Introduction to Western Methods of Policy Analysis

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Introduction to Western Methods of Policy Analysis

• Diné Policy Institute

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What is Policy?

• advice that relates to public decisions.. which
  are also informed by social values. (Weimer and
  Vining, p.23)
• Policy Analysis is client-oriented advice
  relevant to public decisions and informed by
  social values. (Ibid. p.24)
• Policy analysis goes beyond personal decision
  making. (Bardach, Intro)
• Policy analysis is a social and political
  activity. (Bardach, Intro)

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What is Policy?

• Policy we need to understand what sorts of
  truth might be spoken, in what languages, and to
  what ends. (Bobrow, p.4)
• The policy field includes work that seeks only to
  understand and explain the process of public
  policy making knowledge of, in Lasswells
  terms. (Bobrow, p.4)
• The process of public policymaking includes the
  manner of which problems get conceptualized and
  brought to government for solution. (Sabatier,
  p.3)
• Policy analysts are often required to give advice
  to policymakers in incredibly short periods of
  time. (Patton, p.2)

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What is Policy?

• Policy making can be considered to be a set of
  processes, including at least (Kingdon, p. 2-3)
• The setting of the agenda
• The specification of alternatives from which a
  choice is to be made.
• and authoritative choice among those specified
  alternatives, as in a legislative vote or a
  presidential decision, and
• The implementation of the decision.

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What is Policy?

• Policy is an agreed upon course of action, be it
  from a legal, political, educational, economic
  authority, or an agreed upon course of action of
  the basic unit of society the family.
• Policy can involve economics, statistics, ethics,
  sociology, psychology, health, politics,
  education, environment, and so forth.

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Defining Policy Analysis

• Public Policy analysis can be defined as
  determining which of various alternative public
  or governmental policies will most achieve a
  given set of goals in light of the relations
  between the policies and the goals. ( Nagel p.
  71)

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Elements of Policy Analysis

1. Goals, including normative constraints and
   relative weights for the goals.
2. Policies, programs, projects, decisions, options,
   means, or other alternatives that are available
   for achieving the goals.
3. Relations between the policies and the goals,
   including relations that are established by
   intuition, authority, statistics, observation,
   deduction, guesses, or by other means.
4. Drawing a tentative conclusion as to which policy
   or combination of policies is best to adopt in
   light of the goals, policies, and relations.
5. Determining what it would take to bring a second
   place or other alternative up to first.

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Methods of Policy Analysis

• How to draw a conclusion as to which policy to
  adopt from information on goals, policies, and
  relations.
• How to establish the relations between policies
  and goals.
• How to determine what policies are available for
  adoption and what goals are appropriate to
  consider.

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Commonly used Non-Navajo method
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Values implicit in the model

• World View

VALUES
Methods of Policy Analysis
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Worldview

• set of implicit and explicit assumptions about
  the origin of the universe and the nature and
  purpose of human life. (Chapra, 1992)
• Values are beliefs that something good and
  desirable. Values define what is important and
  consequently what is worth striving for.
  (Ibrahim)
• Norms are what is acceptable and appropriate
  behavior in particular circumstances. (Ibrahim)

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Western Worldview

1. Western worldview is NOT monolithic, however,
   many if the values have been influenced by the
   Judeo-Christian tradition.
2. West represent a continuum of values

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Western values

• Certain fundamental beliefs can be noted
• Democracy
• Liberalism
• Individualism
• Materialism
• Secularism
• Consumerism

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Values implicit in the model

• Judeo-
• Christian
• Kant

Individualism
Cost-benefit analysis
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Problems

• With the emergence of pluralism, it is difficult
  to define the problem, because there is no
  ultimate good or bad.
• In addition, with the values listed it is assumed
  that most things can be monetized (have a dollar
  value placed on it.)

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Example
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Navajo Nation approach

• Reactive-Crisis Model
• We rely on what the Navajo Nation gives us to
  make a decision.
• We do not look at the long term impactif it
  looks good we do it.
• There is no analysis of the issue.
• Issue is made by the people, without any real
  information about the impact of the issue at
  hand.
• Our policies consist of the Five Management
  system.
• Chapters have no policy plans, they react to
  crisis, nobody wants to CHANGE.
• No one wants to come together and brainstorm
  issues.

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Current Policy-Making Practice at the Chapter
Level (on the Navajo Nation)
If no, may go back to planning meeting
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Values implicit in the model

• Western/
• BIA/ Navajo

Individualism
Cost-benefit analysis
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Problems

• Navajo Nation reacts to problems using a
  non-Navajo approach, but without any real
  analysis.