Broadly, we might say that a public policy is simply what government (any public official who influences or determines public policy, including school officials, city council members, county supervisors, etc.) does or does not do about a problem that comes before them for consideration and possible action.
Specifically, public policy has a number of key attributes:
Policy analysis emerged to both better understand the policymaking process and to supply policy decision makers with reliable policy-relevant knowledge about pressing economic and social problems. Handbook of Public Policy Analysis : Theory, Politics, and Methods
UC Library Search is the University of California's unified discovery and borrowing system. This online catalog includes access to millions of books, articles, media, archival collections, and more.
See the UC Library Search User Guide and ask for research help 24/7 for more information.
Handbook of Public Policy Analysis by
The study of public policy and the methods of policy analysis are among the most rapidly developing areas in the social sciences. Policy analysis has emerged to provide a better understanding of the policymaking process and to supply decision makers with reliable policy-relevant knowledge about pressing economic and social problems. Presenting a broad, comprehensive perspective, the Handbook of Public Policy Analysis: Theory, Politics, and Methods covers the historical development of policy analysis, its role in the policy process, and empirical methods. The handbook considers the theory generated by these methods and the normative and ethical issues surrounding their practice. Written by leading experts in the field, this book- Deals with the basic origins and evolution of public policy Examines the stages of the policy-making process Identifies political advocacy and expertise in the policy process Focuses on rationality in policy decision-making and the role of policy networks and learning Details argumentation, rhetoric, and narratives Explores the comparative, cultural, and ethical aspects of public policy Explains primary quantitative-oriented analytical methods employed in policy research Addresses the qualitative sides of policy analysis Discusses tools used to refine policy choices Traces the development of policy analysis in selected national contexts The Handbook of Public Policy Analysis: Theory, Politics, and Methods describes the theoretical debates that have recently defined the field, including the work of postpositivist, interpretivist, and social constructionist scholars. This book also explores the interplay between empirical and normative analysis, a crucial issue running through contemporary debates.
Handbook of Public Policy Evaluation by
Handbook of Public Policy Evaluation is the only book of its kind to present aspects of public policy evaluation that relate to economic, technology, social, political, international, and legal problems. Rather than looking at specific narrowly focused programs, this book emphasizes broad-based evaluation theory, study, and application, providing a rich variety of exceptional insights and ideas. Designed to facilitate integration and coherence, key features in this volume include: Systematic evaluation, measuring the policy alternatives available for achieving goals Win-win evaluation, processing policy alternatives that can enable conservatives, liberals, and other major viewpoints to all come out ahead of their best initial expectations simultaneously Policy evaluation, offering methods, examples, studies, professionalism, perspectives, concepts, trends, substance, theory, applications, dispute resolution, interdisciplinary interaction and bibliographies and applications The book targets the need for improvement in the methods, processes, and substance of public policy and opens the gate of public policy to be more effective, efficient, and equitable. Policymakers, administrators, analysts, and practitioners alike will find the Handbook a necessary resource of alternative public policies that are placed in context with a direct course to positive results.
Public Policy Writing That Matters by
A thoroughly updated and expanded guide to honing your public policy writing skills--and making a significant impact on the world. Winner of the George Orwell Award by the National Council of Teachers of English Professionals across a variety of disciplines need to write about public policy in a manner that inspires action and genuine change. You may have amazing ideas about how to improve the world, but if you aren't able to communicate these ideas well, they simply won't become a reality. In Public Policy Writing That Matters, communications expert David Chrisinger, who directs the Harris Writing Program at the University of Chicago and worked in the US Government Accountability Office for a decade, argues that public policy writing is most persuasive when it tells clear, concrete stories about people doing things. Combining helpful hints and cautionary tales with writing exercises and excerpts from sample policy analysis, Chrisinger teaches readers to craft concise, story-driven pieces that exceed the stylistic requirements and limitations of traditional policy writing. Aimed at helping students and professionals overcome their default impulses to merely "explain," this book reveals proven tips--tested in the real world and in the classroom--for writing sophisticated policy analysis that is also easy to understand. For anyone interested in planning, organizing, developing, writing, and revising accessible public policy, Chrisinger offers a step-by-step guide that covers everything from the most effective use of data visualization to the best ways to write a sentence, from the ideal moment for adding a compelling anecdote to advice on using facts to strengthen an argument. This second edition addresses the current political climate and touches on policy changes that have occurred since the book was originally published. A vital tool for any policy writer or analyst, Public Policy Writing That Matters is a book for everyone passionate about using writing to effect real and lasting change.
