Policy Analysis

Question 1

What is Policy Analysis?

Answer 1

• a process of multidisciplinary inquiry aiming at the creation, critical assessment, and communication of policy-relevant information.”
  - Multidisciplinary - issues and policy responses require evidence, thinking, and engagement with multiple professions and backgrounds
  - Policy analysis aims to 1) create policy, 2) assess it and to 3) communicate policy relevant information
  
  • Analyze it to make it more effective and to make it reach other populations
• a technique used in public administration to enable civil
  servants, activists, and others to examine and evaluate the available options to implement the goals of laws and elected
  officials

Question 2

2 Types of Policy Analysis?

Answer 2

1. Retrospective
2. Prospective

Question 3

Retrospective Policy Analysis

Answer 3

• Analysis of policy ( OF - implying that the policy exists, or there is a lack of policy)

It is:
- Descriptive; explanatory; often conducted by researchers
- What was the nature of the policy?
- Why did a policy make its way onto the agenda?
- Did a policy successfully achieve its objectives?
- Which policy instruments were used?
- Who were the major actors who influenced the development of the policy and the policy process?

• Policy does not have to be written down
• We are able to interpret government actions and in doing so, say that “this” was their policy

Question 4

Prospective Policy Analysis

Answer 4

• Analysis FOR policy (to produce policy

It is:
- Prescriptive; typically requested by decision-makers considering
whether to develop and introduce a policy; often conducted by
government policy analysts
- What are the policy options available to address the issue under
consideration?
- How should a given policy be formulated?
- How should a given policy be implemented?
- How might a given policy fare if introduced now?

Question 5

Why Conduct Policy Analysis?

Answer 5

• To systematically examine and evaluate the options available to
  pursue/implement the goals of laws and decision-makers
• To better ensure informed decision-making
• To minimize bias (we think 1 way is THE way to go about something until we gather evidence to prove us wrong)
• To understand what has worked, what hasn’t worked, and why
• To better understand the process of policy-making (how do we work with other policy makers)

Question 6

5 Approaches to Policy Analysis?

Answer 6

1) Policy analysis triangle
2) Stages heuristic
3) Stakeholder analysis
4) Health economic analysis
5) Ethical analysis, legal analysis

within each dimension, other analysis’ can be used (ie. stakeholder analysis can be used to understand actors involved)

Question 7

Policy Analysis Triangle

Answer 7

Content
- recognize what makes up the policy
- What is/are the policy objective(s)?
*- What are the means through which policy objectives will be
pursued (i.e., policy instruments)?
- What is the relationship between the responses to the above
questions?
- What reasons/evidence are supplied (explicit or implicit) to justify responses to the above questions?

Actors - identify actors who have an interest in the issue, are effected by it, and play a role in implementing policy
- Individuals
- Communities/populations
- Interest groups
- Organizations/corporations
- Government bodies

Context
- Situational factors
(focusing events: wars, droughts, outbreaks)
- Structural factors
(the political system demographics, economy)
- Cultural factors
(linguistic differences, ethnic minorities, religious commitments)
- Exogenous factors
(international treaties/partnerships; ie. Canada is part of a treaty stating that they will act a certain way on a particular health issue)

Process - agenda setting, policy formulation

Question 8

What is ‘Stages Heuristic’?

Answer 8

‘Stages’ = stages of the policy process

‘Heuristic’ = an approach to analysis

‘Stages heuristic’ = an approach to policy analysis that breaks down the policy process into stages and analyzes each stage

• Focuses on the process by which policies are initiated,
  formulated, implemented, evaluated

Question 9

Stages of the ‘Stage Heuristic’

Answer 9

Problem identification and issue recognition
- Why did the policy get on the agenda?

Policy formulation
- Who was involved in formulating the policy?
- How was the policy arrived at and agreed upon?

Policy implementation
- How were the policy’s objectives pursued?
- How was the policy put into action/practice?

