Public Policy Formulation and
Implementation
By
Aiman Adnan
Definition
• Actions of the govt. and intentions that
determine those actions (Cochran et al.)
• What govt. chooses to do and not to do. e.g. the
govt’s initiative to remove the taboo around mental health by
launching mobile phone application ‘Humraaz’ and a toll-free
helpline 1166 which will provide free mental health assistance to
people. https://
tribune.com.pk/story/2412003/mental-health-helpline
• Statement by the govt. of what it plans to do
e.g. law, regulation, ruling, decision, order or a
• Goal oriented action
• Not a discrete decision
• Emerges in response to public demand to
particular problems
Areas of Concern
• Defence
• Foreign Affairs
• Education
• Health
• Communication
• Finance
• Rural Dev.
• Enviornment
• Commerce/ Trade
• Tourism
• Water & Power
Goals of Public Policy
1. Efficiency: if the policy maximizes total
benefits over total cost
2. Equity: rights based, income & opportunity
based
3. Political Practicality: if the policy has
sufficient support to be passed into law and
can be practiced by the legislative and
administrative branches of the govt.
Policy Cycle
1. Problem Identification i.e. human need
2. Agenda Setting i.e. items needing serious attention
3. Policy Formulation i.e. proposed course of action/
alternatives
4. Policy Adoption i.e. advocacy coalition to adopt a
solution
5. Policy Implementation i.e. role of executive and
admin. agencies
6. Policy Evaluation i.e. report card, impacts, outcomes,
goals met or not?
Types
1. Constituent i.e. for govt. agencies, rules and conduct – how
new agencies and authorities can be made
2. Distributive i.e. distribution of public funds & benefits- BISP
3. Regulatory i.e. imposes limits on behavior, sanctions
4. Redistributive i.e. deliberate reallocation of resources
among social groups- land reforms e.g. Kerala Model of
Development
5. Material i.e. provide tangible resources and power and also
disadvantages to the beneficiaries – removing or adding
subsidies on essential food items, reducing tariff on
imported cars
6. Symbolic i.e. cherished values e.g. democracy, social justice,
patriotism, national holidays
Policy Implementation
• After policy adoption, the stage of policy
implementation comes
• Very entangled process
• Bills are enacted into law
• Top- down approach- SBP introducing banking
policies for all banks to follow
• Bottom up approach
• Hybrid approach: to overcome the divide b/w
the two
Policy Impact, Evaluation & Change
• Difference b/w Policy Output and Policy
Outcome
• Output: Calculated, tangible and statistically
analyzed
• Outcome : Refers to results e.g. literacy rate
rise, low mortality rate
Evaluation
• Appraisal, assessment of policy and its
contents, implementation and outcomes
• Done through various experimental designs- 2
groups; experiment group and control group
Why Evaluation?
1. Critique of values, figures
2. Reliable information about policy
performance can be derived
3. Application of evaluation methods best
suited to cultural context
Criteria of Evaluation
1. Effectiveness
2. Efficiency
3. Equity
4. Adequacy
5. Responsiveness
6. Appropriateness
Policy Analysis
• Problem solving activity- problem of policy
choice/ adoption
• Social & political activity with moral and
intellectual responsibility
• To reduce uncertainty
• To apply practical and moral reasoning to
policy design
• To provide information to decision makers
• Done in 2 stages
1. Ex- ante policy analysis: “for policy making”
before they are implemented--- a.k.a Policy
Analysis
2. Ex- post: “of policy”, after it is executed/
implemented--- a.k.a Program Evaluation
Bardach’s Eightfold Path of Policy Analysis
Bardach’s Machine Metaphor
Key Elements
Policy Formulation Issues in
Pak./Underdeveloped countries
i. Incorrect problem identification
ii. Haphazard agenda setting
iii. Gaps in policy design
iv. Insufficient policy analysis
v. Delayed policy adoption
vi. Gaps in policy implementation
vii. Inadequate policy evaluation
viii. Lessons not learnt from previous inadequacies
Problems of Policy Implementation in Pak.
i. Inconsistent objectives
ii. Inadequate causal theory
iii. Absence of legislative support
iv. Little interest of implementing partners because
they are unrepresented during policy making
v. Unskillful implementing officers/public ad.
vi. Little political support
vii. Infrastructural inadequacies
viii. Unsupported by interest groups
Conditions for Effective Implementation
Adequate Causal Theory Implementation process
i.e. the cause, need & backed by the law to
Clear & consistent goals purpose of ensure compliance by
implementing a specific public administrators &
pragmatic policy target groups
Stable socio-econ.
Support of interest Conditions that do not
Skillful and committed
groups & political undermine the causal
public administrators
leaders theory or the political
support
Causes of Policy Termination
i. Cost dissatisfaction
ii. Opposition to policy from key stakeholders
iii. Ideological inclination
iv. Unavailability of political support
v. Inadequate human or financial resources
vi. Lack of clarity on operational guidelines
vii. Conflict with other existing policies
viii.Lack of motivation & political will
DIY
1. https://
theconversation.com/new-anti-poverty-initiative-focuses-on-liv
ed-experiences-to-help-shape-policy-192305
2. https://www.dawn.com/news/1685105
3. https://
tribune.com.pk/story/1998843/questions-public-policymaking-
pakistan
4. https://
tribune.com.pk/story/2126010/public-money-public-policy
