Federal Information Policy University of Texas - Austin

INF 390.1 School of Information

Federal Information Policy University of Texas - Austin

Philip Doty

WHAT IS [PUBLIC] POLICY?

·  Dye (1995, ix): "a combination of rational planning, incrementalism, competition between groups, elite preferences, systematic forces, public choice, political processes, and institutional influences" (see p. 18); (p. 2) "Public policy is whatever governments choose to do or not do, i.e., government action and inaction; (pp. 3-4) finding a "proper" definition of public policy has "proved futile"

·  Burger (1993, p. 7), citing Jenkins (1978): "'a set of interrelated decisions taken by a political actor or group of actors concerning the selection of goals and the means of achieving them within a specified situation where these decisions should, in principle, be within the power of these actors to achieve'." [He critiques this definition as inadequate]

·  Harold Lasswell: political science demands a policy orientation -- i.e., one must ask "what is to be done, and how is it to be done? What are the effects of doing so?"

·  Grumm, John G., & Wasby, Stephen L. (1981). The analysis of policy impact. Lexington, MA: D.C. Heath and Company. (ix): "such an orientation [noted by Lasswell] implies treating policy as an independent variable as well as a dependent variable, as a cause as well as a consequence."

·  Nakamura & Smallwood (1980, p. 31), cited in Rist (1994, p. 548): "'A policy can be thought of as a set of instructions from policy makers to policy implementers [sic] that spell out both goals and the means for achieving those goals'." Rist (1994, p. 550): "Policies imply theories. Whether stated explicitly or not policies point to a chain of causation between initial conditions and future consequences."

·  Jones, Charles O. (1984). An introduction to the study of public policy (3rd ed.). Monterey, CA: Brooks/Cole Publishing Company. (p. 26) Citing Heinz Eulau and Kenneth Prewitt: "a 'standing decision' characterized by behavioral consistency and repetitiveness on the part of both those who make it and those who abide by it."

·  Majchrzak (1984, p.12): [by implication] policies are "pragmatic, action-oriented" solutions to fundamental social problems.

·  Considine, Mark. (1994). Public policy: A critical approach. South Melbourne, Australia: Macmillan. (pp. 1-2): "policy emerges from identifiable patterns of interdependence between [sic] key social actors such as parties, corporations, unions, professions, and citizens. . . . Public policy is one of the central processes through which our communities respond to major social, economic and environmental problems." (p. 3) "policy, then, may be expressed as any or all of these three things: clarifications of public values and intentions; commitments of money and services; or granting of rights and entitlements."

(p. 3) "A public policy is an action which employs governmental authority to commit resources in support of a preferred value."

But he challenges this definition as instrumental and antisocial, because it says little about "the origin and consequences of policy." In his critical approach (p. 4), "policy is the continuing work done by groups of policy actors who use available public institutions to articulate and express the things they value."

Considine expands his definition further (p. 254): "solutions [to public problems] must come through continuing, institutional mechanisms that link values, authority and resources. . . . a form of structured innovation in which there is:

·  a systematic application of human ingenuity and democratic values

·  a recognition of the key role of social conflict

·  concerted negotiation among all those affected

·  reorganisation of public and private resources, and

·  reconsideration of the values which determine the allocation of those resources."

(p. 269): "Policy making, when considered as a system of innovation among linked or interdependent actors, becomes a learning and regulating web based upon continuous exchanges of information and skill." (p. 270): "The policy-as-learning perspective is therefore an inevitably shared experience in which actors require continuing opportunities to develop joint strategies."

·  Overman & Cahill (1990, p. 804): "policy formulation is the process working within a normative structure to resolve value conflicts."

·  Lindblom & Woodhouse (1993, p. 7) both a result of rational discussion and political forces; (p. 11) making policy is "a complexly interactive process without beginning or end," but (p. 122) there is no effective competition of ideas, hegemony and inertia obtain; (p. 127) government "solutions for social problems," but there are "grave deficiencies in social problem solving . . . due to deep and enduring features of political-economic processes" (p. 141).

·  Hogwood & Gunn (1984, pp. 13-19): policy is a label for a field of activity, an expression of general purpose or desired state of affairs, specific proposals, decisions of government, formal authorization, a programme, output, outcome, a theory or model, and process.

