Policy Formation and Implementation

NYU Wagner School of Public Policy

Fall 2015

Professor Neil Kleiman

Course Meetings: Tuesday 4:55 – 6:35

Course Location:Bobst LL150

Office Hours: Puck Building Room 3040Cby appointment (I respond to all e-mails within 24 hours so a response is often immediate and a meeting can always be schedule with a week’s notice); e-mail:

COURSE GOALS

The goal of this course is to deepen our understanding of the policy lifecycle: policy formation, implementation, evaluation and institutionalization. This course is designed with a particular emphasis on the role ofpolitical actors, institutions and the context within which they operate. From interest groups to mayors and the role of the media we will continually ask: how and why do some issues gain traction with policymakers(and the public) and others ignored? Why do policies change during implementation and how can they be improved at each stage of the policy process? We will examine how public policy is crafted, negotiated and enacted. It is a complicated story – one worth untangling and mastering.

This course will provide the conceptual tools needed for analyzing the environment in which policy is made. We will integrate a number of cases in our discussion and consider the strategic angle by which policy is developed and implemented. Specifically, a ‘client perspective’ will be employed. We will track a few policies in real-time throughout the semester and you will be assigned to one with a directive to critically assess the policy and provide strategic recommendations back—to the client. The live cases we will likely assessing include: federal urban development policy; expansion of a youth employment strategy; and addressing inequality through the New York City Parks system. The case and client perspective should improve integration of the course material and enhance professional presentation skills. Taken together, you should leave the course with a strong set of policy analysis tools, skills and research products for your professional portfolio.

Research Inputs You Will Employ:

  • Desk Research: Web and media searches
  • Interviews and discussion: In-class discussion; interviews of professionals in the field
  • Scholarly: Academic articles, books and other peer-reviewed literature

Research Outputs You Will Produce:

  • Policy Memo
  • Visualizations
  • Project track/matrix document
  • Policy report
  • Team analysis of a real-time policy challenge

REQUIRED BOOKS & READINGS: All course readings will be made available on the NYU Classes site. Note, the course readings will be light, but there is an expectation that you will be building your own body of supporting literature throughout the semester.

ASSESSED VALUATION:

Participation: 25%

Policy Memo: 15%

Stakeholder Maps: 10%

Service Memo: 15%

Final Policy Report: 25%

A premium is placed on class participation. You are expected to come to every class having completed the assigned readings and ready to engage. Students will be called on and there will be opportunities to make presentations.

Late assignments are not accepted. This is not to penalize anyone but to create a fair and equal policy for all students. Any extra time that one student is given over another creates anunfair disadvantage.

Class Absences are taken seriously:Class participation and attendance is critically important. You must attend all class sessions. If for any reason you are unable to make class you must e-mail the professor as soon as you know of a coming absence.

Accommodations: Any students requiring accommodations should contact me to make proper arrangements. Please be prepared to share your documentation from the NYU disabilities office regarding appropriate accommodations.

Academic Honesty: This course follows NYU’s policy on plagiarism. The academic community regards academic dishonesty as an extremely serious matter with serious consequences.In short, don’t cheat.

September 8Welcome!

Course expectations; perspectives and assignments

Class discussion: Who’s your client?

Course Cases

September 15Process/Agenda setting

Readings:Kingdon, Pages 71-98; 116-144;165–82

September 22 The Cases

In-class presentations from course case representatives

September 29 No class

October 6Public Opinion & Media

Readings:

Lawrence Jacob and Suzanne Mettler, “Why Public Opinion Changes: The Implications for Health and Health Policy”

Baumgartner, Linn and Boydstun, “The Decline of the Death Penalty: How Media Framing changed Capital Punishment in America”

Shirky (2011) “The Political Power of Social Media” from Foreign Affairs

October 10Brunch at Professor’s House

Role of ideas: Research, think tanks and foundations

Readings:MichklethwaitWooldrich (2004), The Right Nation: Conservative Power in America, Ch 6.

Andrew Rich (2004), Think Tanks, Public Policy and the Politics of Expertise. Pages 1-6; 204-220.

Collective Impact.Kania and Kramer (2011) “Collective Impact” in Stanford Social Innovation Review.

October 13 No Class

**Policy memo due via e-mail 5:00 PM

October 20 No Class

October 27Interest groups, stakeholder analysis and power maps

Bryson, When do stakeholders Matter

Varvasovsky and Brugha “How to do (or not to do..) A Stakeholder Analysis

November 3 The Federal Government; Is the President Still Relevant?

Readings:Kingdon, Ch 2

Remnick (2014) “Going the Distance” from The New Yorker

**Stakeholder maps V1 due via e-mail 5:00 PM

November 10State Government

Readings:Rivlin (1992), Reviving the American Dream. Ch 1, pages 122-125.
Donahue, Pages 16-30, 159-169.

Bruce Katz white paper on federalism

November 17 Local Government

Readings:Peterson, City Limits. Ch 2.

Judd and Swanstrom (1994), City Politics. Pages: 1-8, 44-47, 91-99.

Lipsky, Street-Level Bureaucracy. Ch 1 & 2.

November 24:Implementation

Sabatiet and Mazmanian, “The Implementation of Public Policy”

Elmore,“Backward Mapping”

**Stakeholder maps V2 due via e-mail 5:00 PM

December 1 Evaluation; Institutionalizing and Hard Wiring Policy

Weiss, The Interface between Evaluation and Public Policy

Ellen Schall, Public Sector Succession: A Strategic Approach to Sustaining Innovation

** Service MemosV1due 5:00 PM

December 8 Putting it Together

Critical discussion of the assigned class cases and additional ones we will assess together

December 15 Presentations

December 22 Presentations

**Service memos V2 due 2:00 PM

**Final Policy reports due Dec 24 at 5:00 PM