Presented at the Strategic Policy Planning, Implementation and Evaluation training workshop held at Source of the Nile Hotel, Jinja. Oct 1,2015

1. Professional
Certificate in Policy
Implementation and
Evaluation
Ian “Ren” Rennie

2. INTRODUCING POLICY
IMPLEMENTATION AND EVALUATION

3. 1. Forward looking – takes a long term view, based on statistical
trends and informed predictions, of the likely impact of
policy
2. Outward looking – takes account of factors in the national,
European and international situation and communicates
policy effectively
3. Innovative and creative – questions established ways of
dealing with things and encourages new ideas; open to
comments and suggestions of others
4. Using evidence – uses best available evidence from a wide
range of sources and involves key stakeholders at an early
stage …
Professional Policy Making 9
Competencies

4. 5. Inclusive – takes account of the impact on the needs of all those
directly or indirectly affected by the policy
6. Joined up – looks beyond institutional boundaries to the
Government’s strategic objectives; establishes the ethical and
legal base for policy
7. Evaluates – builds systematic evaluation of early outcomes into the
policy process
8. Reviews – keeps established policy under review to ensure it
continues to deal with the problems it was designed to tackle,
taking account of associated effects elsewhere
9. Learns lessons – learns from experience of what works and what
doesn’t.
PROFESSIONAL POLICY MAKING FOR THE TWENTY FIRST CENTURY(1999)
Professional Policy Making 9
Competencies CTD

5. • “Implementing policy should never be separate from
making it
• Successful outcomes depend on designing policy with
clear objectives, creating realistic timetables and
professional project planning
• Policy that is difficult to implement wastes time and
money
• Effective delivery is particularly critical for the
Government’s most important and high value projects, as
this drives efficiencies and improves public services
• In the past, delivery of these major projects has too often
been poor”.
UK Civil Service Reform Plan June
2012

6. • Be clear about the problem: High-level policy goals need to be
matched with analysis of what problem government is trying to
tackle and used to make good judgments on where to focus
attention
• Work with the wider system: Policies are never implemented onto
a blank canvas; they must compete for resources and attention with
other national policies and local priorities – and can draw upon
some of the assets that often already exist
• Stay close to implementers: Bringing others into policymaking is
important, but once implementation begins central government
also needs to keep strong links with where change is happening to
understand how policies are working in the real and using regular
stocktakes to keep up momentum.
Institute for Government Case
Studies 2014

7. • Stay focused: Continuity is an essential ingredient of effective
implementation. All of our case studies involved
implementing over a period of many years and these long
time-spans introduce significant risk to achieving policy goals.
• Use ministers to drive progress: While politics can add many
complications to implementation, ministers play a crucial role
in setting milestones and using regular stocktakes to keep up
momentum.
• http://www.instituteforgovernment.org.uk/our-work/better-
policy-making/improving-policy-implementation
Institute for Government Case
Studies 2014 (2)

8. Different Systems
FATALISM
Control through processes (which are
inherently unpredictable and fallible)
HIERARCHY
Anticipative solutions, forecasting and
management, enhanced authority and
hierarchical ordering
INDIVIDUALISM
Control through rivalry and choice,
incentives to underpin market and
individual choice processes (e.g.
disclosure)
EGALITARIANISM
Control through group processes,
network style, participation
Four key control styles according to cultural theory (adapted from Baldwin et al 2011)

9. • Policy implementation in a top-down manner
• Policy implementation in a bottom-up
approach.
Top-Down vs Bottom-Up

10. IMPLEMENTING WHAT?

11. • Civil servants are involved in design of policy or are affected in
their service delivery by the policy design done by others
• “Though much policy advice is excellent, the quality of policy
making is inconsistent and needs to be improved – too often
policy advice draws from too narrow a range of views and
evidence, and does not ensure that policy is capable of
practical implementation”
• (Civil Service Reform Plan 2012).
Scoping Benefits for Policy
Development

12. Is it:
• A supply issue
• A competition issue
• An information issue (e.g. to enable better
choices)
• A cultural issue
• Etc?
The answer makes a big difference to which options
will work!
Symptom vs Cause: The Real
Delivery Problem

13. Implementation Insights – setting
the goal
• Have a clear, shared understanding of the problem and
prioritise outcomes
• What problem needs to be addressed? Why does it
need to be solved now?
• What are the key constraints (time, money, capacity,
legal etc) to tackling the problem?
• How does the goal fit with other policy in the
department/government?
• What is the right role for Government?
• What constitutes success in terms of real world
impact? How will it be measured?

