Answer:
The three stages of Public policies are
- Agenda setting
- Policy Formulation
- Adoption
- Implementation
- Evaluation
Explanation:
Howlett and Ramesh’s model identifies five stages: agenda setting, policy
formulation, adoption (or decision making), implementation and evaluation. Let us briefly examine each of these stages.
AGENDA SETTING
This stage refers to the process through which a policy and the problem it is intended to address are acknowledged to be of public interest. Some
authors differentiate among several types of agendas, including discussion agendas and decision agendas.
POLICY FORMULATION
At this stage, the public administration concerned examines the various policy options it considers to be possible solutions. It should be noted that
coalitions of actors strive, through the use of advocacy strategies, to gain priority for one specific interpretation of both the problem and its solution. It
is at this stage that power relationships crystallize, determining the direction a policy will take.
ADOPTION
Adoption is the stage during which decisions are made at the governmental level, resulting in a decision that favours one or more approaches to addressing a given problem.
IMPLEMENTATION
At this stage, the policy’s implementation parameters are established, which can directly affect the eventual outcome of the policy. Several factors combine to determine the actual effects of a policy and how well it achieves its objectives. Factors noted by Sabatier and Mazmanian include:
- The type and complexity of the problem addressed;
- The magnitude of the expected change and the groups targeted by the policy;
- The human and financial resources devoted to implementation, and;
- The administrative structures and regulations that will be put in place to support implementation of the policy (Sabatier & Mazmanian, 1995).
EVALUATION
This is the stage during which a policy is evaluated, to verify whether its implementation and its effects are aligned with the objectives that were explicitly or implicitly set out. This evaluation can be carried out by the government apparatus, by consultants or by civil society (Howlett & Ramesh, 2003).
