Project LEGAL's

Science Public Policy Analyst

Science Public Policy Steps


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Describing the Policy to be Implemented

Begin by clearly describing the public policy you wish to see implemented. Using your preferred alternative developed in Step 6 "Select the Best Solution", obtain information on the following:

  1. Level of government at which the policy will be implemented-local, state, federal or international.
  2. Legislative requirements-does the policy require a new or revised law?
  3. Administrative and financial requirements-what agency will be primarily responsible and what funds, if any, are required?
  4. Judicial decisions-how will court interpretation affect the policy?
Be sure that you have defined a policy and not a goal. For example, "reducing unemployment" is not a policy, but a goal. "Spending $100 million of federal funds to provide job-training programs" is a policy.

Although the policy needs to be clearly described in order to forecast its implementation, the exact details of its final formulation are not required. Frequently, policies are altered to gain the support needed for their implementation. For example, the 1986 tax reform bill started out with tax rates lower than those that eventually appeared in its final version. The Prince System can be applied to a proposed policy and then applied a second time to a revised policy.