They go on (pp. 19-24) to define public policy, reflecting the various ways in which the term is used and intended by others, in multiple ways: policy is to be distinguished from "decision," policy is less readily distinguishable from "administration," policy involves behaviour as well as intentions, policy involves inaction as well as action, policies have outcomes which may or may not have been foreseen, policy is "a purposive course of action but purposes may be defined retrospectively," policy arises from a process over time, policy involves intra- and inter-organizational relationships, public policy involves a key but not exclusive role for public agencies, and policy is subjectively [sic] defined.

·  Guba (1984, pp. 63-65): "one can safely conclude that the term policy is not defined in any uniform way; indeed the term is rarely defined at all.” He offers eight uses of the term:

1.  Policy is an assertion of intents or goals.

2.  Policy is the accumulated standing decisions of a governing body . . . within its sphere of authority.

3.  Policy is a guide to discretionary action.

4.  Policy is a strategy undertaken to solve or ameliorate a problem.

5.  Policy is sanctioned behavior, formally . . . or informally through expectations and acceptance established over (sanctified by) time.

6.  Policy is a norm of conduct characterized by consistency and regularity in some substantive action area.

7.  Policy is the output of the policy-making system.

8.  Policy is the effect of the policy-making and policy-implementing system as it is experienced by the client.

A useful integrating concept of policy for our purposes:

·  Selecting goals

·  Selecting means of achieving them

·  In the context of conflicting interests and stakeholders

·  In the government, public action undertaken to resolve areas of public contention or dissensus (= issue), especially about values and means of supporting them.

For most of our purposes this semester, we can think of public policy as:

(1) the commitment of public resources

(2) to certain courses of action

(3) to achieve certain goals

(4) in the context of differential power of all kinds.

SOME "DEFINITIONS" OF INFORMATION POLICY

Chartrand (1986) -- a topical approach. Information policy encompasses: federal information resources management (IRM); information technology for education, innovation, and competitiveness; telecommunications, broadcasting, and satellite transmissions; international communications and information policy; information disclosure, confidentiality, and the right to privacy; computer regulation and crime; intellectual property; library and archives policy; and government information systems, clearinghouses, and dissemination

Hayes (1985) -- a more conceptual approach: information policy is "the basis for societal and institutional decisions concerning the allocation of resources to the acquisition, processing, distribution and use of information"

Mason (1983) -- linked to the information lifecycle (p. 1 of Syllabus); information policy is "a set of interrelated laws and policies concerned with the creation, production, collection, management, distribution and retrieval of information. Their significance lies in the fact that they profoundly affect the manner in which an individual in society , indeed a society itself, makes political, economic and social choices."

Burger (1993) -- information policy is (p. 6) "the societal mechanisms used to control information, and the societal effects of applying these mechanisms"; (p. 27) "the tool by which this control [of information of various kinds] is maintained or lost, by which power is shared or retained"; (65) an "attempt to solve information control problems." Burger, along with others, maintains that information policy is cultural policy in that it deals with people's behavior and values.

Hernon & McClure (1991) -- (pp. 3-4) information policy is "a field encompassing information science and public policy, [information policy] treats information as both a commodity adhering to the economic theory of property rights and a national resource to be collected, protected, shared, manipulated, and managed"; (p. 4) information policy "also embraces access to, and use of, information."

Yurow & Shaw/NTIA (1981, vi) -- information policy concerns "policies dealing with the flow of information and with the controls which are sometimes necessary to direct that flow"

Zimmerman (in Yurow & Shaw, 1981, iv): "there is no general definition of the term 'information policy.'"

Trauth (1986) -- a systems theoretic approach; (p. 41) information policy is "the set of activities currently in existence, which aim to achieve certain goals in the realm of information processing and communication"; (p. 41) it is also "implicit in nature of consisting of a collection of laws, precedents, expectations, and societal norms which are generally autonomous and have emanated from diverse sources."

