Policy Making

• According to Professor Leckrone of Widener University, here are the different approaches to the policy-making process,

  • Political Systems Theory
  • Group Theory
  • Elite Theory
  • Institutionalism
  • Rational Choice Theory
  • Game Theory
• Policy


  • a set of ideas or a plan of what to do in particular situations that has been agreed to officially by a group of people, a business organization, a government, or a political party
  • a plan of action agreed to by a group of people with the power to carry it out and enforce it
  • a tool used by the government to address and meet societal issues and concerns for the benefit and common good of its people
• Political Systems Theory


  focuses on the political groups in power and interested in what the people wants (inputs) and what the government produces (outcomes)
• Group Theory


  focuses on how the groups in power mobilize to achieve positive outcome or the success of a policy
• Elite Theory


  focuses on the structure or system that benefits the needs of the elite groups rather than the public in general which produces outputs through a political compromise based only on personal visions.
• Institutionalism


  focuses on how the government institutions affect the outcomes which involves the formal and legal aspects in the process
• Rational Choice Theory


  focuses on economics and how everyone acts on their own interests as a rational actor and maximizes social gain
• Game Theory


  This focuses on the idea of competition and cooperation that will result in the formation of incentives to a greater satisfaction of all
• the policy making process consideration

  1. conduct first a research and consultation on what specific policy should be focused on laying all the formal and legal bases
  2. work on a structured process where each actor will play an important and effective role in the process
  3. move away from a highly politicized context where only a limited group of persons will benefit instead prioritize on how to improve the quality and everyday lives of its people and the public in general
  4. implement a system of accountability where policy-makers are to be held responsible
• Initiative or People’s Initiative


  the power of the people to propose amendments to the Constitution or to propose and enact legislation through an election called for the purpose

  RA 6735 - The Initiative and Referendum Act
• Initiative or People’s Initiative


  Systems of Initiative

  • Initiative on the Constitution
  • Initiative on the Statutes
  • Initiative on Local Legislation
• Initiative or People’s Initiative

  1. get at least 10% signatures of registered voters
  2. will be submitted to the Commission on Elections (Comelec) for validation and verification of the signatures
  3. will publish the “petition for initiative” in major newspapers so the public may know it
  4. a referendum will be done !
• Referendum or Plebiscite


  • electoral process by which an initiative on the Constitution is approved or rejected by the people
  • the people will vote either “yes or no” in the proposal set forth by the initiative
  • must be approved by the “majority of votes cast”
  • new law will take effect 15 days after its publication in the Official Gazette or a newspaper with a major circulation
• AGENTS OF THE PROCESS

  Private Sphere

  • members of a family and friends who are committed to pursue their interests in addressing community problems bounded by law

  Civil Society

  • composed of volunteers who collectively act under a shared goal and purpose, which might include a private sphere
  • Rotary Club of the Philippines
• PROCESS


  1. Agenda Setting
  2. Policy Formulation
  3. Legislation
  4. Implementation
  5. Monitoring
• Process


  Agenda Setting

  • The board conducts performance review of the prior year to determine the emerging issues and concern.
  • might identify the problem from a simple observation, needs analysis or community immersion
• Process


  Policy Formulation

  • The board formulates policies on education, health & nutrition, social welfare, etc. It also determines and reviews the corresponding budget by the Department of Budget and Management to come up with a proposed National Budget which is submitted to Congress for deliberation.
  • gather information about the problem, analyze the data, organize the information and craft an action plan
• Process


  Legislation

  • The Congress deliberates on the proposed National Budget and submitted to the Senate for another deliberation. Once signed by both houses, the proposed National Budget is forwarded for the approval of President.
  • The passage of a bill for specific policies or programs follows the same process.
  • may propose your action plan to your local government unit and might produce a municipal ordinance
• Process


  Implementation

  • delegated to concerned departments of the government
  • Once your output (ordinance) is adopted by the LGU, the policy is delegated to the concerned department.
• Process


