Improving public policy: Theory, practice and results

Good governance is the essential mission of the public sector and effective policy management is a crucial component of good governance. An understanding of public policy is thus not only imperative for the continuous improvement of public sector governance, but it is also vital for day-to-day management. Improving public policy tackles integrating the functionally specialised agencies of government, business, labour and civil society into a holistic and efficient policy network to deal with the complexities of transformational leadership, optimal development and public services delivery in society. This significantly revised and expanded third edition links the theory and practice of public policy in a user-friendly way. It explains what public policy is and should be, why and how it is created, and how public policy content, processes, outputs and outcomes can be improved to promote good governance and achieve sustainable developmental goals in the information society of the 21st century.This new edition contains a number of practical generic templates for issue identification, policy problem definition, structuring and prioritisation, electronic policy-decision aids, implementation, monitoring and evaluation, and policy training tools. It also includes extensive recent references to more advanced South African and international resources on these topics. Improving public policy is essential reading material for all students, researchers and practitioners in the field of public policy who require knowledge, insight and/or practical skills in this important field. All contributors are experienced public-policy educators, practitioners and evaluators. See more