A Practical Guide for Policy Analysis - International Student Edition: The Eightfold Path to More Effective Problem Solving

Eugene Bardach and co-author Eric Patashnik draw on more than 40 years of experience teaching students to be effective, accurate, and persuasive policy analysts. This bestselling handbook presents dozens of concrete tips, interesting case studies, and step-by-step strategies for the budding analyst as well as the seasoned professional.

Table of Contents:
Preface Acknowledgements Introduction PART I: THE EIGHTFOLD PATH Step One: Define the Problem Step Two: Assemble Some Evidence Step Three: Construct the Alternatives Step Four: Select the Criteria Step Five: Project the Outcomes Step Six: Confront the Trade-Offs Step Seven: Stop, Focus, Narrow, Deepen, Decide! Step Eight: Tell Your Story PART II: ASSEMBLING EVIDENCE Getting Started Locating Relevant Sources Gaining Access and Engaging Assistance Conducting a Policy Research Interview Using Language to Characterize and Calibrate Protecting Credibility Strategic Dilemmas of Policy Research PART III: HANDLING A DESIGN PROBLEM It’s a Production System Crosswalks to the Eightfold Path Define the Problem-- Focus on a Primary Outcome Construct the Alternatives-- Configure the System’s Organizational Structure and Its Operating Processes Select the Criteria-- Define the Objectives to Be Achieved Project the Outcomes-- Test Whether It Will Work Confront the Trade-Offs-- Examine the System from Multiple Perspectives Design a Transition Strategy PART V: “SMART (BEST) PRACTICES” RESEARCH: UNDERSTANDING AND MAKING USE OF WHAT LOOK LIKE GOOD IDEAS FROM SOMEWHERE ELSE Develop Realistic Expectations Analyze Smart Practices Observe the Practice Describe Generic Vulnerabilities But Will It Work Here? Back to the Eightfold Path APPENDIX A: THINGS GOVERNMENTS DO I. Taxes II. Regulation III. Subsidies and Grants IV. Service Provision V. Agency Budgets VI. Information VII. The Structure of Private Rights VIII. The Framework of Economic Activity IX. Education and Consultation X. Financing and Contracting XI. Bureaucratic and Political Reforms APPENDIX B: UNDERSTANDING PUBLIC AND NONPROFIT INSTITUTIONS: ASKING THE RIGHT QUESTIONS Mission Environment Performance Measurement Technology Production/Delivery Processes Frontline Workers and Co-Producers Partners and Other Outsiders Centralization/Decentralization Culture and Communications Politics Leadership Leadership APPENDIX C: STRATEGIC ADVICE ON THE DYNAMICS OF GATHERING POLITICAL SUPPORT Sequencing Timing APPENDIX D: SUGGESTIONS FOR INCORPORATING “BIG DATA” AND RIGOROUS SCIENTIFIC EVIDENCE INTO POLICY ANALYSIS References Index

About the Author :
Eugene Bardach has been teaching graduate-level policy analysis workshop classes since 1973 at the Goldman School of Public Policy, University of California, Berkeley, in which time he has coached some five hundred projects. He is a broadly based political scientist with wide-ranging teaching and research interests. His focus is primarily on policy implementation and public management, and most recently on problems of facilitating better interorganizational collaboration in service delivery (e.g., in human services, environmental enforcement, fire prevention, and habitat preservation). He also maintains an interest in problems of homeland defense, as well as regulatory program design and execution, particularly in areas of health, safety, consumer protection, and equal opportunity. Bardach has developed novel teaching methods and materials at Berkeley, has directed and taught in residentially based training programs for higher-level public managers, and has worked for the Office of Policy Analysis at the US Department of the Interior. He is the recipient of the 1998 Donald T. Campbell Award of the Policy Studies Organization for creative contribution to the methodology of policy analysis, and is a fellow of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences. This book is based on his experience teaching students the principles of policy analysis and then helping them to execute their project work. Eric M. Patashnik is the Julis-Rabinowitz Professor of Public Policy, a professor of political science, and chair of the Political Science Department at Brown University. He is also a nonresident senior fellow at the Brookings Institution and a fellow of the National Academy of Public Administration. He previously served as director of Brown’s Master of Public Affairs program. Before coming to Brown, Patashnik held faculty positions at the University of Virginia (UVA), UCLA, and Yale University. During his time at UVA, he served as associate dean and acting dean at the Frank Batten School of Leadership and Public Policy. Patashnik’s research focuses on the politics of American national policymaking, especially health policy, the welfare state, and the reform process. He is the author or editor of nine books. Patashnik has twice won the Louis Brownlow Book Award of the National Academy of Public Administration and has also won the Don K. Price Award of the American Political Science Association. Patashnik received his master of public policy and doctoral degrees from the University of California, Berkeley. Earlier in his career, Patashnik was a legislative analyst for the US House Administration Subcommittee on Elections.