BELEIDSKUNDE
, 1 GOVERNMENT AND POLICY
1.1 WHY ARE WE HERE?
We, in Public Administration Research try to understand why the world around us looks a certain way
Understand
o We are driven by puzzles
o We want to understand the realities of government, policy, strategy and governance
Improve
o When we solve parts of these puzzles, we try to make things better
o How?
Making recommendations to Public sector and government on how to improve the “way”
they do things
Sharing better understandings of how things work with people (learners, government,
employees, politicians,…)
1.2 WHAT IS PUBLIC POLICY?
There are many definitions, just remember your own explanation or just 1
Def: anything a government chooses to do or not to do
Characteristics of Public Policy:
o Conscious and deliberate decision
o Response to some sort of problem or challenge
o Oriented towards a goal or desired state
o Made by governments
Making policy:
o Requires a lot of resources
o Is a long process
o Can damage your reputation if not done right
Exam: who makes policy? The Government (they can consult with other people but only they make it)
1.3 POLICY MAKING
1.3.1 OBJECTS OF POLICYMAKING
Choosing what to do or not do
Targeted action
Decisions that direct public funds in one direction, but not in the other
A series of consciously coordinated decision or activities which leads to formalized actions of a more or less
restrictive nature
1.3.2 POLICY IN YOUR DAILY LIFE
We interact with public policy and policymaking in our daily lives
o Mobility & transport
o Education
o Health
o Housing
o Sports
1
, o Environment
o …
COVID: schools that were obligated to close
o Problem: COVID
o Solution: closing the schools
o Solution was brought by the government (who makes policies)
1.3.3 TYPES OF PUBLIC POLICY
Exam: Give me an example of constituent policies
Exam: What kind of policy is this example?
Form of expressed intention Form of intended impact
Works through individual conduct Works through Environment of
Conduct
Primary rule (imposes obligations or Regulatory policies Redistributive policies
positions) Rules impose obligations Rules impose classification or status
Rules of individual conduct, Rules categorizing activity
criminal in form E.g.: income tax, federal reserve,
E.g.: public health rules, industrial discount rates, social security,…
safety, traffic laws, antitrust,…
Secondary rule (confers power or Distributive policies Constituent policies
priviliges Rules confer facilities or privileges Rules confer powers
unconditionally Rules about rules and authority
E.g.: public works, agricultural E.g.: agencies for budgetary and
extension, land grants, public personnel policy, laws establishing
housing,… judicial jurisdiction
Examples of policy types:
o Competitive policy: restricts access to the provision of certain goods or services
Imposes conditions that the facilities must meet
o Protective policy: is intended to protect citizens by establishing the conditions under which private
activities may be provided and non-compliance with them sanctioned
o Self-regulating policy: corresponds to protective policy, although the initiative is taken by the
provider themselves
1.3.4 APPROACHES TO POLICY
Explanatory policy:
o Indicating new schools of thought with the intention of mobilizing parties to think along about the
desired development and the necessary changes
Facilitating policy:
o Supporting certain objectives deemed desirable without imposing them in a binding manner
Stimulating policy:
o Stimulating people or organizations to show a certain desirable behavior
1.4 WHY DOES GOVERNMENT PURSUE POLICY?
1.4.1 PUBLIC POLICY: WHY?
Why public policy?
o To address a problem or a concern of the population
The problem will always be framed & manufactured
2
, We look at what our priority now is, which problem gets our focus
o To make a difference in the struggle between ideas, interests and ideologies that drive our political
system
o Often aimed at changing the behavior of the target group in the interest of the end beneficiaries
As a solution politically defined as collective in nature
Problems
o Can be defined as a gap between desirable situation and perceived condition
o Not everyone sees the same problems/gaps
Not everyone sees the same solutions
o Battles between problems and solutions
Collective needs
o What can we do best to address this problem?
o How can we do this?
o How can we know exactly what we have done?
The idea of public policy: bring society together to look and solve their own problems instead of having a
few people making the decisions
1.4.2 KNOWLEDGE FOR PUBLIC POLICIES: CONTEXT
Classic input-output model
1.4.3 AMBITIONS INTO POLICIES
Policies are always framed/driven by ambitions
J.F. Kennedy: I believe that this nation should commit itself to achieving the goal, before this decade is out,
of landing a man on the moon and returning him safely to the Earth.
o Context? There was a fight between America and Russia to become the first one to land on the
moon.
o Problem? America wouldn’t seem like the best country if Russia would have a man on the moon
first
Scenario: The Soviet Union wins the space race by being the first to land a man on the moon
o U.S. Response: The United States would shift its focus to landing the first woman on the moon
o Strategic Framing: This shift aims to reframe the space race by promoting a unique American value
or accomplishment, even as the "second" nation in space
o Approach to Space Program: The U.S. would leverage this new goal to present a different
narrative, adapting its space program strategy to counter the Soviet lead in a distinctive way
1.5 WHO IS INVOLVED?
3
, 1 GOVERNMENT AND POLICY
1.1 WHY ARE WE HERE?
We, in Public Administration Research try to understand why the world around us looks a certain way
Understand
o We are driven by puzzles
o We want to understand the realities of government, policy, strategy and governance
Improve
o When we solve parts of these puzzles, we try to make things better
o How?
