Implementation occurs as a ‘late’ part in the stages model of the policy process. As such, it is seen as following upon and subordinate to the preceding stages of agenda-setting and policy formation. ...Hence, implementation is often addressed as ‘the rest’. This view on implementation as a presupposed residual in goal achievement implies little attention to ‘political’ dimensions, like ambiguity and conflict. Therefore, the view can only partially explain the – sometimes disappointing – results of policy processes. Alternatively, approaches to the policy/implementation nexus with an explicit focus on what happens at the street level have a greater explanatory potential. They are not taking implementation for granted as a seemingly technical matter, simply prescribed by policy objectives.
Este artigo analisa a tramitação legislativa do primeiro Fundeb (de caráter transitório) e do Fundeb permanente, propondo uma interlocução entre o referencial da Ciência Política e a pesquisa na área ...da educação. O corpo de dados analisados constitui-se de documentos de tramitação das políticas de fundos disponíveis no site do Congresso Nacional, bem como materiais nos sites dos atores coletivos mais dedicados às matérias. O foco da análise recai sobre quais atores foram mais influentes e como influenciaram a decisão parlamentar. Combina recursos advindos de duas tradições de análise teórica sobre processo legislativo – funcionalista e neoinstitucionalista (segundo as abordagens distributivista, partidária e informacional) – e dos três modelos mais recorrentes na explicação sobre a formulação de políticas públicas: fluxos múltiplos, coalizões de advocacia e equilíbrio pontuado. Dentre os principais achados, destacam-se: a constituição de coalizões antagônicas que compuseram subsistemas de políticas públicas de educação; e a maior influência, sobre a tramitação, de uma dessas coalizões, identificada como do campo do direito à educação (Campanha Nacional pelo Direito à Educação), em detrimento daquela classificada como do campo do direito à aprendizagem (Todos pela Educação).
The study of policy design has been of long-standing interest to policy scholars. Recent surveys of policy design scholarship acknowledge two main pathways along which it has developed; one in which ...the process of policy designing is emphasised and one in which the output of this policy designing process - for example, policy content - is emphasised. As part of a survey of extant research, this article discusses how scholars guided by different orientations to studying policy design are addressing and measuring common policy design concepts and themes, and offers future research opportunities. The article also provides a platform for considering how insights stemming from different orientations of policy design research can be integrated and mapped within the broader public policy process. Finally, the article raises the question of whether a framework that links different conceptualisations of policy design within the policy process might help to advance the field.
When it comes to routine government activities, such as immigration, justice, social welfare provision and climate change, the general perception is that the US federal government operates slowly. ...One potential solution to increase the productivity and efficiency of the federal government is to adopt AI technologies and devices. AI technologies and devices already provide unique capabilities, services, and products, as demonstrated by smart homes, autonomous vehicles, delivery drones, GPS navigation, Chatbots such as OpenAI's ChatGPT and Google's Bard, and virtual assistants such as Amazon's Alexa. However, incorporating massive AI into the US federal government would present several challenges, including ethical and legal concerns, outdated infrastructure, unprepared human capital, institutional obstacles, and a lack of social acceptance. How can US policymakers promote policies that increase AI usage in the face of these challenges? This will require a comprehensive strategy at the intersection of science, policy, and economics that addresses the aforementioned challenges. In this paper, we survey literature on the interrelated policy process to understand the advancement, or lack thereof, of AI in the US federal government, an emerging area of interest. To accomplish this, we examine several policy process frameworks, including the Advocacy Coalition Framework (ACF), Multiple Streams Framework (MSF), Punctuated Equilibrium Theory (PET), Internal Determinants and Diffusion (ID&D), Narrative Policy Framework (NPF), and Institutional Analysis and Development (IAD). We hope that insights from this literature will identify a set of policies to promote AI-operated functionalities in the US federal government.
•Private sector and government labs are investing in developing greater AI capability, but the public sector lags in AI implementation and adoption.•We examine policymaker opportunities to promote federal government use of AI through the lens of policy process frameworks while looking at the interrelated fields of energy, agriculture, and the environment, areas often quoted together with AI and technology innovation.•The core theme of each framework—coalitions from the Advocacy Coalition Framework, policy entrepreneurs from the Multiple Streams Framework, focusing events and shocks from the Punctuated Equilibrium Theory, internal factors from the Internal Determinants and Diffusion, narratives from the Narrative Policy Framework, and institutional rules and arrangements from the Institutional Analysis and Development—can be leveraged by policymakers to advance policy on AI use in the federal government.•This work contributes to the body of public policy literature by covering a critical but least-explored area of AI innovation in the context of the US federal government.•Future research could conduct an in-depth analysis of each framework in promoting AI capability in both federal and state governments, while also investigating opportunities for policymakers in the realm of generative AI.
This article examines how civil society organizations navigate local government to secure more inclusive environmental governance. Based on an in-depth case study of water governance in Zhejiang ...Province between 2012 and 2018, we find that Green Zhejiang, a civil society organization, exercised informal power to hold the local government accountable based on two strategies: mobilizing citizens to collect information on water pollution and strategically leveraging the authority of provincial government to find citizen-focused solutions. Most existing studies foreground one stage of the policy process – advocacy in the agenda-setting phase, policy entrepreneurship during the design phase, or monitoring during the implementation phase; however, we examine strategies of civil society organizations throughout this policy lifecycle. With this approach, we are able to analyse the strategic interactions between different levels of the government and civil society organizations and locate the positive outcomes and limits under the current governance system. Despite policy successes, Green Zhejiang still acts informally, which limits long-term effectiveness. However, incorporating citizens into public administration in a meaningful way requires sharing policymaking power formally, and thus far, local governments are only willing to share power in an ad hoc and informal way. More institutionalized citizen participation is necessary to develop innovative solutions to the severe environmental degradation in China.
