Suchergebnisse

For much of its life, the field of policy analysis has lived with a wide range of definitions of its goals, work and significance in the society. This Element seeks to sort out these differences by describing the issues, players and developments that have played a role over the life of this field. As a result of the relationships that have developed an environment has emerged where both academics and practitioners who self identify as 'policy analysts' are not always recognized as such by others who use that same label. This Element explores the reasons why this conflictual situation has developed and whether the current status is a major departure from the past. While these developments may not be new or found only in policy analysis, they do have an impact on the status of the academics as well as the practitioners in the field.

The development of the policy analysis field -- Clients : a moving target -- The analyst : expectations and constraints -- The policy environment : increasing acknowledgement of complexity -- The policy issue itself -- Information and evidence -- Criteria and values -- A check list.

Introduction -- The background -- Public/private management relationships -- Political structures matter -- Contracting out: A-76 -- Personnel policy reform -- Reorganization as reform -- Budgeting as reform -- Federalism and intergovernmental relations -- Performance measurement -- Living with contradictions

The pandemanic situation is a classic "wicked problem" issue. It is not clear what its limits are and what frameworks are important to consider in dealing with it. This article focuses on the challenge of labeling the issue itself and finding ways to link and differentiate it from previous policy situations. It also highlights the complexity of the implementation environment of the issue.

Federal systems across the globe are full of contradictions. They are both individually unique and yet respond to similar objectives and expectations in a constantly changing environment. This dynamic is illustrated by developments in two large federal systems—India and the USA—that have tried to deal with dramatic differences within their population as they search for ways to make democratic principles come alive. While differences between the two systems are clear, examining both sets of players and pressures can prove to be useful to students of both settings.