Policy analysis weekly

ASSIGNMENT 1

Conducting a Stakeholder Analysis. Choose one (1) policy issue in the U.S. and generate a list of at least five (5) stakeholders who affect or are affected by problems in the issue area. Next, apply the procedures for a stakeholder analysis USING THE BELOW STEPS BY STEP PROCESS.

STEP 1: Using Google or a reference book such as The Encyclopedia of Associations, identify and list about ten stakeholders who have taken a public position on a policy. Make the initial list as heterogeneous as possible by sampling opponents as well as supporters.

STEP 2: For each stakeholder, obtain a policy document (e.g., a report, news article, e-mail, or telephone interview) that describes the position of each stakeholder.

STEP 3: Beginning with the first statement of the first stakeholder, list other stakeholders mentioned as opponents or proponents of the policy.

STEP 4: For each remaining statement, list the new stakeholders mentioned. Do not repeat.

STEP 5: Draw a graph that displays statements 1, 2,..n on the horizontal axis. On the vertical axis, display the cumulative frequency of new stakeholders mentioned in the statements. The graph will gradually flatten out, with no new stakeholders mentioned. If this does not occur before reaching the last stakeholder on the initial list, repeat steps 2 to 4. Add to the graph the new statements and the new stakeholders.

STEP 6: Add to the estimate stakeholders who should be included because of their formal positions (organization charts show such positions) or because they are involved in one or more policy-making activities: agenda setting, policy formulation, policy adoption, policy implementation, policy evaluation, and policy adaptation, succession or termination. Retain the full list for further analysis. You now have an estimate of the “population” of key stakeholders who are affected by and affect the policy, along with a description of their positions on an issue. This is a good basis for structuring the problem.

ASSIGNMENT 1B

From the e-Activity, provide at least two examples from the article and from your own experience of ways that worldviews, ideologies, and popular myths may have shaped the formulation of a specific problem or issue. Provide the source(s) of the paper or report you selected.

E-ACTIVITY

Go to one or more of the following Websites and review at least two policy papers or reports published by a government agency or a think tank that address a problem or an issue of interest: Public Agenda, located at www.publicagenda.org ; RAND Corporation located at www.rand.org ; and / or  American Enterprise Institute, located at www.aei.org . Be prepared to discuss.