"Policy analysis or public policy analysis is a technique used in the public administration sub-field of political science to enable civil servants, nonprofit organizations, and others to examine and evaluate the available options to implement the goals of laws and elected officials."
This subfield studies the processes by which policies are made and implemented, including policy analysis and evaluation.
Introduction to Public Policy: This topic covers the basic definition of public policy, the actors involved in shaping policy, and the processes that are involved in policy creation.
The Policy Cycle: This topic outlines the different stages involved in creating and implementing public policy, from agenda-setting to evaluation.
Policy Analysis: This topic covers the various methods used to analyze public policy, including cost-benefit analysis, stakeholder analysis, and policy briefs.
Policy Implementation: This topic covers the challenges that arise when attempting to implement public policy and strategies for overcoming them.
Policy Evaluation: This topic covers the various methods used to evaluate the effectiveness of public policy, including outcome and impact evaluation.
Policy Instruments: This topic covers the different tools and strategies used to implement public policy, including regulation, taxation, and public-private partnerships.
Policy Domains: This topic covers the different policy sectors, such as healthcare, education, and environmental policy, and the unique challenges and opportunities presented by each domain.
Global Public Policy: This topic covers the challenges of creating and implementing public policy in an increasingly interconnected world and the role of international organizations in shaping policy.
Policy Issues and Controversies: This topic covers current policy issues, such as immigration, gun control, and climate change, and the controversies that surround them.
Policy Advocacy and Communication: This topic covers the strategies and tactics used by advocates to influence public policy, including lobbying, grassroots organizing, and media campaigns.
"People who regularly use policy analysis skills and techniques on the job, particularly those who use it as a major part of their job duties, are generally known by the title Policy Analyst."
"The process is also used in the administration of large organizations with complex policies."
"It has been defined as the process of 'determining which of various policies will achieve a given set of goals in light of the relations between the policies and the goals.'"
"Policy analysis can be divided into two major fields: analysis of existing policy and analysis for new policy."
"Analysis of existing policy is analytical and descriptive - it attempts to explain policies and their development."
"Analysis for new policy is prescriptive - it is involved with formulating policies and proposals."
"One definition states that policy analysis is 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."
"The areas of interest and the purpose of analysis determine what types of analysis are conducted."
"Policy analysis is frequently deployed in the public sector."
"Policy analysis is equally applicable elsewhere, such as nonprofit organizations and non-governmental organizations."
"Policy analysis has its roots in systems analysis, an approach used by United States Secretary of Defense Robert McNamara in the 1960s."