“MAKING POLICY”

A simple process for producing major policy in government

Glen Grant

POLICY:

The decisions, actions, objectives and principles that affect the way people and organisations conduct

their activities

WHO IS THIS FOR?• Government• Parliament• Parliamentary Committees

• Ministers• Ministerial advisers• Ministry Policy directors• Civil servants• Operators (Police, military, doctors, nurses,

prison staff, agencies etc)

THE POLITICIANS VIEW OF LIFE AND MAKING POLICY WITHOUT THOUGHT OR PROCESS!

SUMMARY

1. Sort out the problem

2. Decide what to do

3. Make it happen

Sort out the problem – what is wrong or broken?Is it the fundamental start point?

A political idea?

The result?

The principles?

The plan?

The process?

The people?

The cost?

All of them at once!!!!!

EVIDENCE BASED POLICY

• Determine the facts of the matter?– Are things physically true?– Are resources realistic?– Do people really deliver what they say?

• Isolate opinion from fact (be totally clear about ambitions, emotion and self interest)

• Get academic research data if possible?

• Use historical examples

• Find other similar operations

THE MINISTERIAL SUBMISSION

• Civil servants to brief Minister (through) Policy Director “You should be aware that we have a problem with” ……..

• Background written in no more than100 words

• Minister to give consent for detailed discussion and to work up options.

• Internal ministry (or ministries) “Argument for change” paper to set the scene and start debate.

FIRST DISCUSSION STAGE TO IDENTIFY FACTORS, VALUES, PRINCIPLES, POSSIBLE

OPTIONS ETC – CONSULT WIDELY

• Political – Minister– Senior officials– Parliamentary Committee– The involved public– The unions– The media

• Practical – The serving operators– Agreed experts– Industry

• New ideas– Academics– Think tanks– NGOs– Business research laboratories– Other countries

THEN DOUBLE CHECK AND GO BACK TO “SQUARE ONE” IF NEEDS

BE!

• Have I got the problem right?

• What are the “Key Factors”?

• Values?• Principles?

• New consequences?

• Risks?

• Unexpected risks and costs?

VALUES AND PRINCIPLES• Values

– What values should shape the work to be undertaken by a ministry? For example:

• Academic honesty• Value for money• Policies based upon fact not emotion• Improved operational outputs• Caring for people

• Principles– These must be used sparingly because they shape

EVERYTHING that follows, may limit options and could actually preclude the best result, for example:

• Ships must be bought in Latvia• Defence must be based upon conscription• Police officers must have a degree

DECIDE ON KEY FACTORS

• Number, size, scale and value?

• Controllable or uncontrollable?

• Factual, opinion or emotional?• Will factor remain good for life of policy?

• Consequences of factor?

• Risk of ignoring a factor totally?

What to do?

Get the Aim totally right before you do anything:

To improve…..

To create…….

To change etc…….

PRODUCE BROAD OPTIONS (as many mad ideas as you can manage)

• The main idea and what you want to achieve

• How each option meets the aim and factors

• Proposed benefits• Possible drawbacks• Possible unexpected consequences• Costs• Possible hidden costs

REDUCE TO NARROW OPTIONS WITHIN MINISTRY (Always at least 3)

• Do a financial and human risk analysis on each option

• Make sure that you are ready to go public on each option if required

• A ministers opinion should not be prejudged by leaving out a radical idea

FULL SUBMISSION TO MINISTER OF OPTIONS AND SECOND

PUBLIC DISCUSSION STAGE• At this stage the ministry is looking for permission to go public with

ideas, undertake focussed discussion about the options and identify costs

• A minister may decide to choose his preferred option now • Time for detailed discussion with planners and operational staff

(police/nurses etc) about costs and outline planning requirements of options

• Further development of narrow options – or full development of choice option

• Cabinet and Parliamentary Committees to be fully briefed to avoid surprises later

IF THIS IS POLITICALLY SERIOUS OR DIFFICULT THEN

PRODUCTION OF GREEN PAPEROR OPEN DISCUSSION DOCUMENT

• To provide democratic accountability • To give information so far obtained by consultation• To indicate preferred option and possible alternatives• To confirm strength of public opinion and public

acceptability• To identify previously un-thought of pitfalls• To identify new costs• To identify nonsense • To brief partners (IMF, NATO, EU etc)

FINAL INTERNAL MINISTRY EVALUATION OF

EVIDENCE TO MAKE POLICY DECISION

• Broad church discussion within Ministry (no closed doors discussions)

• Minister must be fully involved in all stages

• Key option must be tested to death by risk analysis, cost projections and implications against other options etc

• Detailed private consultations with partners, allies, NATO if needed

• Consideration of public opinion and new facts

• If it will not work then re-assess if and at what stage process needs to be restarted and then return to process

• Above all - make a decision!

Make it happen

“I have a cunning plan!” - Baldrick

THIRD DISCUSSION STAGE ON HOW TO ACTUALLY IMPLEMENT

THE POLICY AND MAKE IT HAPPEN

• Operational staff and practitioners• Local government• NGOs• Allies• Industry• Do not forget civilian implications

GET THE LAW RIGHT• Check current law and practice

as early as possible in the process

• Draft new law

• Submit law to open and public scrutiny (Possibly in the Green Paper or at least to Parliamentary Committee)

• Don’t forget that doctrine, regulations, rules and procedures are also likely to need amendment and modernising as well. These take time and resources as well.

PARLIAMENT

• Actual law changes will depend upon availability of Parliamentary time

• Law changes may have to wait until near end of process but best if done early to make sure key option is legal

• Parliament may reject a policy if there has been too little visibility of discussion and options beforehand

PLANNING AND IMPLEMENTATION STAGE

• Operational Policy Paper – the “order” to act for the operators

• Implementation papers (costed stages)– Restructuring plan– New procurement plan– Infrastructure plan (moves, sales,

mothballing)

– Personnel plan (Who goes where)– Public relations and briefing plan

MAKE IT HAPPEN!

• Short deadlines (days not weeks or months)• Do not write plans where plans are not needed –

action not words• One person tasked and authorised to deliver

each plan – not a committee (or “the staff”)• Delegate budget to authorised person• Ministry to review and inspect regularly – but not

to interfere.

PRODUCTION OF MINISTRY “WHITE PAPER” FOR THE PUBLIC

• Background

• The problem • The solution chosen

• The future after the solution

• The implementation

• The costs• The implications for the public

• Allied and partner implications

• Possible next steps requiring change

DO I NEED TO DO ALL OF THIS EVERY TIME?

No – but each time you cut corners or leave out steps, you run the risk of the policy not working

THE END