Obstacles in Developing Effective Public Policy

Answer

Obstacles in Developing Effective Public Policy

Public policy refers to an action or sets of proposed measures, which a government takes to achieve defined objectives. When determined from a certain healthcare problem in society, public policy guides and determines the present and future actions of healthcare practitioners and citizens (Kraft & Furlong, 2012). The development of public policy starts with the transformation of political visions into programs which deliver the desired change. An effective public policy is one which is not only valid and efficien,t but also provides a viable solution to a societal problem. According to Hill and Varone (2016), developing an effective public policy requires an examination of whether the plan is innovative, evidence based, flexible, outward looking, and inclusive. However, the attainment of such an effective policyis faced with various obstacles, including lack of political good will, clarity on the policy goals, communication, ineffective governance and corruption, budgetary constraints brings huge institutional challenges. . This paper discusses some of the various obstacles, encountered in the policy development process.

Political Constraints

Policy development is affected by the activities of the political actors. Hill and Varone (2016) state that the ideas which form the subject of policy are sometimes dropped due to opposition from the elected politicians as well as other appointees. Notably, Kraft and Furlong (2012) state that various views and reactions of the Senators, presidency, and representatives determine whether a policy will move from one stage to the other. Many of the important ideas are discarded as specialists fail to convince the political actors to approve them (Forgeard et al., 2011). As a result, policy development does not get to the floor of Parliament.

Ambiguity in Policy Goals

Most of the policies are put in place to address the past or present challenges. As such, Forgeard et al. (2011) opine that some of the proposals put forward are not only ambitious, but also fall short of the expected outcomes. One of the key reasons as to why this happens is failure to get reliable data which would inform the policy (Hill & Varone, 2016). Other policy proposals do not have clarity in what they seek to achieve and how they would do that. As a result, the project does not advance as it becomes challenging to understand their objectives. Such an obstacle leads to desertion of policy at an early stage.

Infective Governance

The challenge of ineffective management and high rate of corruption has been regarded as one of the greatest obstacles in policy development (Forgeard et al., 2011). Notably, when various government organs and representatives fail to coordinate, a plan is unlikely to pass as there is massive opposition (Kraft & Furlong, 2012). Additionally, there are cases whereby various actors require kickbacks for them to push the ideas through so that they can be approved. However, most people cannot afford such kickbacks hence making their policy proposals, however right, to fail.

Lack of Communication

Some of the policy recommendations fail to see the light of day because they are either too long or complicated (Kraft & Furlong, 2012). A plan cannot develop to maturation if the decision makers do not understand its contents. Various campaigns are required to popularize policy proposals. However, Hill and Varone (2016) posit that those who do not have the resources for the campaigns do not communicate effectively with decision makers. Elsewhere, professionals interpret policy proposals differently. As such, the confusion arising from the different interpretations is an obstacle as a middle ground must be reached.

Budgetary Constraints

Before various stakeholders accept and approve a policy, the decision makers have to be convinced that the required resources to implement its provisions exist. However, Kraft and Furlong (2012) admit that some of the decision makers will use their powers to shoot down policies which although critical, use a significant number of resources. Lack of sufficient funds to meet the expectations of the policy becomes an impediment to its development (Hill & Varone, 2016). Failure to demonstrate how the policy will be actualized results in the suffering of the policy-making process.

Institutional Challenges

The rigidity of institutions has been termed as one of the main obstacles to policy formulation. Notably, some of the institutions do not want a change in status quo and would, therefore, ensure they oppose any proposed change in policy. Many of the policy changes are done through various institutions including the legal, administrative, political, and economic systems (Forgeard et al., 2011). When such systems are resistant to change, then new policies cannot be developed.

In conclusion, effective public policy development encounters the obstacles of lack of political good will, lack of clarity on the goals of the policy, ineffective communication, lack of financial resources, and institutional challenges. When politicians do not have the resolve to pass a particular policy, then it becomes challenging for the policy proposal to be approved and accepted. Additionally, long and ambitious policies are sometimes ambiguous hence slowing down their maturation. Moreover, lack of resources to actualize the policy expectations may make its development slow.