Editing Policy analysis (section)

{{Short description|Technique used in public administration}}
{{Use DMY dates|date=December 2023}}
'''Policy analysis''' or '''public policy analysis''' is a technique used in the [[public administration]] sub-field of [[political science]] to enable [[civil servant]]s, [[Nonprofit organization|nonprofit organizations]], and others to examine and evaluate the available options to implement the goals of laws and elected officials. People who regularly use policy analysis  skills and techniques on the job, particularly those who use it as a major part of their job duties are generally known by the title '''''policy analyst'''''. The process is also used in the administration of large organizations with complex policies. It has been defined as the process of "determining which of various [[Policy|policies]] will achieve a given set of goals in light of the relations between the policies and the goals."<ref>Compare: {{cite book |last1=Geva-May |first1=Iris |last2=Pal |first2=Leslie A. |chapter=Policy Evaluation and Policy Analysis: Exploring the Differences |editor1-last=Nagel |editor1-first=Stuart S. |editor1-link=Stuart Nagel |title=Policy Analysis Methods |url= https://books.google.com/books?id=TLHrAAAAMAAJ |publisher=Nova Science Publishers |date=1999 |page=6 |isbn=9781560726579 |access-date=13 April 2016 |quote=...&nbsp;it determines which of the various alternative public or government policies will most achieve a given set of goals in light of the relations between the policies and the goals and in light of politically feasible courses of action, it generates information and evidence in order to help the policymaker choose the most advantageous action&nbsp;....}}</ref>

Policy analysis can be divided into two major fields:<ref name="Bührs93">{{cite book |last1=Bührs |first1=Ton |last2=Bartlett |first2=Robert V. |title=Environmental Policy in New Zealand: The Politics of Clean and Green |publisher=[[Oxford University Press]] |date=1993 |isbn=0-19-558284-5 |url= https://archive.org/details/environmentalpol00buhr |url-access=registration |via=Internet Archive}}</ref>

* Analysis {{em|of}} existing policy, which is analytical and descriptive – it attempts to explain policies and their development 
* Analysis {{em|for}} new policy, which is prescriptive – it is involved with formulating policies and proposals (for example: to improve social welfare)
One definition states that:<ref>{{cite web |title=POLARIS: Policy Analysis |date=26 April 2023 |work=CDC.gov |location=Washington, DC |publisher=Office of Policy, Performance, and Evaluation, [[Centers for Disease Control and Prevention]] |url= https://www.cdc.gov/policy/polaris/policyprocess/policyanalysis/index.html |access-date=2023-09-07}}</ref>

{{Blockquote|text=Policy Analysis is the process of identifying potential policy options that could address your problem and then comparing those options to choose the most effective, efficient, and feasible one.}}

The areas of interest and the purpose of analysis determine what types of analysis are conducted. A combination of two kinds of policy analyses together with [[program evaluation]] is defined as ''[[policy studies]]''.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Hambrick |first1=Ralph Jr. |last2=Bardach |first2=Eugene |last3=Chelimsky |first3=Eleanor |last4=Shadish |first4=William R. |last5=Deleon |first5=Peter |last6=Fischer |first6=Frank |last7=MacRae |first7=Duncan |last8=Whittington |first8=Dale |title=Review: Building the Policy Studies Enterprise: A Work in Progress |journal=Public Administration Review |volume=58 |issue=6 |pages=533–539 |date=November–December 1998 |doi=10.2307/977580 |jstor=977580}}</ref> Policy analysis is frequently deployed in the [[public sector]], but is equally applicable elsewhere, such as [[nonprofit organization]]s and [[non-governmental organization]]s.  Policy analysis has its roots in [[systems analysis]], an approach used by [[United States Secretary of Defense]] [[Robert McNamara]]<ref>{{cite book |last=Radin |first=Beryl |title=Beyond Machiavelli: Policy Analysis Comes of Age |publisher=[[Georgetown University Press]] |date=2000 |isbn=0-87840-773-1}}</ref> in the 1960s.