Andersen and Dawes (1991) -- "By public information policies we mean those strategies that allow us to use information well and adapt government organizations and information systems to a rapidly changing environment." [a public administration, "internal" view]

Heim (1986, p. 21): policies aimed at the "array of problematic dilemmas that surround knowledge generation, as well as information access, dissemination, and storage at state, national, and international levels of jurisdiction."

Overman & Kahill (1990) -- (p. 803) citing Weingarten (1989), "the set of all public laws, regulations, and policies that encourage, discourage, or regulate the creation, use, storage, and communication of information." (p. 805): "The analysis of information policy documents produces a list of seven primary information policy values:

·  access and freedom: the assumption of democracy;

·  privacy: the preservation of personal rights;

·  openness: the public's right to know;

·  usefulness: the pragmatist's creed;

·  cost and benefit: the bureaucratic necessity;

·  secrecy and security: the authoritative cloak; and

·  ownership: the notion of intellectual property.

Conflict and convergence over these core values establishes the normative structure of policy conversations about national information policy design." [YES?/NO?]; (p. 813) "information policy appears to belong to a class of policy problems, such as energy policy, industrial policy, or welfare policy, that defy easy analysis or solution. These are policy problems in which, 'We know that objectives invariably be distinguished by three outstanding qualities: they are multiple, conflicting, and vague. They mirror . . . the complexity and ambivalence of human social behavior'." (citing Wildavsky, 1979).

Bennett (1992) -- contrasts two views; on the one hand, culture is both the instrument and object of government. On the other hand, of considerable interest to us, (p. 26) culture is a "historically specific set of institutionally embedded relations of government in which the forms of thought and conduct of extended populations are targeted for transformation." He also encourages us to (p. 27), "think of culture as a historically produced surface of social regulation." His perspective is important when we consider the relationship among power, culture, and information.

Rowlands (1996) -- information policy exists at two levels: (1) "that which is explicit and recorded in documentary form" and (2) "that which is expressed implicitly in the form of habits, received wisdoms, unwritten codes of behaviour, expectations and societal norms" (p. 20). Information policy is complex, dynamic, abstract, and full of interacting conflicts and stakeholders; thus, citing Braman, to study information policy, we need theoretical (and methodological) pluralism, beyond disciplinary and technology-imposed limitations. Value-critical approaches are especially needed.

Browne (1997a) -- (p. 261) "How information policy is defined or its historical origins are . . . not agreed upon." She says that we must move beyond approaches limited by topic, discipline, and traditional areas of responsibility to focus on values and sophisticated methods. She relies on a model of the information transfer process (see next page) to develop what she calls the conceptual boundaries of information policy. We can use the model while recognizing its weaknesses. In (1997b, p. 343) Browne leads us through an analysis of the characteristics of positivism, post-positivism, critical theory, and constructivism and how that analysis can inform the study of information policy.

APPROACHES TO POLICY ANALYSIS

WHY STUDY PUBLIC POLICY? (Dye, 1995, 8th ed., pp. 4-6)

1. For scientific understanding -- understanding the causes and consequences of policy decisions improves our knowledge of society.

1. For problem solving and professional reasons -- understanding the causes and consequences of policy decisions permits us to apply social science knowledge to the solution of practical problems.

1. For political purposes and to make policy recommendations -- to ensure that the nation adopts the "right" policies to achieve the "right" goals.

Questions in policy analysis -- "What can we learn about public policy?":

1. Describe public policy -- a factual basis for understanding

1. Inquire about the causes, or determinants, of public policy

1. Inquire about the consequences, or impacts, of public policy.

As students of public policy, we can interrelate the questions in a model of the policy system.

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But we can consider an alternative set of reasons for doing policy analysis as suggested by Lindblom & Woodhouse (1993):

·  To catalyze “debate” about social problems and policy decisions (viii)

·  To improve political interaction, "not to substitute for it" (p. 127)

·  To increase informed participation in social decision making beyond social elites (p. 137)

·  To break the mold of the majoritarian consensus (p. 142)

And the policy analyst must be especially alert to power relationships.

MORE CONSIDERATIONS OF WHAT PUBLIC POLICY IS

From Theodoulou, Stella Z., & Kahn, Matthew A. (Eds.) (1995). Public policy: The essential readings. Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice Hall.