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What is Involved in Making Public Policy?

Josie Myers
Josie Myers

Making public policy is not a quick or easy process, although the steps may seem intuitive. Each step requires a significant amount of time and debate, making what appears to be a quick five step process into a long struggle, full of vigorous opposing opinions, concessions, and unanticipated complications. The five basic steps are: Identify a problem, formulate a policy, adopt a policy, implement the policy, and evaluate the policy.

There are three basic areas of public policy within the United States. Almost any policy can be classified as either social, economic, or foreign. Many citizens associate only hot button issues such as welfare, crime, abortion, education, and health care with public policy, but all of these fall under the heading of social policy, and only represent a part of the picture.

Legislation on public policy is voted on in Congress.
Legislation on public policy is voted on in Congress.

The first step is to identify a problem. Sometimes, the problem is brought to the attention of government officials by individual citizens. Other times, lobbyists or private groups come to speak out on an issue, or the problem may be identified from above, and handed down to Congress for a resolution. When making public policy, it should be considered whether the problem affects many citizens, and whether the solution will degrade the civil liberties.

Lobbyists sometimes play a role in shaping public policy.
Lobbyists sometimes play a role in shaping public policy.

Once the problem has been identified, government and citizens work together to formulate a policy. Government is formed in such a way that, ideally, public opinion should rank among one of the biggest factors in making public policy. Citizens appeal to their congressmen and encourage them to vote for or against the policy. Likewise, supporters or detractors will issue media coverage on the policy and attempt to sway public opinion through these avenues. The policy is critiqued and refined among experts to find the best possible wording and compromises on issues that are important to one side or the other.

Members of the public may be given the chance to speak during the creation of policy.
Members of the public may be given the chance to speak during the creation of policy.

The next step in making public policy is to adopt the policy. Legislators vote on whether or not the formulated policy should be enacted into law. Once it has been enacted, and approved by the president, suggestions for implementation are passed to the executive branch of government.

When the policy has been in effect for enough time, the legislators analyze the effectiveness of the policy. This analysis is based on information gathered from statistics and opinions of the executives who have worked on implementation. If the policy needs to be altered to account for unforeseen complications, amendments can be added to the policy. Making public policy is never truly finished, and in reality the process is far from perfect. Issues can always be revisited over time, however, and adjustments, corrections, or improvements can be made.

Discussion Comments

bluedolphin

@SarahGen-- I completely agree with this. Agenda building is the foremost step in the policy making. This is when an issue is brought to the attention of policy makers. And anyone can contribute to this by calling their representatives in Congress.

The rest of the process can be long and unfortunately, most issues on the agenda don't end up as a policy subject. There are many different factors that contribute to this. Sometimes the time is right and sometimes it isn't.

SarahGen

@ZipLine-- Interest groups and lobby groups are definitely influential in policy making. But this doesn't mean that regular citizens have no say.

You can write to your senator about any policies you have an interest in and which you would like your representative to promote in Congress. You can also call and write to your representatives to support or not support resolutions and bills about a particular issue. You don't have to be a part of a powerful lobby to have a say in public policy.

ZipLine

I'm no expert on public policy. But from what I see and read in the news, it seems like interest groups and lobbyists make most of the calls when it comes to policy making. They have money and connections. They put pressure on policymakers and get things done.

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    • Legislation on public policy is voted on in Congress.
      By: Joe Gough
      Legislation on public policy is voted on in Congress.
    • Lobbyists sometimes play a role in shaping public policy.
      By: Andrey Burmakin
      Lobbyists sometimes play a role in shaping public policy.
    • Members of the public may be given the chance to speak during the creation of policy.
      By: Africa Studio
      Members of the public may be given the chance to speak during the creation of policy.
    • Approval by the president is one of the steps involved in making public policy.
      By: sborisov
      Approval by the president is one of the steps involved in making public policy.
    • Meetings regarding public policy must be open to the community.
      By: kasto
      Meetings regarding public policy must be open to the community.