POLICY:An Overview

TREN 3P14: Sustainable Integrated Waste Management

policy …a course or general plan of action

to be adopted by a government, party, person, etc.

- Concise Oxford Dictionary

scale

policy …a course or general plan of action to

be adopted by a government, party, person, etc.

- Concise Oxford Dictionary

…a selected, planned line of conduct in the light of which individual decisions are made and coordination achieved

- Webster’s Encyclopedic Dictionary

E.g. Sustainable Integrated Waste Management

Sustainable - • consistent with principles of sustainabilityIntegrated -• functionally• across spatial and temporal scales• across jurisdictions

Local Policy

National Policy

NATIONAL

PROVINCIAL

REGIONALMUNICIPALLOCAL

policydescription

analysis linkages

implicationsalternativesformulation

policy analysis3-stage approach

Stage 1: DescriptionStage 2: Analysis and LinkagesStage 3: Implications and

Alternatives

Stage 1: Description• Who is the policy written by?• Who is the policy written for?• When was it proposed?• Who could / should implement the policy? Do they

have the power (constitutional, economic, moral, etc.) to do so?

• What are the policy’s goals and objectives?• What are the specific policy suggestions?

Stage 2: Analysis and Linkages• What is new about the policy? • Is it aligned with a particular set of values, or a

particular ideology?• What connections are there between this policy and

other policies in the same area?• What good and bad policy precedents are there

(using logical, empirical, or ethical evaluations)? more...

Stage 2: Analysis and Linkages• What subsequent policy / legislative / political / practical

changes have there been since this policy was proposed?• Are the goals and objectives appropriate? If so, by what

standards? If not, why not?• Will the proposed mechanisms work? Is there a plausible

route from principles through policy to practice?• Are there any ways to ensure accountability for achieving

goals and objectives?

Stage 3: Implications and Alternatives

• What are the implications (resultant effects) of this policy, in all areas?

• What policy alternatives could you propose which would improve upon the existing policy?

policy making

the policy making process

simplified...

policy making Ask yourself 3 questions regarding

the policy issue: where are we now?

where do we want to be? how do we get from where we are to where we want to be?

policy making where are we now?

...what is the existing real-world situation and policy climate

surrounding the issue?

policy making where do we want to be?...describe the desirable real-world

situation, policy goals and objectives surrounding the issue

policy making how do we get from where we are to where we want to be?

…details and implementation steps for the new policy, accounting for real-world opportunities and obstacles

policy making must consider:

- values and ideologies- jurisdictional realities- biophysical / ecological constraints- economic, social, political contraints- patterns of human behaviour etc.!