PHASES OF POLICY CYCLE

Phase 1: Problem Definition

 Defining the problem is the initial and perhaps most difficult phase of the policy practice
enterprise.
 Defining the problem usually specifies the solution.

POLICY SKILLS
Intellectual Interpersonal

1. Needs Assessment 1.Touching Base

 how to scan the environment and develop  Refers to the practitioner’s commitment to
indicators of needs. understand and communicate with the
 get technical agreement and work with various people and programs involved in a
community members to reach an agreement on problem.
how to define the problem.  Needs to know the views to uncover
alternative assumptions.
2. Delphi  Clients and those affected by the problem or
 Technique used to estimate a future condition. by a proposed solution should certainly be
 A way of seeking consensus without the alleged among those involved.
perils of face-to-face interaction.  A standard technique of community practice.

3. Objective Tree 2. Motivating

 Goal or Priority Tree  Practitioner motivates the client system to
 A way to map graphically the order of preference accept new problem definition and
for goals or objectives to examine & assess approaches.
them.  Involves seeking formal and informal support
 This technique is central to time management. for new ideas and providing support for
those who seek to innovate new strategies.
4. Trend Extrapolation
 Technique projects current demographic rates 3. Advocating
(death rates, birth rates, and so forth) into the  This technique involves acting in behalf of
future under a variety of assumptions. the interests of client system.
 The purpose of this exercise is to see what the
future holds if present trends continue. 4. Consulting
 Policy practitioners provides a source of
5. Systems Approach outside-expert advice on the substantive
 This approach to problem analysis takes as a issues or process techniques.
point of departure the interrelationships among
components of a system and explores the
configurations of these components.

6. Ethical Analysis
 asks the practitioner to address ethical questions
using external assessment tool such as the
Judeo- Christian code, religious codes, NASW
code of ethics, thoughtful reflection, deals with a
range of important issues.
 Phase 2: Proposal Development
 After the problem has been defined, various proposals are developed to solve it. These
proposals may be relatively well worked out or may be in the simpler form of suggestions and
ideas.
 It is often at this stage that clients and practitioners seek to know the broader implications of
their proposals.

POLICY SKILLS
Intellectual Interpersonal

1. Writing 1. Clearing
 The ability to get ideas from on paper is key.  A process to obtain the approval of
 Longer drafts, exclusive summaries and relevant individuals to a developing or
memos that lay out policy options. completed proposal.
 Informal and hence open to input.
2. Simulation  “Ringi”- Japanese similar process.
 The widespread availability of small personal
computers and spreadsheet programs. 2. Enabling
 See what conditions (financial or demographic  Traditional social work process.
condition) look like at some future time under  Creations of conditions that make it
specific assumptions. possible for progress within the client
system to occur.
3. Scenario Construction  Practitioner can create” climate for or the
 A method for discovering the crucial elements belief in change.”
of a system that will actually determine its
future state. 3. Brokering
 Involves a series of verbal if/then statements  Practitioners link proposals w/ resources.
that help practitioners’ asses the critical forces
in a situation, their relative importance and
their interconnections.

4. Cross-Impact Analysis
 Extends the Delphi method but in addition
seeks to assign probabilities that certain
developing events will occur.
 Practitioners can design impact matrix to
display expected events and their reciprocal
impact.
 Phase 3: Decision Phase
 Involves policy ratification, whereby formal approval is given to a document.
 Groups and Committee are central.
 The ability to negotiate, lobby and build coalitions is crucial.

POLICY SKILLS
Intellectual Interpersonal

1. Problem-Solving Skills 1. Enabling

 “Double loop learning”- simultaneous personal  Traditional social work process.
and organizational learning in which the  Creations of conditions that make it
assumptions underlying actions are possible for progress within the client
questioned. system to occur.
 Some key resources of ineffectiveness are  Practitioner can create” climate for or the
conceptual, involving incorrect thinking about belief in change.”
problems and respondents’ types.
 “Methods to Produce Effective Learning” 2. Brokering
 Practitioners link proposals with resources.
2. Negotiating
 The ability to negotiate is an important policy
practice skill.
 Provide a series of ways to “get people to deal
with their differences” that are productive and
forward looking.

3. Group Management
 Talks about how to make decision group more
effective.
 Rules involving how to prepare meeting, how
to be a member, how to chair a meeting, and
how to process and complete items in
committees are now having some impact.

4. Lobbying
 Practitioners needs to be sensitive to and
involved in the political process.

5. Coalition Building
 The ability to build coalitions- to keep old
supports, add new ones, and develop
alternative sources of support is crucial.
 Phase 4: Planning and Program Design
 Involves shaping a working document that the workers in the organization can use.
 It is the first part of the implantation process.
 Planning comes only when policy is ratified.
 Charting and scheduling are important here although the actual writing of guidelines is a skill
itself.
 The province of administration.

POLICY SKILL
Intellectual Interpersonal

1. DELTA (Decision box, Event box, Logic box, Time arrow, Activity box) 1.Touching Base
 Uses flowcharting symbols to chart decisions,  Refers to the practitioner’s commitment to
events, and activities over time. understand and communicate with the
 The purpose of this charting procedure is to various people and programs involved in a
organize the future and explore and expose problem.
hidden assumptions about the nature of  Needs to know the views to uncover
unfolding events, their sequence, and their alternative assumptions.
interconnections.  Clients and those affected by the problem
or by a proposed solution should certainly
2. Flowcharting
be among those involved.
 Like Delta, is essential to systematically laying
 A standard technique of community
out the steps of policy implementation.
practice.
 Practitioners needs to be aware of mechanism
using standard of IBM template.
2. Enabling
3. PERT (Program Evaluation and Review Technique)
 Traditional social work process.
 A tool of major importance in planning for the
 Creations of conditions that make it
future.
possible for progress within the client
 Works backward from end point, specifying
system to occur.
major events and activities along the way.
 Practitioner can create” climate for or the
 It indicates where a project should be by what
belief in change.”
time. It requires that the time for each period
between events be estimated and possible
3. Clearing
time of completion.
 A process to obtain the approval of
relevant individuals to a developing or
completed proposal.
 Informal and hence open to input.
 “Ringi”- Japanese similar process.
 Phase 5: Programming and Evaluation
 The program is now running and the policy practitioner now turn attentions to monitoring,
assessment and evaluation.
 Monitoring involves program statistics and rates.
 Assessment involves using data to make changes in the system to improve and refurbish it.
 Evaluation is more fateful, frequently involving “go/no go” decisions about programs and
program components.
 Also involve post hoc inspections of interventions to ascertain outcomes or results.

POLICY SKILL
Intellectual Interpersonal

1. Decision Analysis 1. Motivating

 A wide range of techniques for program  Practitioner motivates the client system to
evaluation has been developed for both accept new problem definition and
qualitative and quantitative evaluation. approaches.
 Involves seeking formal and informal
2. Idea Analysis support for new ideas and providing support
 This is how can one do a preliminary for those who seek to innovate new
assessment of a policy idea. strategies.
 Prigmore and Atherton have a list of checker
that can be used to assess an idea initially.

3. Decision Audit and Autopsy

 This id how is one to judge the quality of
decisions.
 A detailed audit of a sample of decision,
looking at them in terms of the cui bonum
(who benefits) criterion, is a start.

4. Challenging
 Organizational functionaries try to interpret
ambiguities in data to support their own
position.
 Policy practitioners has an ethical
responsibility to raise questions about such
interpretations and to press these questions if
needed.
 Involves questioning the various assumptions
involved in current or planned courses of
action.