Policy Utilization & Conclusion

Study size, study timing, methodological adequacy, political feasibility, immediacy of need, centralized/decentralized decision making, conflict versus consensus, issue salience

2. What obstacles are there to the utilization of evaluation research?

“Utilization” of policy research: it makes a contribution to the work of policy makers, & policy makers take research into account when making decisions

Standards of utilization

Awareness and general information

Reception: policymakers receive the information

Cognition: policy makers read, digest, and understand it

Reference: policy makers refer/use the information

Enacting and Adopting Policy recommendations

Effort: policy makers advocate for findings

Adoption: policies enacted reflect evaluation/studies

Implementation: implementation takes evaluation studies into account

Evaluative

Impact: evaluations/studies make a difference

3. What do we mean by “utilization” of public policy research? (What are the standards of utilization)

Nature of the problem, political feasibility, immediacy of need, centralized/decentralized decision making, conflict versus consensus, issue salience

4. What are the contextual variables which affect utilization?

Technical variables: study size, study timing, methodological adequacy

Human variables: clear objectives, decision maker interest, decision maker style, decision makers participation in the study

5. What are the technical variables? What are the human variables that affect utilization?

Studies suggest that government decision makers make little direct use of policy research – possibly because of competing worldviews and belief systems of policy researchers and policy makers

1. Is public policy research/evaluation utilized by policy makers? Why or why not?

Missing 1 question

Policy formation is continuous, policymaking is complex and unruly, policy making is becoming more technocratic, mostly incremental

1. What are Anderson’s major conclusions regarding the policy making process?

Because mistrust of the government seems to be a persistent aspect of American political culture

2. Why is policy making so often adversarial?

It is mostly incremental – significant changes can occur through incremental changes over time

3. Is the overall process rational‐comprehensive or incremental?

Street level bureaucrats vs higher level ones, a rift between those that witness the affects of policy and those that create it

4. What is the schism in the field between theoretical and applied policy research?

It is hard, but a consistent feature of the policy process – comes in a variety of forms. When change is intentional, we call it reform

5. Is change (policy making) in the U.S. easy or hard? Why? What is the benefit of this?

Few problems are completely resolved, many more an partly resolved – statements of goals as absolutes contributes to the idea that they are not met

6. Why are there so many complaints about policy making in the U.S. Does public policy make help ameliorate (resolve) policy issues/problems according to Anderson?