Brainscape's Knowledge GenomeTM

Browse over 1 million classes created by top students, professors, publishers, and experts.


See full index

public policy analysis > final exam > Flashcards

final exam Flashcards

1
Q

What is public policy analysis?

A
  • Crafting options
  • Making recommendations to solve problems
  • Evidence-based advice giving
How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
2
Q

What are the core elements of public policy analysis?

A
  • Part of policymaking
  • high quality info to support high quality decisions
  • systematic comparison of alternative options
  • Policy should be logical and evidence-based
  • fosters rational discourse
  • Multidisciplinary, may be co produced
How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
3
Q

What is the rational model of policy analysis?

A
  1. Define problem
  2. Identify options
  3. Specify objectives
  4. Evaluation criteria
  5. Outcomes and trade-offs
  6. Recommendation
How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
4
Q

What is Bardach’s eightfold path?

A
  1. Define the problem
  2. Assemble some evidence
  3. Construct the alternatives
  4. Select the criteria
  5. Project the outcomes
  6. Confront the trade-offs
  7. Stop, focus, narrow, deepen, decide
  8. Tell your story
How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
5
Q

What do policy analysts do?

A
  • Research and analysis
  • Design and recommend alternatives
  • Advise strategically
  • Democratize - pursue ethical objective: it should further equal access to, and influence on the policy process for all stakeholders
  • Mediate - foster many forms of cooperation
How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
6
Q

What is policy analytical capacity?

A

A Departments’ capacity to articulate its medium and long term priorities by:
- utilize environmental scanning, trends analysis and forecasting methods
- undertake theoretical research
utilize statistics, applied research and modeling
- undertake evaluation of the means of meeting targets/goals
- Undertake consultation and managing relations
- Undertake Program design, implementation monitoring and evaluation

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
7
Q

What are policy analytical resources?

A
  • Quantity and quality of employees
  • Budgets
  • access to external sources of expertise
How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
8
Q

What is the Policy Analytical Gap?

A

Capacity of the government to identify, define and solve problems is lagging behind the complexity of policy issues (ie. common use of consultants)

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
9
Q

What is Gender-based Analysis Plus (GBA+)?

A

An assessment of how diverse groups may experience policies, programs, and initiatives

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
10
Q

How can data and design be used to create better policy options?

A
  • Understanding Problems
  • Targeting Needs
  • Checking Success
  • Involving People
  • Explaining Clearly
  • Keep Improving
How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
11
Q

How can government’s use design thinking?

A
  • Understanding People’s Needs
  • Trying Ideas and Improving Them
  • Making Services Better
  • Coming Up with New Ideas
  • Working Together
How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
12
Q

What are the objectives in public policy analysis?

A
  • Understanding the Problem
  • Evaluating Policy Options
  • Predicting Outcomes
  • Cost-Benefit Analysis
  • Identifying Trade-offs
  • Stakeholder Engagement
  • Policy Implementation
  • Monitoring and Evaluation
How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
13
Q

What should analysts strive for in specifying their objectives?

A
  • Clarity
  • Measurability
  • Feasibility
  • Ethical Considerations
  • Flexibility
How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
14
Q

What are criteria in public policy analysis?

A
  • Evaluative core of policy analysis
  • Elements used to weigh options - they provide the justification and rationale for specific recommendation
  • Generally use 3 - 5
How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
15
Q

What are criteria used for?

A

Ranking alternative options (how well they achieve objectives)

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
16
Q

To what are criteria applied?

A

Applied to outcomes of alternatives

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
17
Q

Where do criteria come from?

A

They are derivatives of objectives

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
18
Q

What are the most common criteria?

A
  • Effectiveness - does the policy address the problem? How much?
  • Efficiency - are the benefits worth the costs?
  • Equity: who gets what, when, and how
  • Feasibility - can the thing be done?
How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
19
Q

What is effectiveness?

A

Likelihood that a policy or program will achieve stated objectives

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
20
Q

What is Efficiency?

A

Are the benefits worth the costs?

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
21
Q

What is Equity?

A
  • fairness/justice
  • Who gets what, when, and how
How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
22
Q

What is Feasibility?

A

Can the goal be met with the resources available?

23
Q

What are the different kinds of feasibility criteria?

A
  • Political acceptability
  • Social acceptability
  • Legality
  • Administrative feasibility
  • Technical feasibility
  • Sustainability
  • Financial feasibility (cost)
24
Q

What is a cost-benefit analysis?

