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Overview of Public Policy Change
Public policy engagement means any foundation or public charity activity intended to affect government actions. Public policy creation is the result of an incremental, often long-term process, with many variables and participants. Public policy is often thought of only in terms of state or federal legislation. Because of this limited definition, many funders feel that they cannot effectively change or implement public policy. Public policy needs to be viewed as a process. It encompasses a range of activities in a number of different jurisdictions, including local and state governments. These activites include:

These strategies result in a number of outcomes which shape public policy such as court rulings, ballot measures, and regulatory and administrative actions. These strategies have as much impact on public policy as legislation does.

Public policy formation is a dynamic and open-ended process. It is often viewed as complex and convoluted because there is often not a clear effect from any one particular strategy. Public policy changes in stages, in waves of momentum rising and building to create a change. Due to its complexity and unpredictability, no one group or organization can control the public policy process.

While policy development and implementation does not always occur in a linear, logical way, some tools can help us understand the process and be more effective policy advocates. This framework shows how policies are often created, whether they target a clearly defined problem such as poor high-school graduation rates, or a broader issue such as racial inequality. Definitions

Problem definition: Policy development starts with problem definition. During this stage, a problem is identified and examined, and possible solutions are explored through research and analysis.

Agenda setting: The next step is agenda-setting. During this stage, efforts are used to raise the profile of the problem and possible solutions among the public and decision-makers.

Typical strategies include:

Policy adoption: Next, policymakers discuss options and possible solutions and adopt new or amend existing policy.
Common strategies used to impact policy adoption include:

In the case of ballot measures and referenda, the voters are policymakers and the election determines policy adoption.

Implementation: This phase is often ignored because it is not as visible to the general public. Implementation is an essential phase during which critical decisions are made which ultimately determine the policy's effectiveness.
Approaches used include:

Evaluation: After a policy is implemented, it is important to evaluate its effectiveness. Policy research and analysis are strategies to evaluate whether the policy meets its original intents and if there are any unintended outcomes. If the policy is not successful on any level, evaluation findings can be used during a new phase of problem definition. The policy life cycle begins again and continues until an effective policy is created and successfully implemented.

Public policy changes do not occur overnight; rather, they are the result of activities in each stage of the policy life cycle. Each phase can take weeks or years, depending on the depth of the issue, the people involved, and the intricacy of the policy itself. This life cycle is only a framework—not all policy is formed according to this linear model. However, all policy creation is incremental and builds upon prior developments and activities. A number of different strategies are often required to create one policy change.

Resource Links
"Foundations and Public Policymaking—A Conceptual Framework" by James M. Ferris and Michael Minstrom, Center on Philanthropy and Public Policy

"Investing in Change: A Funder's Guide to Supporting Advocacy" Alliance For Justice

"Types of Public Policy" Kellogg Foundation

From http://www.ncg.org/toolkit/html/gettingstarted/definitions/print_definitions.html

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