14. “Develop clarity about the purpose of the policy
• Be clear about the objective –– what issue(s)
is/are being addressed
• Give clarity as to why this is/they are being
addressed and what difference is intended
• Provide useable guidance that sets the scene
for both the policy and the process”
‘INVOLVING THE FRONT-LINE IN POLICY-MAKING’ CABINET OFFICE
The Key

15. ASSESSING BUSINESS CASES ‘A SHORT PLAIN ENGLISH GUIDE’ HMT
5 Case Model

16. Strategic Context
• Organisational Overview
• Current Business Strategies
The Case for Change
• Spending Objectives
• Existing Arrangements
• Business Needs – current and future
• Potential Scope
• Benefits and Risks
• Constraints and Dependencies.
1) The Strategic Case

17. • Critical Success Factors
• Long listed Options
• Short Listed Options (including do minimum, three or four is
the recommended number) Status quo; do nothing option
(unless this is not credible)
• Economic Appraisals of Costs and Benefits with CBA
Distributional Analysis (where relevant)
• Optimism Bias adjustment
• Risk Assessment
• Sensitivity Analysis
• The Preferred Option.
2) The Economic Case

18. • Procurement Strategy
• Service Requirements
• Charging Mechanism
• Risk Transfer
• Key Contractual Arrangements
• Personnel (TUPE) Implications
• Accountancy Treatment.
3) The Commercial Case

19. • Public Capital and Revenue Requirements
• Net Effect on Prices (if applicable)
• Impact on Balance Sheet
• Impact on Income and Expenditure Account (if applicable)
• Overall Funding and Affordability
• Commissioner Support (if applicable).
4) The Financial Case

20. • Programme and Project Management Methodology (PPM)
and Structure
• Programme and Project Management Plans
• Use of Specialist Advisers Change and Contract Management
Arrangements
• Benefits Realisation
• Risk Management
• Monitoring during implementation (proportionate)
• Post Implementation Evaluation Arrangements
• Contingency Arrangement.
5) The Management Case

21. STAKEHOLDERS

22. • The NAO report Modern Policy-Making:
• “Departments should make arrangements to
engage implementers early so that the
practicability of policies can be assessed.
Involving implementers closely as policies are
designed can help identify and manage risks of
their effectiveness, secure ownership and
commitment from staff, and identify practical
solutions…”.
Implementers as Stakeholders

23. • “Front-line staff offer an effective route to meaningful
evidence of the implementation and effectiveness of policy
proposals. Given early involvement they offer a rich and
sophisticated understanding of how their areas of work can
be developed. As such, their input is an effective resource in
ensuring that policies work first time. Their early involvement
will provide informative evidence and give considerable
insight to the development of policy, acknowledging a need to
balance this view with those of other appropriate
stakeholders..”
• ‘INVOLVING THE FRONT-LINE IN POLICY-MAKING’ CABINET
OFFICE
Implementers as Stakeholders (2)

24. “Effective involvement of front-line staff requires:
• Clear objectives for the policy development and policy
process
• Consideration of the front line as relevant to the policy in
question
• A whole system approach to the involvement of the front line
(and others)
• Proper resourcing and planning, an up front investment.”
‘INVOLVING THE FRONT-LINE IN POLICY-MAKING’ CABINET
OFFICE
Implementers as Stakeholders (3)

25. • Define (who are they? Priorities?)
• Determine their expectations and concerns
(communication)
• Decide what to do with stakeholder views
(e.g. sharing with others in your organisation,
letting stakeholders know what has
happened)
• Decide systems for updating information
(monitoring ongoing stakeholder views).
Stakeholder Issues

