8Fold Path Ch. 3: Construct the Alternatives Flashcards
Step 3: Construct the Alternatives
a) What is meant by Alternatives?
(1, 2, 3)
i. B-re a Li-tic P-all
ii. S-rt C-ive, End Up F-sed
iii. M-l the S-m in Which the P is L-d
iv. C-ize and S-fy the List of A-ves
v. P-nts on a C-um as “A-ves”
Step 3: Construct the Alternatives
a) Alternatives refer to (1) alternate policy options, (2) alternate courses of action, or (3) alternate strategies of intervention for solving or mitigating a problem.
i. Beware a Linguistic Pitfall
ii. Start Comprehensive, End Up Focused
iii. Model the System in Which the Problem is Located
iv. Conceptualize and Simplify the List of Alternatives
v. Points on a Continuum as “Alternatives”
i. B-re a Li-tic P-all
a) In constructing alternatives, need they be discriminatory towards another?
i. Beware a Linguistic Pitfall
a) The linguistic pitfall is the word ‘alternative’. Solutions do not need to be discriminatory. If you make a good enough case, alternatives could end up being combined, or warrant an extra commitment than was first intended via the original policy analysis request.
ii. S-rt C-ive, End Up F-sed (Part 1)
a) What is the general number of alternatives you want to work your way towards by the end of the policy analysis process?
b) What happens to alternatives along the way?
c) What are the usual suspects to check out alternatives? (1, 2, 3, 4)
ii. Start Comprehensive, End Up Focused (Part 1)
a) Eventually you’ll want to work the list down to no more than two or three principal alternatives.
b) Some you discard, some you combine, some you re-organize into a single “basic” alternatives with one or more subsidiary “variants”.
c) The usual suspects for alternatives are (1) the proposals or pet ideas of key political actors/activist figures (2) relevant institution recommendations and off-the-shelf proposal packages. (3) Then you could design alternatives to improve on what’s already out there. (4) Run through the list of “Things Governments Do”.
ii. S-rt C-ive, End Up F-sed (Part 2)
a) What are the three questions for coming up with ‘a better mousetrap’?
b) What should you always include in your 1st approach to the problem?
c) Why is it not a ‘do nothing’ option?
ii. Start Comprehensive, End Up Focused (Part 2)
a) Q1: Ask how you would solve a problem if cost were no object? This can stir up surprisingly cheap solutions through creative thinking.
Q2: Ask where else it would work? (If a solution works in one place, it may work in another).
Q3: Ask why not? Why not do things differently? Re-examine what’s ‘stopping’ you.
ii. S-rt C-ive, End Up F-sed (Part 3)
a) What should you always include in your 1st approach to the problem?
b) Why is it not a ‘do nothing’ option?
ii. Start Comprehensive, End Up Focused (Part 3)
a) In your 1st approach to the problem, always include the alternative “Let present trends continue undisturbed”.
b) Note: This is Not ‘Do Nothing’. That’s impossible. Most trends currently in-play will likely persist and alter the problem (maybe for better, maybe for worse).
ii. S-rt C-ive, End Up F-sed (Part 4)
a) What are 5 ways to check to see if ‘natural change’ or ‘let present trends continue’ will impact the scope of a problem?
b) What happens to the option, “Let present trends continue” in most cases?
ii. Start Comprehensive, End Up Focused (Part 4)
a) To determine if natural change will likely impact problem scope, look to the most common sources of change in public policy:
(1) Political changes that follow elections - or those that come about because of the prospect of having to contest an election (?).
(2) Unemployment and inflation rate changes accompanying business cycles (?).
(3) Agency budgets tightening or loosening in link with taxing and spending policies; as well as ‘program features’ like automatic cost-of-living increases.
(4) Demographic changes, like population migration or population “bulges” tied into age levels.
