PowerPoint Template
Download
Report
Transcript PowerPoint Template
Public Finance
Public Policy Paper
Igor Baranov
Graduate School of Management, St. Petersburg University
Public Policy Paper: General Requirements
Groups of 4 students
25% of the total score for the course
What is graded?
- In-class presentation (10 minutes) according to the schedule
- Written paper submitted AFTER presentation (deadline:
April 28, 2009), up to 5,000 words
Evaluation:
- Following Writing Public Policy Paper guidelines
- Quality of presentation
- Q&A session for the group
Reference: Writing Effective Public Policy Papers by E.Young
and L.Quinn. OSI, 2002.
Page 2
Public Administration: Roles and Professions
Politicians
Civil servants
Policy analysts
Researchers
Managers in public sector organizations
Business-government relations analysts in private companies
Page 3
Policy Study vs Policy Analysis
Policy study
– Who: researchers / academics
– Where: universities, research institutes
– What: to understand and inform the policy-making process
by carrying out primary research into specific policy issues
Policy analysis
– Who: analysts
– Where: think tanks / policy centers
– What: designing actual policy to be implemented
Policy studies are issue-driven, whereas policy analyses are client-driven
Page 4
Areas of Difference
Policy Study
Policy Analysis
Audience
Targets other policy
specialists
Targets decisionmakers
Focus
Issue-driven: General
recommendations on
policy issues
Client-driven: Designing
specific policies to be
implemented on the
ground
Methodology
Primary research
Rarely includes primary
research
Ideas / language used
Can be quite discipline
specific / technical
Must be very clear and
simple
Length
Up to 20,000 words
Not usually longer than
5,000 words
Page 5
The Policy Cycle
Problem definition / Agenda setting
Show that a problem exists that requires government action
Constructing the Policy Alternatives / Policy Formulation
Consider all possible solutions
Choice of Solution / Selection of Preferred Policy Option
Evaluate each option and choose your preferred one
Policy design
Choosing a policy instrument and a delivery organization mix
Policy implementation and monitoring
Evaluation
A policy paper can influence any or all stages of the policy cycle
Page 6
Paper Checklist
Which stage(s) in the policy-making process are you trying to influence
through your policy paper?
Which stakeholders have been/are involved at each stage of the policymaking process? Who is your “client”?
Have you identified a clear problem to address? Can you summarize it in
two sentences?
Do you have sufficiently comprehensive evidence to support your claim
that a problem exists?
Have you outlined and evaluated the possible policy options that could
solve this problem? What evaluation criteria did you use?
Have you decided on a preferred alternative?
Do you have sufficient evidence to effectively argue for your chosen policy
alternative over the others?
Prepare “Elevator speech”
Page 7
Policy Paper: Structure
Title
Table of contents
Abstract / Executive summary
Introduction
Problem description
Policy options
Conclusions and recommendations
Bibliography
Appendices
Page 8
Abstract / Executive Summary
Purpose of the paper
Definition and description of the policy problem
Evaluation of policy alternatives
Conclusion and recommendations
Page 9
Introduction
Context of the policy problem
Definition of the policy problem
Statement of intent
Methodology and limitations of the study
Road map of the paper
Page 10
Conclusion and Recommendations
Synthesis of major findings
– highlights main points from the problem description and
policy options elements
Set of policy recommendations
Concluding remarks
Page 11
Writing Style
Write by paragraphs!
– Paragraph has to indicate both logical and physical
breaks in the text
Page 12