26. AGENCY COLLABORATION

27. • “Our analyses found
that, whatever their size
and complexity, all
delivery chains are made
up of only four basic
types of links or
relationships:
Delivery Chains

28. • Internal links, where one part of the chain directly
manages another
• These links are often strong
• Effective delivery can be secured through levers such
as internal performance and staff management
• Efficiencies, such as sharing services and improved
asset utilisation, can also be identified
• Complex, outcome-focused PSA targets tend to have
relatively few internal links in their delivery chains.
Delivery Chains 1

29. • Contractual or regulatory links, where one part of the
chain defines through law and/or funding how
another does its business
• These links can also be strong and effective at
delivering outputs efficiently, as long as there is good
contract design, good project management, and
appropriate, strategic regulation
• There are often a number of links of this kind within
complex delivery chains.
Delivery Chains 2

30. • Links of common purpose, where two bodies have
parallel missions to work towards the common good
and to make a positive difference to society
• Examples include the relationship between two
government departments, or between a local
authority and a local charity, each with a common
interest
• These links proliferate in complex delivery chains and
can be relatively weak, sometimes relying on good
will alone to function.
Delivery Chains 3

31. • Links to the wider community, where one organisation has no
formal authority over the groups and individuals with whom it
wishes to work and is reliant primarily on persuasion to
influence their behaviour to achieve targets
• Examples include attempts to persuade private sector firms to
encourage car-sharing among their employees, or to support
and encourage members of the public to stop smoking
• Yet these are often the weakest links in the delivery chain,
with few positive incentives, and sometimes negative
incentives, on those in the community to take part.
Delivery Chains 4

32. Implementation Insights
• Review evidence, appraise options, and decide how
outcomes can best be delivered
• What policy levers and actions will best deliver the desired
outcomes?
• What local, private and international evidence been
considered in developing options?
• Why is the proposed solution the right one, as opposed to
other options?
• What are the risks? How have unintended consequences
been identified? What credible mitigations been identified?
• How can central elements of the solution be tested or
piloted before you begin delivering at scale?

33. Ensuring Continuity
• Programme – proactively managing the process
• People – roles and responsibilities, awareness and
education
• Processes – all organisational processes, including ICT
• Premises – buildings and facilities
• Providers – supply chain, including outsourcing
• Profile – brand, image and reputation
• Performance – benchmarking, evaluation and audit
Business Continuity Institute, 2003

34. • Technology
• Environment
• Geographical location
• Reward systems
• Rules and procedures
• Key organizational members
• Critical incidents.
Cultural Influences

35. Culture Affects Project Management
• Departmental interaction
• Employee commitment to goals
• Project planning
• Performance evaluation.

36. POLITICIANS AND BUREAUCRATS

37. • Leading sociologist Max Weber defined
bureaucracy as an organisation with a hierarchy
of paid, full-time officials who formed a chain of
command
• A bureaucracy is concerned with the business of
administration: with controlling, managing and
co-ordinating a complex range of tasks
• Weber regarded it as dominant institution of
industrial society (departments of state, political
parties, businesses, education etc).
Bureaucracy

38. • Max Weber distinguished between types of
action:
– Affective or emotional action (stems from emotional
state at a particular time. Therefore hard to predict)
– Traditional action (based on established custom, done
because always done that way. Therefore not
necessarily responsive to current context)
– Rational action (goal orientated, systematic
assessment of various options for meeting a goal and
choosing option by established criteria). In many
countries tends to be the public sector ideal.
Social Action Theory

39. • “Bureaucracy appealed as a
way of preserving
representative democracy
whilst removing its worst
features – instability,
irrationality, and factionalism
– from the day-to-day
activities of governing
• Of course policy can never be
separated from politics”
Bureaucracy- The Ideal (1)

40. • In government was hoped bureaucracy would:
– Provide a bulwark against the irrationalities of the
electorate and their representatives
– Prevent organised interests taking control of
public policy
– Permanent bureaucracy would divide politics from
policy
– Provide a more scientific and evidence based
approach to policy.
Bureaucracy – The Ideal (2)

41. • What are the risks and downsides of
bureaucracy?
• How can these be addressed?
• (And how can the upsides be accentuated?).
Downsides and Risk of
Bureaucracy?

