"Policy analysis or public policy analysis is a technique used in the public administration sub-field of political science..."
Overview of the political context in which policy decisions are made and the various actors involved, including elected officials, bureaucrats, interest groups, and the public.
Public policy: This includes the ways governments and other public actors create, implement, and evaluate policies that affect citizens in various areas of life.
Policy analysis: This entails studying public policies to determine their effectiveness, feasibility, and suitability, as well as proposing improvements to the policies' design and implementation.
Policy design: This involves the development of policies and programs based on identified needs and aspirations, as well as consideration of political, economic, and regulatory realities.
Policy implementation: This covers the actual operationalization of policies, which entails designating responsibility, resource allocation, and monitoring of results.
Policy evaluation: This involves assessing how well policies have achieved their intended outcomes and addressing issues of accountability, impact, and increasing their efficacy.
Policy actors: These are the individuals, organizations, and institutions that are involved in policy making, including government agencies, interest groups, and other stakeholders.
Policy networks: These are webs of relationships and interactions among policy actors that shape policy making, which may or may not be formal and institutionalized.
Policy tools: These include the instruments, techniques, and procedures used to make, implement, evaluate, and revise policies, such as public opinion polling, cost-benefit analysis, and performance management.
Policy domains: These are the specific areas or issues that policies address, such as healthcare, education, climate change, or security.
Comparative policy analysis: This deals with the study of policies across different countries or regions, identifying similarities, differences, and lessons to be learned from various contexts.
Policy innovation and entrepreneurship: This entails the identification and pursuit of new policy ideas, approaches, and solutions that can address emerging challenges or opportunities.
Policy advocacy and communication: These are the strategies and tactics used to influence policy decisions and outcomes, including lobbying, media campaigns, and public engagement.
Cost-benefit analysis: It is a type of policy analysis that evaluates the costs and benefits of a policy in monetary terms.
Implementation analysis: This type of analysis assesses the practicality and feasibility of a policy and evaluates the resources required for implementing the policy.
Impact analysis: This type of analysis assesses the effects of a policy on different stakeholders, such as the economy, environment, or society.
Political analysis: It focuses on analyzing the political feasibility of a policy, including the interests and preferences of stakeholders and the institutional structures that support or oppose the policy.
Historical analysis: It investigates the historical context of a policy to understand its origins, development, and implementation.
Comparative analysis: This type of analysis compares policies across different geographical regions or time frames to assess the effectiveness and efficiency of the policy.
Equity analysis: It assesses how a policy affects different sectors of society, especially marginalized and vulnerable groups, and investigates whether the policy promotes social justice or perpetuates inequality.
Institutional analysis: It examines the institutional framework that supports policy-making, including the roles of different actors, such as politicians, bureaucrats, civil society organizations, and businesses.
Technological assessment: It evaluates the impact of new technologies and innovations on policy-making and assesses the opportunities and challenges that arise with their implementation.
"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..."
"...to examine and evaluate the available options to implement the goals of laws and elected officials."
"People who regularly use policy analysis skills and techniques on the job... are generally known by the title Policy Analyst."
"The process is also used in the administration of large organizations with complex policies."
"Policy analysis can be divided into two major fields: - Analysis of existing policy, which is analytical and descriptive... - Analysis for new policy, which is prescriptive..."
"It attempts to explain policies and their development."
"It is involved with formulating policies and proposals (for example: to improve social welfare)."
"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."
"Policy analysis is frequently deployed in the public sector..."
"...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."
"A combination of two kinds of policy analyses together with program evaluation is defined as policy studies."
"The areas of interest and the purpose of analysis determine what types of analysis are conducted."
"...a technique used in the public administration sub-field of political science..."
"...nonprofit organizations, and others to examine and evaluate the available options..."
"Analysis for new policy is involved with formulating policies and proposals (for example: to improve social welfare)."
"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.'"
"...enable civil servants, nonprofit organizations, and others to examine and evaluate the available options to implement the goals of laws and elected officials."