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Models of policymaking by regulatory agencies need (1) to avoid focusing on a single causal factor, and (2) include analyses of the costs and efficacy of a variety of instruments—law, budgetary review, appointments, direct participation, evaluative studies—by which external actors can influence agency policy. The article proposes a conceptual framework focusing on advocacy coalitions—that is, actors from a variety of institutions who share a belief system—as a means of dealing with these considerations and as an alternative to the dominant institutional/organizational perspective for understanding policymaking by regulatory agencies.

Many difficulties faced by pollution control agencies in Europe & the US have been faced by the California Coastal Commission. A review of three of the six regional commissions' successes in significantly altering land use decisions regarding coastal development between 1973 & 1975 shows the ability of a central government agency to reform resource use patterns established by market factors & local government: overall background on the commissions is provided; specific permit decisions are analyzed; the permit review process is modeled & variances are explained; implementation problems are examined; & tentative reasons for the commissions' effectiveness are offered. Clear policy directives, reliance on the state commission to make critical decisions, & solicitation of public participation are all seen as successful methods of structuring policy implementation. A highly committed staff, commissioners strongly supportive of the commissions' objectives, & effective monitoring by environmental groups are also important. 3 Tables, 2 Figures, 10 References. J. Weber.

This paper examines two critical aspects of the relationship between part-time policy boards andfull-time professional staff: (1) the views of each group toward the proper role of staff and (2) the respective influence of commissioners and staff. The results from a study offour land-use regulatory agencies suggest that the amount of congruence between the two groups on substantive policy issues is the dominant factor affecting their relationship and that commissioners are quite able to establish the general policy orientation of their institutions.

This article examines the effects of partisanship, liberalism, environmental concern, and issue salience on both the general policy preferences and the actual voting behavior of administrative officials in a state agency concerned with land use and natural resources management. Building upon earlier studies of interest groups and legislative bodies, this analysis of the members of the California Coastal Commissions suggests several refinements in current thinking about the relation of environmental concern to traditional ideological and partisan cleavages. First, while our findings confirm the association found in most previous elite studies between liberalism and support for protection of natural resources, they also indicate that it is only two of the three components of liberalism that are relevant-government regulation of the market and local government autonomy as opposed to attitudes toward the welfare state. Second, party identification proves of minimal value in explaining the policy preferences and actual behavior of administrative officials.

Contents are grouped under the headings: Conceptual framework; Legal structuring of implementation; Implementation success, comparative and longitudinal analyses.

The findings & insights of studies of policy implementation in education, Ur planning, job creation, civil rights, & other areas of national importance are integrated in a conceptual framework that may serve as a guide to future research. The strengths & weaknesses of some of these studies are examined. A framework of analysis is proposed which specifically identifies variables, particularly with respect to the manner in which statutory characteristics affect subsequent events. The dynamic nature of implementation is captured by focusing on the manner in which changes in SE conditions, PO, & other factors affect the implementation process. It is argued that in most studies details of program implementation are stressed at the expense of the macrolevel & political variables that structure the entire process. Although implementation is discussed primarily in relation to traditional regulatory policies, other areas in which the principles derived are applicable are also suggested. 3 Figures. Modified HA.