As outlined in Chapter 1, policy-making is the process by which governments Government reforms in the late 1980s and early 1990s in Northern Ireland The process of policy-making is not a high science, but it is difficult to do well. Improving policy-makin

What is good policy making?

2.1 As outlined in Chapter 1, policy-making is the process by which governments

translate their political vision into programmes and actions to deliver outcomes - desired change in the real world. Thus policy-making is a fundamental function of any government.

2.2 Government reforms in the late 1980s and early 1990s in Northern Ireland

as elsewhere focused on efficiency in service delivery and on reforming management structures - how things were done. Policy-making as outlined in this guide is about establishing what needs to be done - examining the underlying rationale for and effectiveness of policies - then working out how to do it and reviewing on an ongoing basis how well the desired outcomes are being delivered. This chapter seeks to set out some of the fundamental characteristics of good policy-making.

2.3 The process of policy-making is not a high science, but it is difficult to do well.

As in any process, there are tools and techniques that can help in doing the job more effectively. Public policy operates in an extremely wide environment. Governments have obligations to, and are answerable to, every part of civic society. Policy-making often requires a department or the administration as a whole to strike a balance among a wide range of competing interests without losing sight of the desired policy outcome.

2.4 Improving policy-making is not a challenge faced by the Northern Ireland

Executive alone. The UK Government Modernising Government White Paper published in March 1999 set out a major programme of change for the public sector as a whole. The White Paper had a strong focus on improving policy-making and was followed up later in 1999 by the Cabinet Office paper Professional Policy-Making for the 21st Century and in 2001 by Better Policy-Making, produced by the Centre for Management and Policy Studies in the Cabinet Office CMPS. 4

2.5 The devolved administrations in Scotland and Wales have also been seeking to