“A clear, well written introduction and guide.” (*)

Designed for upper-level and professional courses, this text is a state-of-the-art introduction to the public policymaking process that gives equal attention to issues of policy implementation and public governance. It uses an innovative systems approach, integrating the activities, actors, tools, and techniques of policymaking, to provide a comprehensive framework for policy design and analysis. The book is practice-oriented, with a focus on the ways that policymakers at all levels employ the standard "technologies" of governance—authority, agency, program, rule, contract, and budget—to design policy outputs and achieve policy outcomes. Through extensive use of graphics, the text makes concepts easy to grasp for a generation of students accustomed to the visual presentation of ideas. Case studies illustrate the tools and techniques discussed, and key terms, questions for discussion, and suggested readings round out each chapter.

Among the many emerging issues covered in this text that will be especially relevant for upper-level and professional programs and student-practitioners are:

• program design

• performance management

• public contracting

• policy networks

• commercial and nonprofit sector participation in the policymaking process.

Endorsements:

”A clear, well written introduction and guide to the policymaking process. The authors enable students to gain a full awareness of the political complexities of the policymaking process and of the limitations on rational decision-making that exist in the ‘real world.’ Even students with little familiarity with the policy process will be able to follow their logical progression as they ‘unpack’ the process. It familiarizes students with many of the essential concepts that they will need in order to advance their skills in policy analysis." — R. Allen Hays, University of Northern Iowa (*)

”This text is one of the few that provide a complete overview of the administrative factors of production that go into the making of public policy. ...It is especially useful to public administration students who need to learn about their role and responsibility in American public policymaking. ...It does a fine job bridging the literature of public policy and public management.” — Robert Blair, Director of Urban Studies Program, School of Public Administration, University of Nebraska at Omaha

”I do not know of another book that includes the broad scope of issues and concepts as well as the Biggs and Helms volume. The authors provide a student with an encyclopedia-like work that will not only be useful as a required book in the classroom but can also serve as a reference source for the future. The authors have done a superb job of integrating diverse literatures and draw on an eclectic array of writers that rarely find their way into one book.” — Beryl A. Radin, American University