Policy evaluation
- Did the policy achieve its objectives?
- What were the unintended consequences of the policy?

these stages are involved in the process piece of the triangle analysis

Question 10

Stakeholder Analysis

Answer 10

Stakeholder: An individual or group with a substantive
interest in an issue, including those with some role in making a decision or
its execution.”

Stakeholder analysis: Process through which those making policy or affected by it are identified and their likely position and levels of interest and influence are assessed (ie. Who are all of the people that are going to be happy/mad about this, who are the people that are going to put this into practice)

Question 11

3 Steps of Stakeholder Analysis

Answer 11

1) Identify the policy actors

2) Assess their political resources (power, influence)

3) Understand their positions, interests, and level of commitment

** this is involved in the Actor part of the policy analysis triangle)

Question 12

Step 1: Types of Stakeholders

Answer 12

Consumer organizations (e.g., patient groups)

Producer groups (e.g., nurses, doctors, pharm
companies)

Economic groups (workers who may be affected,
industries, companies with health insurance schemes)
- Ex. If you ban tobacco, you can put people who work on tobacco farms out of their jobs or you can disable corner store owners from being able to pay rent because tobacco is their biggest source of revenue

Ideological groups (single issue campaign organizations, political parties, researchers)
- ex. people who are not affected by the issue, bt have ideological positions about it (ie. abortion)

Question 13

Step 2: Assess actors’ political resources

Answer 13

• Assess the power of each actor to influence the policy
  decision, through: Voting, material resources (e.g., money), organizing people
• important because there can be rich interests against what you want

Question 14

Step 3: Understand policy actors’ positions and interests

Answer 14

Interests:
- expected economic effect on their interests;
- what do they have to gain or lose?

Position:
- supportive, neutral, opposed

Level of commitment:
- how much of their resources/ influence are they willing to devote to pursuing their interests (to support or oppose it)?

Question 15

What is the Health Economic Analysis?

Answer 15

Health economics: a branch of economics concerned with how (scarce) resources are allocated and used in the health system.
- used to evaluate the efficient/effective use
of resources to achieve health objectives

Question 16

2 Types of Health Economic Analysis

Answer 16

1) Cost-benefit Analysis
2) Cost-Effective Analysis

Question 17

Cost-benefit Analysis

Answer 17

• Compares the monetary value of resources used (to achieve objective; ie. how much spent on nicotine replacements) with the monetary value of resources saved or created (QOL)
• Places a monetary value on lives and quality of life
• strictly looks at money
• Often done using ‘willingness-to-pay’ methodology (ie. surveys to ask ppl what they would pay to gain ‘this’ QOL)
• Policy alternatives can be compared by the net monetary
  benefit

Question 18

Ex of Cost-benefit Analysis

Answer 18

Should we fund cognitive behavioural therapy or nicotine
replacement therapy to help people quit smoking?
- Examine the monetary value of all associated costs with the monetary
value of all associated benefits
- Which has a greater net benefit?

Question 19

Cost-Effective Analysis

Answer 19

• Compares the monetary value of resources used with health effects (e.g., mortality rate, blood pressure, etc.)
• NOT strictly based on money
• How much will it cost to achieve particular health benefits?
• Can we spend the same amount on another intervention to
  achieve more health benefits?

Question 20

Ex of Cost-Effective Analysis

Answer 20

Should we add the HPV screening program to current Canadian screening practices?
- evidence said it would save 200 QALY at a cost of $3 million

Question 21

Gathering information for policy analysis

Answer 21

Research evidence (what is the best intervention)
- Magnitude of the problem
- Effectiveness of policy options
- Stakeholder support for policy options (work with communities to generate information)

Policy documents
- Current policies, including policy objectives and means to achieve policy objectives
- Values, assumptions, guiding principles
- Policy approaches in different jurisdictions
- Framing
- look at how other countries have structure their analysis

Media/social media
- Problem framing
- Stakeholder interest and support for policy options

Surveys/interviews/focus groups with stakeholders
- Key stakeholders’ interests, positions, and levels of commitment