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

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Would you like to become a public policy analyst?

Public policy affects every aspect of your life. Think back to when you were ten years old. Public policies helped to build your school and required you to attend. Public policies prevented you from driving, working, getting married or purchasing alcohol. When you are old enough to do these things, public policies will regulate how you do them.

In a democratic society, everyone can influence the public policies that affect their lives. I bet that you have heard a social studies teacher say that if people do not like a law or policy, they can try to change it.

To do that, you need the skills of a public policy analyst. Be sure that you have read carefully about what public policy is. As a public policy analyst, you first need to understand what a public policy issue is. Briefly, public policy issues involve three main components:

• A social problem such as crime, drugs, or violence that needs to be corrected by government, and
• Individuals (like you), groups (like your class) or organizations called players who are upset by the social problem and want to improve or make
• a public policy to try to correct the social problem