Law - Criminal Organizational Structure Assignment

Policy Analysis and Policy Evaluation in Public Administration

Hi, I'm Sean acres on the dean of the helm School of Government. I want to visit with you for a few minutes about policy evaluation and the Public Administration context. As we've talked in prior videos, public administration is that area of the government that applies, that is tasked with this huge job of taking laws that had been passed by legislatures and applying them in the real world. Now, that brings us to a place where we have two, very often evaluate the public policies that are being applied. I want to give you some thoughts to add to those things that you're reading this week that will help thicken and deepen the way you approach policy analysis. And it's also one that's quite frankly will bring up some things that are, are quite often ignored in the world of policy analysis. Let's start by talking for just a minute about what public policy actually is. I want you to think of public policy in this way. Public policy is anything that a government official chooses to do or not to do. We were given this very eloquent definition by Professor Thomas Dye, who boiled down all the things that public policy might be and can be, and should be, and said very simply, that public policy is anything that a government chooses to do or not to do. Now, if you take that one step further and you ask what's behind the things that governments choose to do or not to do. It's always an idea. So someone's idea influences the decision of a government official to do or not to do something. So if we take that logical next step, that means that an idea plus governmental inaction or action equals public policy. So how do we go about the process of evaluating public policies? This can be a fairly complex matter. Many of the materials that you're reading in this course will take you down several pathways. But I want to back up just a little bit to that 50 thousand foot overview and give you some thoughts on the big picture of approaching policy evaluation. Here's the method that I like to use. It's one that I call ME can should all of us, when we were children, had an English lesson from time to time from someone saying, can I go to the restroom and the teacher saying, well, I don't know, can you because she was wanting you to say, May I go to the restaurant? And there's a very real thing in that. When we say May, we're asking where does one derive the authority to do the thing that they would like to do? Can ask whether it's feasible. And in the political world that means politically feasible, financially feasible, scientifically feasible can means feasibility. And then finally, should means among the available options, which is the wisest and most prudent and most efficient choice to make. Now this is very, very important for us in our approach to policy analysis. Because we begin with the idea of we, the people, establishing a line of authority through the Constitution. So all the national authority that we have comes through either the Federal Constitution or in the state context, the state constitutions. And from there it flows down into laws. And laws then are executed by those that are in the regulatory process. So we've got this natural flow of authority from constitution to laws and from laws to public administration. So the very first question that one should ask and evaluating public policy is the ME question. May we do the thing that we've set out to do? Or in other words, from where do I derive the authority to take the governmental action that I'm contemplating taking. Next is the can. Now they can action is quite, quite literally. Are we able to do this thing? We politically able to do this thing? Do we have the support we need or we financially able to do this thing? Do we have the funds and the materials that are required to do this thing? Or we scientifically able to do this thing? Do we have the technologies required to do the thing that we want to do? Is it feasible? And then finally you reach the question of should. So if it's authorized and if it's possible, then you're going to have a variety of options in front of you that are both authorized impossible. And that brings us to the truly political question of what should we do. So may, can, should, and insured what we're asking among the available resources that we have and the options that we have. Which one of these options is going to be the best option for the people that we represent to accomplish the goals of the law that we are seeking to enforce and the best representation of the body politic that we are attempting to provide solutions for. I hope this helps you deepen and expand your ideas on policy evaluation and I look forward to being with you in future videos.