Define Govern Agency/ Subject To • Internal • Agency Officials
Operating Institutional Staff Revision Or Organizational
Policy Manual & • University
Policies & Consumers Repeal By Process.
Trustees &
Standards.
Plenary Body Or
• Professional • Limited Public Administration
Tenure & Agency Action
Standards Notice
Faculty
Appointment
Articulation
Agreements
33. Public interest: The common good has to be balanced against the
private or special interests. The process should be fully inclusive for
those often overlooked or unable to participate.
Effectiveness: Does the policy achieve its stated goals?
Efficiency: Are resources fully utilized in achieving goals and
implementing policy?
Economy: Objective and procedures done at the least cost.
Consistency: Aligned with the broader goals of government and the
Constitution.
Fairness and equity: Is the policy fair and just to all members and
sectors of society.
Reflective: Is policy in consonance with values of freedom, security,
diversity, communality, choice, and privacy
34. Socially acceptable: Citizens and interest groups accept
that the policy reflects their important values, e.g.,
fairness and equity, consistency, justice.
Politically viable: The policy has the support of elected
officials and they are comfortable with the decision.
Technically correct: The policy complies with scientific or
technical criteria established to guide or support the
decision.
Participative: Demands from the general public, or
"bottom up" initiatives, can be as influential as "top
down" directives. Educated and informed public can be
mobilized to demand and support desired initiatives.
35. I. Identify an area or problem where a public policy was
established. What model/s was/were used in the
process of its creation. Justify your answer.
2.Among the models of making public policy, which is more
conducive to serving public interest and demands? Why?
3.Are all governments governments of the elite? Use
examples to prove your contention.
4.Using the following factors/criteria: public interest,
effectiveness, fairness and consistency, evaluate the
proposed constitutional amendment giving foreigners same
economic rights as Filipinos in owning land properties
,businesses and public utilities in the Philippines.
