Manual on the Development of Cleaner Production Policies ... - Unido

DEVELOPMENT OF CP POLICY
MODULE 3: CP POLICY DEVELOPMENT CYCLE
STAGE 1: Analyse the existing situation and ensuring support
As a first step in the development of a policy, the issue or problem that requires policy intervention
should be identified. This is usually done by a single institution or organization (or by private
citizens), for whom a specific issue is important. The originator usually carries out an initial analysis
of the current situation to take stock of what has already been done and who are the stakeholders. It is,
of course, crucial that the importance of the issue be recognized by policy-makers, since only then will
it be placed on the agenda. Once this is achieved, the policy development process can begin. This
often involves setting up a special high-level political coordination mechanism to formalize and
coordinate efforts. The rationale for the establishment of a steering committee is to ensure political
support and access to decision makers.
STAGE 2: Setting priorities and objectives
The next stage is the formation of a technical CP policy development body. Unlike the steering
committee, the technical policy development body should be drawn from a broader inter-institutional
and multi-stakeholder group and should include technical experts who are not necessarily high-level
political decision makers. The role of the technical policy group is to analyse the existing situation,
looking for barriers and support factors for CP, before identifying the needs and priorities to be
addressed.
STAGE 3: Policy development, including strategy, action plan and instruments
After the priorities have been agreed, a programme should be developed to address the issue under
consideration and come up with a solution. This is known as policy formulation and may take a long
time, particularly if the issue is complex or controversial (e.g. involves opposing interest groups). The
development of the action plan and the choice of policy instruments can also be time-consuming. After
the technical policy group has reached a consensus on the formulation of the policy and action plan, it
now has to be endorsed by the steering committee (see stage 1). Sufficient backing has to be obtained,
generally within the Government or in a legislative body, to support a specific policy. The steering
committee may also choose to open the action plan for consultation with other stakeholders, a process
that may involve lobbying and negotiating on the part of legislators and executives as well as affected
stakeholders.
STAGE 4: Implementation and evaluation
The next stage is policy implementation, or carrying out the action plan to meet policy objectives.
Implementation must also include a monitoring component in order to assess what is successfully
being done and what modifications and changes still have to be made. The final step is policy
evaluation and adjustment. This means looking at actions and programmes to see whether goals have
been achieved, or to assess a policy’s effectiveness and efficiency. Those elements that have not
worked need to be changed, or new issues may have to be addressed. At this stage, the policy
development cycle may well begin anew, possibly involving CP mainstreaming and integration with
other policies.
PROPOSED EXERCISE FOR MODULE 3:
NOTE: Unlike other exercises in this <strong>Manual</strong>, the suggestion below is not for a single exercise on one
specific step in policy development. Instead, it is a proposed set of exercises that could form the basis
of a one-day workshop on policy development. Should this not be the objective of a session, however,
individual exercises are provided in the slides throughout module 3.
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