Making recommendations to Public sector and government on how to improve the “way”
they do things
Sharing better understandings of how things work with people (learners, government,
employees, politicians,…)
1.2 WHAT IS PUBLIC POLICY?
There are many definitions, just remember your own explanation or just 1
Def: anything a government chooses to do or not to do
Characteristics of Public Policy:
o Conscious and deliberate decision
o Response to some sort of problem or challenge
o Oriented towards a goal or desired state
o Made by governments
Making policy:
o Requires a lot of resources
o Is a long process
o Can damage your reputation if not done right
Exam: who makes policy? The Government (they can consult with other people but only they make it)
1.3 POLICY MAKING
1.3.1 OBJECTS OF POLICYMAKING
Choosing what to do or not do
Targeted action
Decisions that direct public funds in one direction, but not in the other
A series of consciously coordinated decision or activities which leads to formalized actions of a more or less
restrictive nature
1.3.2 POLICY IN YOUR DAILY LIFE
We interact with public policy and policymaking in our daily lives
o Mobility & transport
o Education
o Health
o Housing
o Sports
1
, o Environment
o …
COVID: schools that were obligated to close
o Problem: COVID
o Solution: closing the schools
o Solution was brought by the government (who makes policies)
1.3.3 TYPES OF PUBLIC POLICY
Exam: Give me an example of constituent policies
Exam: What kind of policy is this example?
Form of expressed intention Form of intended impact
Works through individual conduct Works through Environment of
Conduct
Primary rule (imposes obligations or Regulatory policies Redistributive policies
positions) Rules impose obligations Rules impose classification or status
Rules of individual conduct, Rules categorizing activity
criminal in form E.g.: income tax, federal reserve,
E.g.: public health rules, industrial discount rates, social security,…
safety, traffic laws, antitrust,…
Secondary rule (confers power or Distributive policies Constituent policies
priviliges Rules confer facilities or privileges Rules confer powers
unconditionally Rules about rules and authority
E.g.: public works, agricultural E.g.: agencies for budgetary and
extension, land grants, public personnel policy, laws establishing
housing,… judicial jurisdiction
Examples of policy types:
o Competitive policy: restricts access to the provision of certain goods or services
Imposes conditions that the facilities must meet
o Protective policy: is intended to protect citizens by establishing the conditions under which private
activities may be provided and non-compliance with them sanctioned
o Self-regulating policy: corresponds to protective policy, although the initiative is taken by the
provider themselves
1.3.4 APPROACHES TO POLICY
Explanatory policy:
o Indicating new schools of thought with the intention of mobilizing parties to think along about the
desired development and the necessary changes
Facilitating policy:
o Supporting certain objectives deemed desirable without imposing them in a binding manner
Stimulating policy:
o Stimulating people or organizations to show a certain desirable behavior
1.4 WHY DOES GOVERNMENT PURSUE POLICY?
1.4.1 PUBLIC POLICY: WHY?
Why public policy?
o To address a problem or a concern of the population
The problem will always be framed & manufactured
2
, We look at what our priority now is, which problem gets our focus
o To make a difference in the struggle between ideas, interests and ideologies that drive our political
system
o Often aimed at changing the behavior of the target group in the interest of the end beneficiaries
As a solution politically defined as collective in nature
Problems
o Can be defined as a gap between desirable situation and perceived condition
o Not everyone sees the same problems/gaps
Not everyone sees the same solutions
o Battles between problems and solutions
Collective needs
o What can we do best to address this problem?
o How can we do this?
o How can we know exactly what we have done?
The idea of public policy: bring society together to look and solve their own problems instead of having a
few people making the decisions
1.4.2 KNOWLEDGE FOR PUBLIC POLICIES: CONTEXT
Classic input-output model
1.4.3 AMBITIONS INTO POLICIES
Policies are always framed/driven by ambitions
J.F. Kennedy: I believe that this nation should commit itself to achieving the goal, before this decade is out,
of landing a man on the moon and returning him safely to the Earth.
o Context? There was a fight between America and Russia to become the first one to land on the
moon.
o Problem? America wouldn’t seem like the best country if Russia would have a man on the moon
first
Scenario: The Soviet Union wins the space race by being the first to land a man on the moon
o U.S. Response: The United States would shift its focus to landing the first woman on the moon
o Strategic Framing: This shift aims to reframe the space race by promoting a unique American value
or accomplishment, even as the "second" nation in space
o Approach to Space Program: The U.S. would leverage this new goal to present a different
narrative, adapting its space program strategy to counter the Soviet lead in a distinctive way
1.5 WHO IS INVOLVED?
3