(5) Changing technologies.
b) Usually, the ‘Let present trends continue’ drops out of the final analysis. Doing a good job usually means that you’ll wind up with an important problem that can be altered to some extent by purposive action.
ii. S-rt C-ive, End Up F-sed (Part 5)
a) Aside from ‘Let present trends continue’, what more could you consider?
b) Is there a risk to waiting or rushing?
ii. Start Comprehensive, End Up Focused (Part 5)
a) A great alternative to keep in mind is to ‘Learn More’. Scenarios for ‘Learn More’ include: (1) doing pilot studies; (2) reviewing ‘smart/best practices’ done elsewhere; (3) waiting for the future to become clearer for action; (4) negotiating with key players/stakeholders to determine their actions in different contingencies.
b) If you could have reached a ‘right conclusion’ without learning more, waiting could be costly. If you rush ahead of learning needed info, you risk making a mistake that could have been avoided had you learned more first.
iii. M-l the S-m in Which the P is L-d (Part 1)
a) What is the benefit to modelling the system wherein the problem lies?
b) How self-conscious, elaborate, and rigorous should your causal model be?
c) How should we approach modelling systems?
d) What are 4 key system models? (MPCE)
iii. Model the System in Which the Problem is Located (Part 1)
a) Good causal models can be very useful for highlighting relevant “intervention points” (where best to intercede).
This is doubly true when the issue at hand involves multiple, complex forces (and they usually do).
b) The more-so the better, to an extent.
Self-conscious - very good model trait!
Elaborateness (comprehensiveness) - good but can confuse analytic focus/limit creativity when designing interventions.
Rigour - good if it gets you away from relying on unstated or false assumptions. However, it could potentially get you to exclude important factors (like the personality of certain stakeholders on the grounds that you don’t know how to model their effect or you have only hunches as to their reactions)
c) Models are more usefully approached as elaborations of fundamental metaphors.
d) These metaphor models are: (1) Market Models; (2) Production Models; (3) Conformity Models; and (4) Evolutionary Models.
iii. M-l the S-m in Which the P is L-d (Part 2)
a) What are Market Models?
b) What’s an example of a non-Market use of a Market Model?
c) What’s an example of a market use of a Market Model?
iii. Model the System in Which the Problem is Located (Part 2)
Market Models
a) Market Models see an issue (market or not) through a lens of separate suppliers exchanging goods/services with separate demanders.
The main idea is to reach equilibrium through exchange.
b) An example of applying a Market Model outside of a traditional market would be to understand patient flow at a hospital via ‘supply & demand’. There is a fixed supply of beds available, a certain per diem (daily expense) for the beds, and a complex ‘demand’ for use of the beds.
c) A market example of using Market Models would be raising/lowering the prices paid by either the suppliers or demanders to make a market start working better.
iii. M-l the S-m in Which the P is L-d (Part 3)
a) What are Production Models?
b) How do you implement Production Models?
iii. Model the System in Which the Problem is Located (Part 3)
a) Production Models (AKA Optimization Models) are those that address the operating logic of certain processes: (1) command-and-control regulation; (2) service provision; (3) etc.
b) In implementing a Production Model, look to the parameters of production most vulnerable to breakdown, fraud, abuse, distortion of purpose, and egregious diseconomies (very bad economic disadvantage).
When attempting to upgrade a system, knowledge of these parameters is very helpful.
iii. M-l the S-m in Which the P is L-d (Part 4)
a) What are Conformity Models?
b) According to psychologists, what are 4 key sources of conformity?
c) What’s an example of a bad conformity approach?
d) What’s an example of a good conformity approach?
iii. Model the System in Which the Problem is Located (Part 4)
a) Conformity Models outline processes where individuals adapt the attitudes and actions of those around them.
b) 4 key sources of conformity are the following: (1) automatic mimicry and imitation; (2) normative influence (doing what others do to increase social acceptance and avoid negative responses); (3) informational influence (looking to the crowd to orientate one’s self - Crowd is often a good source of info about what is correct/appropriate); and (4) identification conformity, when someone conforms to the attitude or actions of a liked or respected figure, such as a celebrity, political actor, or other influential figure.
c) Bad conformity approach: posters on the walls of inner-city school warning of dangers of dropping out = backfired. Reinforced ‘bad’ behaviour as prevalent - and people like to do what’s ‘normal’ in their reference group.
d) Good conformity approach: use interventions that leverage people’s tendency to think/act like those around them. Such as hotels greatly boosting guest towel re-use by informing guests via signs in the rooms that re-using towels is a typical behaviour of other hotel guests.