42. • “quality assurance has only recently emerged as an
occupation, or sub-field, of management. Today there are
many complaints by public sector officials about the damaging
effects of bureaucracy and red-tape created by this new form
of regulation”
• Challenge of “driving up standards” of public service delivery
versus extra red tape for staff involved (paper work,
inspections, extra layers of checks etc).
‘The New Bureaucracy: Quality Assurance and Its Critics’ Max
Travers 2007
Bureaucracy and Quality
Management

43. Ministers and Special Advisers
• Influencing Ministers
• Using Special Advisers.

44. • “You want to take into account all
the available evidence;
• but, at the end of the day, a
Minister’s job, Parliament’s job is to
reach a judgement as to whether or
not a particular policy ought to be
pursued …
• I strongly defend my right, as the
Secretary of State, a Member of the
elected Government to form a
judgement as to what I think is the
right thing to do
• and the Commons and Lords will
decide.”
Reminder … the Political Context…
*Alistair Darling to a HoC Select
Committee in 2006

45. PROJECT MANAGEMENT AND
POLICY

46. • What is a project?
• Defined start and end, specific scope, cost and
duration
• A temporary endeavor undertaken to create a
unique product, service or result
• A series of activities aimed at bringing about
clearly specified objectives within a defined
time period and with a defined budget
(EU Aid delivery methods).
A project

47. • Project management was developed to save time by
properly planning a project and considering all
relevant factors which may affect its outcome
• The benefits have been proven - it saves time and
money - and generates a more successful outcome
…. if guidelines are followed.
Benefits of project management

48. • goal clarity and measurement
• coordinated resources
• risks will be identified and managed
• increase the possibilities of time savings
• increase the possibilities of cost savings
• increase the possibilities of achieving the agreed
outcome
• increase the possibilities to deliver projects
successfully.
How does project management
benefit you?

49. • Stakeholder involvement
• Executive management support
• Clear statement of requirements
• Proper planning
• Realistic expectations
• Smaller project milestones
• Competent staff
• Ownership
• Clear vision and objectives
• Hard working and focused staff.
Project success factors

50. The triple constraint

51. Projects process
Controlled
start up
Controlled
delivery
Controlled
closure
Review

52. 1. Obtain commitment from the business
2. Define the outcome
3. Define critical success factors (SMART)
4. Adopt processes for project management
5. Check staff skills and experience
6. Determine governance arrangements
7. Define the project scope ...
Controlled start up
Controlled
start up
Controlled
delivery
Controlled
closure
Review

53. 8. Determine the project approach
9. Plan for management of risk
10. Identify the dependencies with other projects
11. Determine whether procurement is required
12. Define the project organisation
13. Produce a project plan
14. Revisit scope
15. Define reporting arrangements.
Controlled start up
Controlled
start up
Controlled
delivery
Controlled
closure
Review

54. 1. Stage planning
2. Stage ends & decision points
3. Controls
4. Managing product delivery
5. Reporting against plans
6. Risk and incident management
7. Managing interfaces.
Controlled delivery
Controlled
start up
Controlled
delivery
Controlled
closure
Review

55. 1. Close the project.
Controlled closure
Controlled
start up
Controlled
delivery
Controlled
closure
Review

56. 1. Review and benefits realisation.
Review
Controlled
start up
Controlled
delivery
Controlled
closure
Review
Identify
scope and
stakeholders
Analysis
Information
gathering
Identify
sources of
information
Team
Selection
Compare with:
business strategy
business case
Use the information for more effective business
operations

57. • Impact Assessment Toolkit http://www.bis.gov.uk/ia
• Treasury Green book (appraisal on vfm)
• https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/the-green-
book-appraisal-and-evaluation-in-central-governent
• Magenta Book (Evaluation guide including analyst checklist)
https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/the-magenta-
book
• Orange Book (Risk management guide)
https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/orange-book
• ‘Research Methods for Business Students’ Saunders et al
• ‘Making Policy in Theory and Practice’ Bochel and Duncan.
Sources of Help

58. QUESTIONS AND CLOSE