  Monitoring

  • The board coordinates with the implementing departments to get feedbacks as a basis for evaluation of the present programs and as a reference for improvement.
  • may maintain communications with the LGU and contribute to the report process
  • may gather reflection or feedback from the community
• SWOT Analysis


  • Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats
  • identify positive areas that help in implementing your initiative and possible complications that needed to be addressed
• Stakeholder Analysis


  • people who are directly affected by policyeither positively or negatively in the action
  • a landscape of their level of interest in the issue, power or influence, mobilization capacity and position of the issue
  • identify conflicts or potential conflicts, gaps, contradictions or incompatibilities between stakeholder requirements so that reconciliation plan could be crafted
• Parts of the Manuscript

  Part I

  • Title Page
  • Pledge of ‘No Plagiarism’
  • Executive Summary
  • Table of Contents
  • List of Tables (if any)
  • List of Figures (if any)
  • List of Appendices (if any)

  Part II

  • Chapter I: The Policy Issue
  • Chapter II: Framework of Evaluation
  • Chapter III: Policy Analysis
  • Chapter IV: Conclusion and Policy Recommendation

  Part III

  References

  Appendices (if any)
• Parts of the Manuscript

  Title

  • This is the first part of a paper readers see. It begins the process of communicating the message contained in the policy paper. An effective title should give readers a quick overview of the subject and issue addressed in the policy paper. A reader may use the title in determining whether to read the paper or not.
  • define the subject and issue addressed in the paper
  • be as clear as possible
  • be as concise and succinct as possible
  • be interesting for your readers
• Parts of the Manuscript

  Table of Contents

  • a skeleton or overview of the structure of the policy paper.
  • leads readers through the whole paper and provides readers with an overview of the focus and major issues and concerns addressed in the paper. |
  • helps readers find specific sections or information that they are particularly interested in
• Parts of the Manuscript

  Executive Summary

  • interest readers in reading the whole paper.
  • satisfy the needs of those readers who will not read the entire paper and readers whose main interest is in the outcomes of the study and proposed policy recommendations, especially decision-makers.
  • like an abstract of a research, represents the whole paper by providing a synopsis of all main parts and findings
  • Purpose of the paper
  • Definition and description of the policy issue
  • Evaluation of policy alternatives
  • Conclusion and recommendations
• Parts of the Manuscript

  The Policy Issue

  • Introduction
  • presents the context of the policy issue
  • demonstrates that a pressing issue exists and that your policy paper is worth reading because it will offer possible solutions to the problem
  • should include a statement on the purpose of the paper and a brief overview of the methodology and frameworks of evaluation used
  • Context of the policy problem
  • Definition of the policy problem
  • Statement of intent
  • Methodology and limitations of the study
  • Road map of the paper
• Parts of the Manuscript

  The Policy Issue

  • Problem Description
  • current extent and impact, who is affected, the current policy and its successes
  • identifies, defines, and elaborates the nature of the issue being discussed
  • background of the problem (the history of the problem: its causes; who is affected; past policies and their outcomes)
  • the status of problem (its current extent and impact, who is affected, the current policy and its successes and failures)
• Parts of the Manuscript

  Policy Analysis

  • outlines, evaluates and compares the possible policy alternatives. Policy options should be presented to build a comprehensive and a convincing case. The focus is on evaluating how each policy option compares in solving the specific issue.
• Parts of the Manuscript

  Conclusion and Policy Recommendation

  • This section clearly presents the case to decision makers and provides a call to action. It provides a synthesis of policy paper’s major findings.
  • This is more than a summary of the main findings but highlight links with the main policy recommendations that follow. Finally, the reader is provided with a set of practical steps that need to be taken to implement the proposed policy option.
  • Synthesis of major findings
  • Set of policy recommendations
  • Concluding remarks
• Parts of the Manuscript

  References

  • list of the sources that you used to develop your argument
• Parts of the Manuscript

  Appendices

  • can provide additional information which supports the main arguments, especially when including detailed information would interrupt the flow of the main discussion
  • Appendices include the data and methodology collected and used