Understanding how governments design policies and the institutions that shape public decision-making.
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Card 1
Public policy decisions are made under conditions of public accountability.
Explanation
Public policy is made by public authorities who must justify choices to citizens, courts, and oversight bodies.
Common mistake
Confusing any decision made by a public official with public policy, even when it has no wider public impact.
Card 2
Transforming policy goals into concrete actions and services.
Explanation
Implementation turns abstract policy decisions into programs, procedures, and everyday practices.
Card 3
It makes policy change dependent on agreement across multiple branches.
Explanation
When powers are separated, laws often need support from executive, legislature, and sometimes judiciary.
Common mistake
Assuming separation of powers only constrains executives and never affects legislatures or courts.
Card 4
Providing specialized knowledge and technical analysis.
Explanation
Experts contribute evidence, models, and forecasts that inform options available to elected decision-makers.
Common mistake
Believing experts legitimately decide public goals instead of informing those chosen by elected officials.
Card 5
Decisions are guided by formal procedures and written rules.
Explanation
Bureaucracies rely on standardized rules to ensure consistency, predictability, and impersonal treatment.
Common mistake
Equating bureaucracy only with slowness instead of its emphasis on formal, rule-based operations.
Card 6
Recognizing an issue as needing government attention and prioritization.
Explanation
At this stage, a condition becomes a political problem and competes for a place on the agenda.
Common mistake
Assuming a widely known condition is automatically on the government’s agenda.
Card 7
Developing specific options and instruments to address a defined problem.
Explanation
Formulation turns broad goals into concrete proposals using tools like taxes, subsidies, or regulations.
Card 8
Authoritative bodies choose and formally approve one policy option.
Explanation
Legislatures, executives, or other authorities select a proposal and give it legal or formal status.
Common mistake
Confusing informal discussions about options with an official adoption decision.
Card 9
Applying adopted rules and programs through administrative actions.
Explanation
Implementation includes issuing regulations, delivering services, and enforcing compliance.
Common mistake
Thinking implementation is automatic once a law is passed, ignoring administrative capacity and discretion.
Card 10
Assessing results to inform continuation, change, or termination of a policy.
Explanation
Evaluation compares objectives with outcomes and feeds information back into future policy cycles.
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