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:related to or involving repetition in a process
The analytic work in problem solving generally proceeds in a certain direction, from defining the problem at the beginning all the way to making a decision and explaining it at the end.
What private troubles warrant definition as public problems?
E.g.: Oil and gas development as an environmental versus an economic one
or otherwise find another way to describe the nature or severity of the problem (later steps will be helpful)
Problem: Deficient elementary school education
Symptoms: Low student test scores; extreme difficulty in middle school
Possible solution: Increase education funding
Credible information that you gather, or that someone else has compiled, regarding the nature, scope, causes, and consequences of the problem.
Data and information that you, or your research team, collect
Secondary
Secondary evidence
Data or information that has been compiled by someone else
Possible policy interventions to address the problem. May include examples seen elsewhere, ideas from citizens or interest groups, or may be developed specifically for the situation at hand.
Provide services
Address the problem directly through a new government program, or a new project under an existing program
Develop a plan for contracting the desire program to address the program - likely involving a request for proposals and contract compliance plan.
Partner with an existing entity - such as a nonprofit organization - that is already working on, or has experience with, the issue.
Always consider whether no government action, or the status quo, is preferable to policy intervention
Select the primary objectives of the policy action being considered - with careful attention to the context, conditions, and problem at hand.
How do the policy options compare in their benefit-to-cost ratio? Are some clearly more or less "wasteful" or costly?
How do the policy options compare in their ability to correct past inequality or discrimination?
Are some policy options more likely than others to receive the necessary support from political allies - even though they may not be preferable on the basis of other criteria?
Look to the evidence, experts, and examples.
Assume the political, administrative, and environmental context as it is - not as you want it to be.
Be confident in what you know, and modest in that which you suspect.
Political feasibility
Efficiency
Justice
Policy option 1
Policy option 2
Policy option 3
Ensuring careful policy analyses achieve maximum impact through intentional messaging
For example, is your role to provide an objective analysis of the options, or to persuade?
For example, are you presenting your analysis findings to experts in the issue, to political officials, or to a lay public?
Written reports allow for maximum detail and explanation, but take more effort to digest and may not reach your audience.
Regardless of your role, audience, and format, strive for clear, simple, and quality communication.