Indonesia is a country with the largest Muslim population in the world, with Java having the biggest number of Muslim scholars (ulamas), in Indonesia. Nonetheless, it is unfortunate that ...participation of Indonesian ulamas in international da’wa or sermon is very limited. One of the obstacles Ulamas face in proselytizing in foreign countries is the weak English language proficiency. English is today has become the most freqeuntly used international language in the 21st century, making it a lingua franca, and a valuable means of international communication. This articles assesses a program that involved the collaboration between West Java provincial government and the British Council Indonesia to provide English training for Ulamas in West Java. The program was tailored toward enhancing English proficiency of Ulamas, which in turn was expected to their ability to participate in proselytization activities and dialogues abroad. The objective of this research was to assess the evolution of the program to become the policy of West Java provincial governor, as well as the conduct, progress and performance of the program. Motivation to learn and the leanrning community were some of the key factors that influnced the performance of the English for Ulama program.However, limited time and budget were some of the key obstacles that contrained program performance. Conclusions were used to draw several policy recommendations.
The study of policy design has been of long-standing interest to policy scholars. Recent surveys of policy design scholarship acknowledge two main pathways along which it has developed; one in which ...the process of policy designing is emphasised and one in which the output of this policy
designing process - for example, policy content - is emphasised. As part of a survey of extant research, this article discusses how scholars guided by different orientations to studying policy design are addressing and measuring common policy design concepts and themes, and offers
future research opportunities. The article also provides a platform for considering how insights stemming from different orientations of policy design research can be integrated and mapped within the broader public policy process. Finally, the article raises the question of whether a framework
that links different conceptualisations of policy design within the policy process might help to advance the field.
The social construction of target populations has emerged as an influential framework for understanding the public policy process. In particular, target populations have been shown to shape the ...allocation of benefits and burdens by political elites. However, existing studies focus on the elite level, which overlooks whether public preferences are aligned with the allocation of policy benefits and burdens by political elites. Moreover, many studies treat social constructions as homogenous, which this paper calls into question. Using a nation‐wide survey experiment, I investigate variation in public support for affirmative action policies with randomly assigned target populations. The findings indicate that the public formulates policy preferences on the basis of perceived deservingness of target groups similar to political elites. In addition, the findings uncover heterogeneity in the effect of targeting on public opinion based on ideology and racial/ethnic group identity.
对目标人群的社会建构已成为理解公共政策过程的重要框架。具体来说，现有研究已证明目标人群可以影响政治精英对利益和负担的分配。然而，现有研究将重点放在了精英层面，而忽视了公众偏好是否与政治精英对政策利益和负担的分配相一致。此外，许多研究认为社会建构是同质的，本文对此提出了质疑。本研究进行了一项全国范围的调查实验，根据随机分配的目标人群，我们对平权法案政策的公众支持差异进行了研究。研究结果表明，与政治精英类似，公众会依据他们对目标群体的感知价值来形成他们的政策偏好。此外，我们的研究结果发现，这种作用于公众意见的影响会因意识形态和种族或族群身份而产生差异。
In 2016, the South African government became the first in the African region to announce the introduction of an SSB tax based on sugar content as a public health measure to reduce obesity. This tax ...was introduced against the backdrop of South Africa having a large sugar production and SSB manufacturing industry, as well as very high unemployment rates. The introduction of fiscal measures, such as a SSB tax, has been met with well-coordinated and funded opposition in other countries.
The aim of this study is to describe and analyse the arguments and strategies utilised by industry during policymaking processes to oppose regulatory actions in LMIC. This study analyses arguments and strategies used by the beverage and related industries during the public consultation phase of the process to adopt the South African SSB tax.
Industry opposition to the SSB tax was comprehensive and employed several tactics. First, industry underscored its economic importance and the potential job losses and other economic harms that may arise from the tax. This argument was well-received by policymakers, and similar to industry tactics employed in other middle income countries like Mexico. Second, industry discussed self-regulation and voluntary measures as a form of policy substitution, which mirrors industry responses in the US, the Caribbean and Latin America. Third, industry misused or disputed evidence to undermine the perceived efficacy of the tax. Finally, considerations for small business and their ability to compete with multi-national corporations were a unique feature of industry response.
Industry opposition followed both general trends, and also introduced nuanced and context-specific arguments. The industry response experienced in South Africa can be instructive for other countries contemplating the introduction of similar measures.
What stimulates policy change in organizations? Punctuated equilibrium theory (PET) posits that over time policy moves slowly, but also experiences large, rapid changes. Explanations for punctuations ...have centered on institutional friction and disproportionate information processing. Lacking in PET literature is a theoretical understanding of policy change aside from structural and cognitive limitations. Other organizational features can create friction to slow or accelerate the policy process. This study utilizes both public policy and public administration theory by applying a public administration approach to studying budgetary change. Leveraging this approach, this work analyzes the pattern and explanations of budgetary changes. Centering on two concepts understudied in PET literature—policy feedback and endogenous organizational change—data from hundreds of organizations are used to demonstrate how organization performance and personnel instability contribute to budgetary changes for core organization activity. Results indicate that high levels of performance and low levels of personnel instability lead to incremental changes.
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