Policy analysis paper theorizing policy change
Order Description
Your task is to use the policy literature from the Course Reader (and all of the reading which you have summarized in your Critical Reading) and the wider policy literature relevant to your policy case study (my policy case study is domestic violence royal commission), to provide a 2,500 word analysis of the policy making theories which best explain the development of your policy case study (domestic violence royal commission ) (ie ideas around a rational, interpretative or critical approach, agenda setting; discourses and representations; policy inheritance and path dependency, the political influence of the community or lobby group/s; the evidence and research; the timing and context etc).
The purpose of the analysis paper is to combine the knowledge and insights from your case study with the policy theory and reading in order to answer the question, what does this policy episode tell us about policy making?
This does not mean evaluating how effective the policy is, or making recommendations about policy change. Rather you are required to use the policy theory and literature to explain how and why this policy development process came about and what lessons your case study offers for your understanding of policy making. Really what you are trying to do is to understand, theorise and explain policy making and policy change.
Your paper (prepared a either a report or essay with or without subheadings) will need to:-
Provide a short introduction to your topic, which tells the reader what your case study was and briefly outlines the direction of your paper (ie what will say in your paper);
Provide a summary of your case study analysis which provides a summary of the three areas of your case study presentation (ie a summary of policy substance, politics and processes);
Use the course policy theory and literature to identify and summarise the key ideas about policy making which were most relevant to your policy case study (family violence) (ie ideas around a rational, interpretative or critical approach, agenda setting; discourses and representations; policy inheritance and path dependency, the political influence of the community or lobby group/s; the evidence and research; the timing and context etc);
Develop your policy making argument which answers the question what does this policy episode tell us about policy making? Here you have to use the evidence from your analysis of the case study and the ideas from the course policy theory and literature to argue what this case study tells us about public policy making.
Provide a conclusion which summarizes your thinking about policy making and clearly answers the question
making criteria
1. Substance & argument (40%)
Introduction
Does the paper provide an introduction outlining the purpose and direction of the paper?
Summary of case study
Does the paper provide a summary of the case study analysis (substance, politics and process)?
Ideas about policy making
How well does the paper use the course policy theory and literature to identify and summarise the key ideas about policy making most relevant to the policy case study?
Policy argument
What is the argument regarding policy making? Is the argument evidence based (ie uses the policy literature and case study to support claims)? Does the argument answer the question what does this policy episode tell us about policy making?
Relevance and breadth of evidence
Have the minimum 18 references (and 6 references from the Course reader) been used?
How well has the policy literature and relevant policy research been utilized in the paper?
(ie Have appropriate and relevant readings from the Course Readings and other reference material been used in a way which demonstrates both understanding of the authors ideas, and appropriately uses these ideas as evidence for the argument and analysis?)
2. Presentation of the policy analysis case study (20%)
Is the paper clearly and coherently written and presented?
Are evidence and ideas referenced appropriately?
Did the paper meet the word limit?
3. Quality of the policy analysis (40%)
How well does the work understand and critique public policy processes, policy theory and policy making practice?
How well does the work identify key ideas, perspectives and approaches in policy making practice?
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