Writing Public Policy by
Writing Public Policy is a practical, concise guide to writing and communicating in public policy processes. Designed to help students understand and perform common types of communication used in solving public problems, this text explains the standards and functions of communicating in thepublic sector and teaches the use of selected public policy communication genres. Catherine F. Smith presents a general method for planning, producing, and assessing communications in a variety of real-life contexts and situations of public policy work.Hands-on and accessible, Writing Public Policy, Sixth Edition teaches know-how and techniques needed to effectively communicate in the democratic process of making public policy. It is a particularly useful tool for any student preparing for a career in politics, government, public relations, law,public policy, journalism, social work, public health, or any role concerned with public affairs.
Cost-Inclusive Evaluation by
Is a given treatment, intervention, or program worth it? How can a program do more or better with less? Evaluating the costs of a program can be the missing link between a superficial evaluation and one that will get changes made and funding delivered. In accessible language and without complex formulas, this book provides a roadmap for measuring program costs and outcomes and analyzing cost-effectiveness, cost-benefit, and cost-utility. Also explained are simplified ways to use economic appraisal methodologies--such as net present valuation, internal rate of return computation, and payback period determination--in a cost-inclusive evaluation. Instructive examples span a range of human services, education, and health care contexts. Other evaluator- and student-friendly features include helpful graphics, procedure steps, end-of-chapter discussion questions, a list of acronyms, and a glossary of key terms.
Selling social : procurement, purchasing, and social enterprises by
"Since the 2010s, all levels of governments in Canada have gradually initiated social procurement as a policy tool to further their social values and political agendas. Social enterprises of various shapes and sizes across the country have served as partners in the execution of those agendas. Selling Social examines the experiences of these enterprises in social procurement and social purchasing. Selling Social presents the findings of a three-year Canadian research project detailing experiences of work integration social enterprises (WISEs) selling their goods and services to organizational purchasers, including governments, businesses, and non-profit organizations. Drawing on survey findings and interviews, the book explores a diverse group of social enterprises from across Canada, showcasing their successes and their challenges based on real-life examples to aid social enterprises that are considering this path. The book emphasizes the importance of including social and environmental considerations in procurement and purchasing decisions, particularly at larger scales and through public policy. In doing so, Selling Social extends the understanding of social enterprises beyond their social and economic outcomes and into the broader movement toward responsible procurement and purchasing."-- Provided by publisher.
The Planetary Gentrification Reader by
Gentrification is a global process that the United Nations now sees as a human rights issue. This new Planetary Gentrification Reader follows on from the editors' 2010 volume, The Gentrification Reader, and provides a more longitudinal (backward and forward in time) and broader (turning away from Anglo-/Euro-American hegemony) sense of developments in gentrification studies over time and space, drawing on key readings that reflect the development of cutting-edge debates. Revisiting new debates over the histories of gentrification, thinking through comparative urbanism on gentrification, considering new waves and types of gentrification, and giving much more focus to resistance to gentrification, this is a stellar collection of writings on this critical issue. Like in their 2010 Reader, the editors, who are internationally renowned experts in the field, include insightful commentary and suggested further reading. The book is essential reading for students and researchers in urban studies, urban planning, human geography, sociology, and housing studies and for those seeking to fight this socially unjust process.
Minding the Gap Between Restorative Justice, Therapeutic Jurisprudence, and Global Indigenous Wisdom by
Foundational principles of the contemporary practices of both restorative justice and the concept of therapeutic jurisprudence often import organic and indigenous practices of conflict resolution to resolve insufficiencies and even to explain fundamental ideas. Too often, the indiscriminate use of such practices does not mind the gap between the defining principles, the guiding principles, or the limiting principles that challenge particular features of practical applications. Minding the Gap Between Restorative Justice, Therapeutic Jurisprudence, and Global Indigenous Wisdom gives an authentic voice to practitioners and theorists whose work originates in organic or indigenous conflict resolution. It raises awareness of the diversity of approaches to dispute resolution from the deep perspective of their foundations and understands the challenges that arise in the practical application of restorative justice and therapeutic jurisprudence models when using principles disconnected from their foundation. It further offers ways to bridge the gap so that it is no longer an obstacle but a source of transformation. Covering topics such as justice praxes, indigenous conflict resolution, and global indigenous wisdom, this premier reference source is a dynamic resource for HR managers, lawyers, government officials, mediators, counselors, students and faculty of higher education, librarians, researchers, and academicians.
Recommended databases for beginning research in Public Policy
Looking for something else? The Library has hundreds of databases supporting all academic disciplines at Berkeley.
