Exam 3

Question 1

What is policy analysis?

Answer 1

 What you need to do in order to write a great policy memo
 “Client-oriented advice relative to public decisions informed by evidence and social values”
 “The process of identifying potential policy options that could address your problem and
then comparing those options to choose the most effective, efficient, and feasible one”
 Art and a science

Question 2

Steps for Conducting a Policy Analysis

Answer 2

1. Define the Problem
2. Identify Possible Policy Options
3. Assess and Prioritize Policy Options

Question 3

Why does it matter how we define a problem?

Answer 3

it will influence how and if the solution becomes implemented into policy

Question 4

Tips for Identifying Policy Options

Answer 4

 Begin with a comprehensive list
 Look for ideas that already exist
 Review literature on the topic
 Conduct an environmental scan to see what others are doing and/or proposing
 Look for ideas in other problem areas that might apply
 Consider whether you need to invent options
 Always include, “let present trends continue undisturbed” as an initial option

Question 5

Criteria for Assessing Options

Answer 5

1. Public health impact
    Will the option work to solve the problem?
    Can you estimate the magnitude of the impact?
    What might be the unintended consequences of the option?
2. Feasibility
    Political – How might political forces influence the successful enactment and implementation of the option?
    Operational – Are the necessary resources, capacities, and technologies in place to implement the option?
3. Economic and budgetary impacts
    Budget – Do the relevant public entities have enough money to enact, implement, and enforce the option?
    Economic – How do costs compare to benefits?

Question 6

Prioritizing Policy Options

Answer 6

 Consider the key trade-offs (i.e., what do you lose/gain if you choose one option over the others?)
 Decide which option you think is best
 The policy option you prioritize will depend on the weight you place on the three criteria

Question 7

What is a system?

Answer 7

 A collection of interconnected elements
 Through their interactions, form a whole with properties beyond the
component parts
 In complex adaptive systems, components are continuously interacting
and adapting to changes

Question 8

Systems thinking is a way of thinking…

Answer 8

…that helps us see the world as a complex system in order to make
progress on complex problems

Question 9

Policy Resistance

Answer 9

 Actions meant to solve a problem cause unanticipated “side effects”
 System responds to our actions to restore stability in ways that delay,
dilute, or defeat them to make the policy ineffective
 Actions can make the problem worse than it was to begin with

Question 10

Types of evidence

Answer 10

Bardach
1. About the problem itself: magnitude,
duration, impact
2. About the causal roots of the problem
3. About potential interventions to address
the problem
Rychetnik et al.
“Something should be done” (Type 1)
“This should be done” (Type 2)
“How this should be done”

Question 11

Impact Evaluations

Answer 11

 Assess changes in well-being that can be attributed to a particular project, program or
policy
 Did it work?
 Central question is what would have happened to those receiving the intervention if
they had not in fact received it
 Uses experimental or quasi-experimental methods to develop a counterfactual

Question 12

Randomized control trials

Answer 12

the gold standard of studies
Strengths
 Minimizes bias
 High internal validity
 Creates a counterfactual
 Allows us to make causal inferences
Weaknesses
 Expensive
 Not always appropriate
 Not always generalizable
* A type of impact evaluation in which participants are randomized into an
experimental group or a control group

Question 13

So why don’t policymakers follow scientific evidence?

Answer 13

 Politics
 Biases
 Confirmation bias - The tendency to look for
information that is consistent with what we
already think, want, or feel
 Availability bias - The tendency to let an
example that comes to mind easily affect
decision-making or reasoning
 Misinformation
 Poor understanding of science

Question 14

Policy Windows

Answer 14

 Opportunities for action by packaging problem,
politics, and solutions together
 Opened by events in the problem or political
streams
 Magnet for problems and proposals
 Usually small and scarce

Question 15

Evidence Translators

Answer 15

 Translators hold a wide range
of roles
 Political savvy and credibility
are key
 Rigor of evidence is not as
influential as is often assumed