Public policy

is the process by which governments translate their political vision into programmes and actions to
deliver desired outcomes, which means changes in the real world. The ‘real world’ is constantly
changing and this has resulted in the movement towards greater use of evidence in policy design,
making and implementation.

The foundation of public policy is composed of national constitutional laws and regulations.
Furthermore, it includes both judicial interpretations and regulations which are generally
authorized by legislation. Public policy is considered strong when it solves problems efficiently
and effectively, serves and supports governmental institutions and policies, and encourages active
citizenship.

Public policy focuses on the decisions that create the outputs of a political system, such as
transport policies, the management of a public health service, the administration of education
system and the organization of a defence force.

A part of public policy is also concerned with evaluating decision-making in governments and public
bureaucracies.

Public policy making can be characterized as a dynamic, complex, and interactive system through
which public problems are identified and resolved by creating new public policy or by reforming
existing public policy.

Public problems can originate in endless ways and require different policy responses (such as
regulations, subsidies, import quotas, and laws) on the local, national, or international level.
The public problems that influence public policy making can be of economic, social, or political
nature.

The Government holds a legal monopoly to initiate or threaten physical force to achieve its ends
when necessary. And especially in times of emergency quick decision making is needed.

Public policy making is an exhausting and time-consuming 'policy cycle'.

The basic stages of policy cycle are as follows:

·         a problem is identified,

·         a policy response is formulated,

·         the preferred solution is then selected and implemented,

·         and finally the policy is evaluated – the evaluation stage takes an in depth look into
what can be learnt from the process as a whole, whether the original problem has been solved, and
if not, what is recommended as an alternative course of action. Thus, policy makers return to the
very first step - the identification.

The large set of actors in the public policy process, such as politicians, civil servants,
lobbyists, domain experts, and industry or sector representatives, use a variety of tactics and
tools to advance their aims, including advocating their positions publicly, attempting to educate
supporters and opponents, and mobilizing allies on a particular issue.

Many actors can be important in the public policy process, but government officials ultimately
choose public policy in response to the public issue or problem at hand. In doing so, government
officials are expected to meet public sector ethics and take the needs of all people into account.

Public policy areas are, for example, these ones:
  * Child and Family Policy
  * Cultural Policy
  * Economic Policy and Public Finance
  * Education Policy
  * Energy, Environmental, and Science Policy
  * Health Policy
  * International  Policy
  * Social Policy
  * Urban Policy