You have your policy ‘problem’. You understand its dimensions. You’re up to thinking about solutions. Which levers do you choose?
There are many ways of responding to policy problems, issues or opportunities. The point of the policy process is to identify or co-design options to find the best possible response in the current context. You have a well-tested tool kit of instruments or mechanisms available to draw from when thinking about that response.
Here’s a checklist of interventions to consider:
- Policy. A public policy can include new policy elements; that is, it leads to a public policy/strategy that gives non-regulatory guidance to others—typically government bodies—about what they should do in a specific area. For example, the NSW Government has a Housing State Environment Planning Policy which forms part of a suite of responses to boost housing, particularly for groups such as seniors.
- Regulation or other mandates. Public policy can result in new legislation or other regulatory mechanisms. For example, when the government wanted to tap into not-for-profit housing providers to boost social and affordable housing, a key plank was introducing a regulatory system. The aim was to offer confidence to government and private investors that individual community housing providers (CHPs) were financially viable and could repay debt. The regime became national. CHPs are now key players in housing provision, with extensive borrowings and high trust.
- Services. Policy can change the way direct services are delivered. Service NSW is an ideal example of how a policy shift—towards world class public services—transformed the way government services are provided.
- Taxation or other fiscal interventions. Public policy can change the way taxes are imposed to generate revenue or change interactions. Imposing taxes on carbon usage, for example, has a solid evidence base for shifting consumption patterns. Similarly, incentives for alternative energy sources can support industry to shift their investment to sustainable sources.
- Contracting/funding. Policy can work by changing the way the government contracts for outcomes, or funds third parties to deliver outcomes. One example of policy review resulting in expenditure shifts is the NDIS. This effectively moved government funding from block funding of providers to funding to individuals. The aim was to support people with disability accessing the support they needed.
- Budget. The annual budget makes commitments to where money will be spent and is a key expression of a Government’s priorities and intent. The process of negotiating budgets is an important element of policy work, both in determining how to allocate existing funding and in bidding for enhancements.
- Influence. Policy can require that government bodies seek to influence others in specific ways, for example through education, preventive campaigns, and by funding showcase projects which in turn generate change. Sometimes public statements about important goals, for example, can change the way business and others respond. One highly effective example is demand management of water and energy. Utility providers give users—say households—information about how much they’ve used compared to similar households with each quarterly bill to encourage households to use less. This both makes sense in reducing environmental impact and requires less infrastructure. Demand management is an essential tool in estimating future resource use and planning for infrastructure investments. It’s a program response to a complex public policy issue.
- Capacity building. Policy can lead to money being transferred to a third party/ies to invest in material, intellectual or human resources. For example, peaks in a range of sectors are supported through government funding, with an intent (in part) to resource that sector. Institutions like AHURI (housing) and ANROWS (women’s safety) are resourced by government to boost capacity of policy makers and service designers among others.
You may want to use these levers individually or as a package to achieve your goal.
