A Practical Guide for Policy Analysis: The Eightfold Path to More Effective Problem Solving

by Eugene S. Bardach, Eric M. Patashnik

Overview

In the Fifth Edition of A Practical Guide for Policy Analysis: The Eightfold Path to More Effective Problem Solving, Eugene Bardach and new co-author Eric Patashnik draw on more than 40 years of experience teaching students to be effective, accurate, and persuasive policy analysts. This bestselling handbook presents dozens of concrete tips, interesting case studies, and step-by-step strategies that are easily applicable for the budding analyst as well as the seasoned professional.

In this new edition, Bardach and Patashnik update many examples to reflect the shifting landscape of policy issues. A new section with advice on how to undertake policy design in addition to making policy choices makes the book even more engaging. Readers will also appreciate a sample document of real world policy analysis, suggestions for developing creative, "out-of-the-box" solutions, and tips for working with clients.
 

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781483359472
Publisher:	SAGE Publications
Publication date:	08/19/2015
Sold by:	Barnes & Noble
Format:	eBook
Pages:	224
File size:	985 KB

About the Author

Eugene Bardach has been teaching graduate-level policy analysis workshop classes since 1973 at the Goldman School of Public Policy,
University of California, Berkeley, in which time he has coached some 500 projects. He is a broadly based political scientist with wide-ranging
teaching and research interests. His focus is primarily on policy implementation and public management, and most recently on problems of
facilitating better interorganizational collaboration in service delivery (e.g., in human services, environmental enforcement, fire prevention,
and habitat preservation). He also maintains an interest in problems of homeland defense regulatory program design and execution, particularly
in areas of health, safety, consumer protection, and equal opportunity. Bardach has developed novel teaching methods and materials at Berkeley,
has directed and taught in residentially based training programs for higher-level public managers, and has worked for the Office of Policy
Analysis at the US Department of Interior. He is the recipient of the 1998 Donald T. Campbell Award of the Policy Studies Organization for creative
contribution to the methodology of policy analysis. This book is based on his experience teaching students the principles of policy analysis
and then helping them to execute their project work. 
Eric M. Patashnik teaches policy analysis at the Frank Batten School of Leadership and Public Policy, University of Virginia.  He previously held faculty positions at Yale University and at the UCLA Luskin School of Public Affairs. Patashnik is a Nonresident Senior Fellow of the Brookings Institution, an elected fellow of the National Academy of Public Administration, and the editor (beginning 2016) of the Journal of Health Politics, Policy and Law.  He received his Master’s in Public Policy degree from the Goldman School of Public Policy, University of California, Berkeley.  He served as Associate Dean for Academic Affairs of the Batten School from 2009-2012.  Patashnik’s research focuses on the politics of American national policymaking, especially health policy, the welfare state, and the role of Congress.  He received the Jefferson Foundation Award for excellence in teaching at UVA.  He is the author or editor of numerous books, including Reform at Risk: What Happens After Major Policy Changes Are Enacted which won the Louis Brownlow Book Award from the National Academy of Public Administration.   Earlier in his career, Patashnik was a legislative analyst for the U.S. House Subcommittee on Elections.

Table of Contents

Preface
Acknowledgments
Introduction
Part I THE EIGHTFOLD PATH
Step One: Define the Problem
Step Two: Assemble Some Evidence
Step Three: Construct the Alternatives
Step Four: Select the Criteria
Step Five: Project the Outcomes
Step Six: Confront the Trade-Offs
Step Seven: Stop, Focus, Narrow, Deepen, Decide!
Step Eight: Tell Your Story
PART II ASSEMBLING EVIDENCE
Getting Started
Locating Relevant Sources
Gaining Access and Engaging Assistance
Conducting a Policy Research Interview
Using Language to Characterize and Calibrate
Protecting Credibility
Strategic Dilemmas of Policy Research
PART III HANDLING A DESIGN PROBLEM
It's a Production System
Crosswalks to the Eightfold Path
Define the Problem—Focus on a Primary Outcome
Construct the Alternatives—Configure the System’s Organizational Structure and Its Operating Processes
Select the Criteria—Define the Objectives to Be Achieved
Project the Outcomes—Test Whether It Will Work
Confront the Trade-Offs—Examine the System from Multiple Perspectives
Design a Transition Strategy
PART IV “SMART (BEST) PRACTICES” RESEARCH: UNDERSTANDING AND MAKING USE OF WHAT LOOK LIKE GOOD IDEAS FROM SOMEWHERE ELSE
Develop Realistic Expectations
Analyze Smart Practices
Observe the Practice
Describe Generic Vulnerabilities
But Will It Work Here?
Back to the Eightfold Path
APPENDIX A SPECIMEN OF A REAL-WORLD POLICY ANALYSIS
Preface
Summary
Reducing Consumption: More Enforcement against Typical Dealers
Reducing Consumption: More Enforcement against Higher-Level Dealers
Reducing Cocaine-Related Crime
Conclusion
Appendix B THINGS GOVERNMENTS DO
Taxes
Regulation
Subsidies and Grants
Service Provision
Agency Budgets
Information
The Structure of Private Rights
The Framework of Economic Activity
Education and Consultation
Financing and Contracting
Bureaucratic and Political Reforms
APPENDIX C UNDERSTANDING PUBLIC AND NONPROFIT INSTITUTIONS: ASKING THE RIGHT QUESTIONS
Mission
Environment
Performance Measurement
Technology
Production/Delivery Processes
Frontline Workers and Co-Producers
Partners and Other Outsiders
Centralization/Decentralization
Culture and Communications
Politics
Leadership
Change
APPENDIX D STRATEGIC ADVICE ON THE DYNAMICS OF GATHERING POLITICAL SUPPORT
Sequencing
Timing
APPENDIX E TIPS FOR WORKING WITH CLIENTS
References
Index