Editing Eightfold path (policy analysis) (section)

{{Short description|Method of policy analysis}}
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The '''eightfold path''' is a method of [[policy analysis]] assembled by [[Eugene Bardach]], a professor at the [[Goldman School of Public Policy]] at the [[University of California, Berkeley]].<ref>{{cite web|title=Eugene Bardach {{!}} Emeritus Professor of Public Policy|url=https://gspp.berkeley.edu/directories/faculty/eugene-bardach|publisher=University of California at Berkeley}}</ref> It is outlined in his book ''[[A Practical Guide for Policy Analysis: The Eightfold Path to More Effective Problem Solving]]'', which is now in its seventh edition.<ref>{{cite web|title=A Practical Guide for Policy Analysis: The Eightfold Path to More Effective Problem Solving, 6th Edition|author= Eugene Bardach and Eric Patashnik |url= https://us.sagepub.com/en-us/nam/a-practical-guide-for-policy-analysis/book255357 |publisher=CQ Press |access-date=4 February 2022 }}</ref> The book is commonly referenced in [[Policy|public policy]] and [[public administration]] scholarship.<ref>{{cite web|title=List of scholarly works referencing ''A Practical Guide for Policy Analysis''|url=https://scholar.google.com/scholar?cites=4884126323094470718&as_sdt=20005&sciodt=0,9&hl=en|publisher=Google Scholar|access-date=6 August 2011}}</ref>

Bardach's procedure is as follows:
# Define the problem
# Assemble the evidence
# Construct the alternatives
# Select the criteria
# Project the outcomes
# Confront the trade-offs
# Decide
# Tell your story

A possible ninth step, based on Bardach's own writing, might be "repeat steps 1–8 as necessary."

The method is named after the [[Buddhism|Buddhist]] [[Noble Eightfold Path]], but otherwise has no relation to it.