Policy Implementation and Evaluation
O
Oiyo Contributor
Chapter 6: Policy Implementation and Evaluation
While policy decision is ‘what to do’, policy implementation is ‘how to realize it’. Furthermore, evaluation is the process of checking whether the results were consistent with the original goals.
1. Policy Implementation
In modern administration, conflict management and field adaptation during the implementation process are as critical as the decision itself.
(1) Top-Down vs. Bottom-Up
| Perspective | Top-Down | Bottom-Up |
|---|---|---|
| Focus | Decision-maker centered, legal authority | Local officials (street-level) centered |
| Emphasis | Normative compliance, consistency | Discretion, field-level problem solving |
| Advocates | Sabatier & Mazmanian | Lipsky, Elmore |
(2) Lipsky’s Street-Level Bureaucracy
Street-level bureaucrats, such as teachers, police officers, and social workers who interact directly with citizens, possess significant de facto discretion despite resource shortages and heavy workloads.
2. Policy Evaluation
(1) Criteria for Evaluation (Validity)
- Internal Validity: Accuracy of causal inference. (Whether the actual cause produced the result)
- External Validity: Applicability to other situations or populations (Generalizability).
- External Validity: The degree to which the evaluation results can be generalized to other situations.
(2) Policy Change
- Termination: Completely ending a policy.
- Succession: Keeping the goal but fundamentally changing the instruments.
- Maintenance: Keeping the basic framework with minor modifications.
3. Types of Evaluation
- Ex-ante (Prior) Evaluation: Analyzing alternatives before implementation (Cost-Benefit Analysis).
- Formative Evaluation: Performed during implementation to improve and adjust the policy.
- Summative Evaluation: Performed after completion to assess overall effectiveness and goal attainment.
Key Checklist
- Who emphasized the importance of ‘street-level bureaucrats’ who exercise discretion in direct contact with citizens? (Answer: Michael Lipsky)
- What term refers to the degree to which causality between a policy and its results is accurately identified? (Answer: Internal Validity)
- What type of evaluation is conducted during the implementation process to correct and improve it? (Answer: Formative Evaluation)
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