Political systems

Policy processes

Policy making has traditionally been viewed as a linear, top-down approach with two distinct phases: formulation and implementation. Academics have been criticising this approach for many years, arguing that policy development is a dynamic, open and highly political process, which involves multiple actors and negotiations. This page explores why policy-making is important for development, how policy processes can be pro-poor and provides toolkits to assist with policy analysis and reform.

Page contents

Where is a good place to start?

Brinkerhoff, D. and Crosby, B., 2002, 'Managing Policy Implementation', chapter 2 in Managing Policy Reform: Concepts and Tools for Decision-Makers in Developing and Transitioning Countries, Kumarian Press, Connecticut
When is increased participation appropriate? Under what circumstances does participation support or undermine democratic processes and how can these be identified? This chapter is from the book 'Managing Policy Reform: Concepts and Tools for Decision-Makers in Developing and Transitioning Countries'. It examines these questions from the perspective of public sector policymakers. After offering advice on balancing expanded input with achieving objectives, it introduces caveats to the assumed links between participation and democracy.
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McGee, R., 2004, 'Unpacking Policy: Actors, Knowledge and Spaces' in Unpacking Policy: Knowledge, Actors and Spaces in Poverty Reduction in Uganda and Nigeria, eds. K. Brock, R. McGee and J. Gaventa, Fountain Publishers, Kampala
What is policy? This research published by the Institute of Development Studies, Brighton, suggests that in pursuing reform, enhancing democratic governance and seeking more evidence-based forms of policy, there is a need to explore and analyse the nature of policy itself. The study argues that, in reality, the policy process is one in which a wide diversity of actors, knowledge and policy spaces interact on different terms and conditions in the making and doing of policy. Policy therefore needs to be understood in a way that is radically different from the traditional linear model.
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Pro-poor policy

Pro-poor policy reform does not just mean including the poor in policy development. It also means ensuring that political elites and political systems are structured so that the 'voices' of the poor are heard at all levels.

Bird, K., Pratt, N. et al., 2004, 'Fracture Points in Social Policies for Chronic Poverty Reduction', Chronic Poverty Research Centre Working Paper no. 47 / ODI Working Paper no. 242, Overseas Development Institute, London
Why are the needs of the chronically poor not being fully addressed? Why are they left off the policy agenda? This document by the Overseas Development Institute examines the fracture points in social policy formation and suggests why it is that policy responses are weak. It shows that the issues relevant to the chronically poor rarely get onto policy agendas and even when they do failure to legitimise new policy commonly hampers implementation. Drawing on five cases in India and Uganda, the paper illustrates the political barriers undermining pro-poor policy innovation and implementation.
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Participation in policy making

The stimulus for policy change often comes from outside the government. Allowing wide participation in policy development is regarded as good practice, but why and how should it work in reality? For example, how many and which groups should be included in policy development and how can broad participation work in a resource constrained environment?

Brinkerhoff, D. and Crosby, B., 2002, 'Citizen Participation in the Policy Process', chapter 3 in Managing Policy Reform: Concepts and Tools for Decision-Makers in Developing and Transitioning Countries, Kumarian Press, Connecticut
When is increased participation appropriate? Under what circumstances does participation support or undermine democratic processes and how can these be identified? This chapter is from the book 'Managing Policy Reform: Concepts and Tools for Decision-Makers in Developing and Transitioning Countries'. It examines these questions from the perspective of public sector policymakers. After offering advice on balancing expanded input with achieving objectives, it introduces caveats to the assumed links between participation and democracy.
Full document: available via document delivery. Please see document summary.

United Nations Research Institute for Social Development, 2004, ‘Technocratic Policy Making and Democratic Accountability’, Research and Policy Brief no. 3, UNRISD, Geneva
Aid donors have promoted the view that democratisation improves the quality of public policies and services. But what are the effects of technocratic styles of policy making on democratic institutions, especially in developing and transition societies? This study by the United Nations Research Institute for Social Development suggests that pressure to adopt neo-liberal macro-economic policies, as countries attract international development finance, may encourage governments to insulate key institutions from public scrutiny and grant policy-making powers exclusively to experts.
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Chattopadhyay, R. and Duflo, E., n.d., 'Women as Policy Makers: Evidence from a Randomized Policy Experiment in India', Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge
Relative to their share in the population, women are under-represented in all political positions. Political reservations are often proposed as a way to rapidly enhance women’s ability to participate in policymaking. This paper from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) Department of Economics compares the type of public goods provided in reserved and unreserved Village Councils. The analysis is based on a data set collected from 265 Village Councils in West Bengal and Rajasthan.
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Toolkits

Keeley, J., 2001, ‘Influencing Policy Processes for Sustainable Livelihoods: Strategies for Change’, Institute of Development Studies, Brighton
This paper from the Institute of Development Studies explores new approaches to understanding policy processes, drawing on case studies from sub-Saharan Africa and Bangladesh. When policy processes are seen as non-linear, political and haphazard, new factors need to be taken into account. In identifying these factors, policy processes can be influenced more effectively.
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Additional information resources

Research and Policy in Development (RAPID) explores the concept of evidence-based policy.

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