A
  • Measurement of efficiency
  • Measures the costs of the program compared to its benefits
  • Both costs and benefits use the same units: dollars
  • If you can assign a dollar value to an outcome, you can include it in cost-benefit analysis
25
Q

How is cost-benefit analysis conducted?

A

Uses the equation: Net Benefits = Benefits - Costs (NB = B - C)

26
Q

What are common types of costs?

A
  • Direct costs
  • Indirect costs
  • Borrowing costs
  • One-time fixed costs
  • Operations and maintenance costs
  • Opportunity costs
27
Q

What are direct costs?

A

Immediate, tangible expenses as a result of implementing the policy

28
Q

What are indirect costs?

A

Costs that are not directly tied to the implementation of the policy but are incurred as a result of it

29
Q

What are borrowing costs?

A

The costs of borrowing funds

30
Q

What are one-time fixed costs?

A

New capital expenditures, equipment, training, etc

31
Q

What are operations and maintenance costs?

A

Ongoing costs of the policy

32
Q

What are opportunity costs?

A

Other things that could have been done with the same resources instead

33
Q

What are common types of benefits?

A
  • Direct benefits
  • Indirect benefits
  • Intangible benefits
34
Q

What are direct benefits?

A

Directly attributable to the policy

35
Q

What are indirect benefits?

A

Additional benefits that resulted, but were not included in the goals

36
Q

What are intangible benefits?

A

Benefits that cannot be counted or quantified

37
Q

What is cost-effectiveness analysis?

A
  • Comparative measure of efficiency
  • Tool for finding the alternative that meets goal at lowest cost
  • Need clear metrics of success/effectiveness
  • Not concerned with putting monetary values on benefits
38
Q

How is cost-effectiveness analysis conducted?

A
  • Fixed Budget approach
  • Fixed effectiveness approach
39
Q

What is the fixed budget approach?

A

Level of spending is set and the analyst must identify option that produces greatest benefit within the set budget

40
Q

What is the fixed effectiveness approach?

A

A specific level of benefit is set and analyst must identify the option that achieves that benefit at the lowest cost

41
Q

How are measures used in crafting criteria?

A

They allow for criteria to be operationalized using
1. quantitative measures
2. categorical measures

42
Q

What do measures do?

A

Capture the degree to which alternatives meet a standard or goal

43
Q

What are quantitative measures?

A

Use numerical values to count/summarize a projected outcome related to criteria

44
Q

What are categorical measures?

A

Establish classes of performance (eg. low, high, medium)

45
Q

What is involved in the “projecting outcomes” stage of public policy analysis?

A
  • Systematic comparison of the potential outcomes of your options
  • Evaluating the probability of achieving these outcomes
  • Weigh the strengths and weaknesses related to specified criteria
46
Q

How can a policy analyst project outcomes? What methods do they use?

A
  • Use evidence and examples
  • Use of prediction, modeling, experimentation
  • Use of behavioral, cost-benefit, cost-effectiveness, sensitivity analyses
47
Q

What is the base case?

A

The common reference mark used to measure effectiveness/projected progress

48
Q

What are break-even estimates?

A
  • The course of action is sufficiently likely to produce results good enough to justify costs
  • What is the minimum level of effectiveness this policy would have to meet in order to justify the costs?
49
Q

What is an analytical matrix?

A
  • An analytical matrix is a tool used to compare options
  • helps make decisions by highlighting which option is best overall according to the criteria chosen.
50
Q

How is an analytical matrix used?

A

by breaking down the decision into key factors, like cost or effectiveness, and then scoring each option based on those factors.

51
Q

What does “dominance” mean in policy analysis?

A

that one policy option is clearly better than another in every aspect considered, making it the obvious choice (very rare)

52
Q

What is involved in confronting trade-offs?

A
  • Clarify trade-offs between outcomes associated with different alternatives
  • Need to weigh these trade-offs
  • All equal - choose the alternatives that are most effective at addressing the problem
53
Q

What is the final step in public policy analysis?

A

telling your story / making a recommendation based on the evidence and findings of the analysis.

54
Q

What are best practices in ‘telling your story’?

A
  • Clarity
  • Structure - Organize your analysis logically
  • Engagement - capture your audience’s attention
  • Visuals like charts or graphs
  • Relevance
  • Persuasiveness

public policy analysis (2 decks)

Brainscape helps you reach your goals faster, through stronger study habits.
© 2024 Bold Learning Solutions. Terms and Conditions