in English - Handicap International

Government
proposed policy to
combat poverty.
Formulate possible solutions. Once the problem requiring public action has been
identified, the institution responsible for developing the corresponding public policy
begins to study different possible solutions for responding to this problem or social
demand.
These possible solutions should consider technical criteria, prior experiences (for
example, country “x” responded to this problem in such a way and obtained good
results), and consults with interested sectors. Another very important element to evaluate
will be the cost of any proposed solutions.
The legitimate authority makes a decision. After having explored different proposed
solutions, the institution responsible for designing the public policy (authorized as the
legitimate institutional authority) should study all of the positive and negative features
of each of the proposals and determine the amount of resources available (or
that can be obtained) for the policy’s implementation (assigned budget, whether
resources are available from state funds, or if funding should be sought from an international
loan, etc.). Once this study—both political and technical—is carried out,
this authority should make a decision about the policy it is planning to adopt.
Implement the public policy. Once the policy has been defined, it needs to be implemented
through a corresponding program. The program will define the material,
human and financial resources needed, as well as the time periods and stages for
implementation, including specific activities that will be aimed at achieving the public
policy’s objectives and goals.
Evaluate the outcomes. When a public policy is implemented, it can be evaluated
while it is being applied, and of course also when its implementation has concluded,
to assess its various outcomes. The reason for evaluating a policy while it is being
implemented is to be able to adjust programs, to correct errors or other factors that
have been detected, and insure that the policy fulfills its objectives. When a final
evaluation of a policy is carried out, the following questions should be asked: Did it
resolve the problem? If it didn’t completely resolve the problem, what aspects are
still pending? Was it a complete failure, and has the problem remained the same?
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