• Define the problem
• Gather evidence
• Identify causes
• Evaluate a policy
• Develop solutions
• Select best solution
• Benefits & Costs
• The Prince System
• Political Strategies

• Information Tools
• Problem Resources
• Teacher Information
• Help

Grouping of Players

• Group players having the same economic interests. In dealing with an environemental issue, for example, all private developers might be grouped together.
• Do not group players with veto power. This especially holds for governmental players. For example, in federal legislation, never group the President and Congress.
• Do not group players if there is a disagreement among them or if their components hve widely unequal power. For example, members of a city government could be combined as a single player if there were general agreement among them concerning the issue and if each person in the governing unit had approximately equal power. If there were disagreements, or if some members were much more powerful than others, it would be preferable to divide them into two (or more) players.
• Select a list of players that represents a reasonable picture of the overall power distribution. Do not include an excess of players that gives one side unrealistic weight. If there is one collective player with an immense amount of power, that player should be divided into enough smaller players so that the ttotal power is accurately reflected. For example, in dealing with the executive branch, you might want to list the Presdient and the Cabinet as separate players rather than treat the executive branch as a single player.

See an example

Worksheet11: "Identifying the Players" (MSWORD)

Worksheet11: "Identifying the Players" (HTML)

Estimating Issue Position, Power, and Priority for Each Player