iii. M-l the S-m in Which the P is L-d (Part 5)
a) What are Evolutionary Models?
b) What are the 3 subprocesses subject to variation that are part of Evolutionary Models?
c) What are some examples of varying the subprocesses to intervene?
iii. Model the System in Which the Problem is Located (Part 5)
a) Evolutionary Models look at situations through a lens of common processes of change over time (or evolution). Through variation of three subprocesses, it finds and suggests relevant intervention points.
b) Evolutionary Models rely on the variation of elements in (1) competitors, (2) selection, (3) and retention.
c) (1) You could vary competitors via educating participants so that they stop highlighting less relevant problems in favour of serious ones (changing the pool of competitors for nomination).
(2) You could vary selection of participants to identify ones more associated with relevant nominations (altering selection mechanism).
(3) You could vary retention via persuading participants to drop less-relevant complaints, changing the retention mechanism of participants’ attitudes.
iv. C-ize and S-fy the List of A-ves (Part 1)
a) What is meant by Conceptualizing alternatives?
b) What would be an example of conceptualizing an alternative?
iv. Conceptualize and Simplify the List of Alternatives (Part 1)
a) Conceptualizing alternatives means to distill them into a basic strategic thrust. Aim for a simple sentence or phrase.
b) Sample of conceptualized list of alternatives from Environmental Protection Agency:
“Let the states do the work; let the feds give them the money”;
“Remove impediments to firms cooperating on antipollution research”;
“Sue the bastards” (the large, visibly polluting firms/industries - prosecuting them would also build political support for the new agency).
This helps facilitate comparison between strategies/alternatives.
iv. C-ize and S-fy the List of A-ves (Part 2)
b) What is meant by Simplifying alternatives?
b) What are the two parts to implementation details?
c) How does distinguishing between the basic strategy/alternative and implementation details actually work?
d) Why would we do this separation between basic strategy and implementation details?
e) Where might scale and scope come in?
iv. Conceptualize and Simplify the List of Alternatives (Part 2)
a) When you Simplify alternatives, it means to separate and focus on its implementation details to further simplify and facilitate comparison.
b) Implementation details break down into two things. That is, all interventions must have (1) an agency or agencies of intervention; and (2) financing.
c) A basic strategy/intervention is an intervention with the details chopped off.
Example: Applying a regulatory enforcement, a subsidy, or a tax incentive is an intervention or strategy.
The details of who (one or more agencies) implements it, and how it is financed become the variants on the basic strategy.
d) Separating a basic strategy from its implementation details allows us to break our analysis into successive steps.
Example: Decreasing heroin use in a county by 50 percent over the next 5 years.
Basic strategies: (1) methadone maintenance; (2) law enforcement pressure; (3) drug education.
Potential variants: (1) funding could vary between federal, provincial, or municipal; and (2) program administration could be done by non-profit orgs., municipal orgs., or provincial orgs.
e) You could also vary the scale or scope of a variant, such as two possible sizes for a methadone program.
v. P-nts on a C-um as “A-ves”
a) What is meant by developing Points on a Continuum as “Alternatives”?
b) What is the reason for developing Points on a Continuum as “Alternatives”?
c) What are the 2 steps for establishing and using points?
v. Points on a Continuum as “Alternatives”
a) Developing Points on a Continuum as ‘Alternatives’ means to partition a range into equal intervals based on relevant rationale.
b) By developing intervals on a scale with a relevant rationale, you develop a more useful way of choosing a specific interval over another and simplify the process of selecting a specific range-point.
(If you have to pick between 1 and 100, theoretically, each # could be an alternative; making intervals converts and makes more useful the # choices, such as, 1-10, 11-20, etc.).
c) Establishing Points on a Continuum as ‘alternatives’ is a 2-step process. (1) establishing acceptable upper and lower range limits based on relevant rationale. (2) Then, using selection criteria, divide that range into intervals and then determine an interval or intervals to recommend as alternatives.
Step one - establish upper/lower limits of acceptable range of options
Step two - using selection criteria, like when choosing alternative strategies, to determine a scale within that range from which to pick an increment.
