Public Finance

Public Policy Paper

Igor BaranovGraduate School of Management, St. Petersburg University

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Public Policy Paper: General Requirements

Groups of 4 students25% of the total score for the courseWhat 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 groupReference: Writing Effective Public Policy Papers by E.Young

and L.Quinn. OSI, 2002.

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Public Administration: Roles and Professions

Politicians

Civil servants

Policy analysts

Researchers

Managers in public sector organizations

Business-government relations analysts in private companies

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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

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Areas of Difference Policy Study Policy Analysis

Audience Targets other policy specialists

Targets decision-makers

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

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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

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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 policy-making 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”

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Policy Paper: Structure

Title

Table of contents

Abstract / Executive summary

Introduction

Problem description

Policy options

Conclusions and recommendations

Bibliography

Appendices

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Abstract / Executive Summary

Purpose of the paper

Definition and description of the policy problem

Evaluation of policy alternatives

Conclusion and recommendations

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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

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Conclusion and Recommendations

Synthesis of major findings

– highlights main points from the problem description and policy options elements

Set of policy recommendations

Concluding remarks

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Writing Style

Write by paragraphs!

– Paragraph has to indicate both logical and physical breaks in the text