Question

Discuss your point of view ?

Theory and Practice in Policy Analysis, Chapter 1 – Most people have not spent much time thinking about the approach or perspective we ought to use when making important decisions. A major goal of this class is to teach the perspective and tools of a "policy analyst". This first chapter serves as a bit of an introduction to some of the ideas of how that ought to work, which is actually still being debated. This chapter basically asks: what is the point of policy analysis? I would suggest that it is actually a more complicated question than it seems and there are different reasonable answers. I'm looking forward to hearing your thoughts.

Questions to think about: What do you think of the different “models” of the ways that analysis contributes to the policy process? Any of them seem better/worse than others in your experience? If we are doing policy-relevant research/analysis, what should our goals be? Is policy analysis really different from science? Do you agree with the author throughout or do you take issue with his perspective anywhere?

Answer 1

In my views, analysis forms the basis of the policy process. The study of the inherent factors and objectives for the policy formulation, help in efficient formulation of any policy process. A structured analysis is usually the best to facilitate the development of a comprehensive policy process as the domains and dimensions of the policy can be clearly outlined by employing a structured format.

If we are doing policy relevant analysis, our goal must be to establish concrete connection between the assumptions on the basis of which, the policy is formulated and the actual impact of the policy.

Policy analysis is a part of science only. We are exploring the various dimensions over which a policy can be formulated and the various strata, who will be impacted by the policy.