Infrastructure: National Roles Without National Policy

2021 ◽  
pp. 1087724X2110166
Author(s):  
Martin Wachs
Keyword(s):  
Public Policy ◽  
National Level ◽  
National Policy ◽  
Public Expenditures ◽  
Policy Effectiveness ◽  
Infrastructure Policy ◽  
National Infrastructure

In 1992 Professor Dick Netzer posed the question “Do We Really Need a National Infrastructure Policy?” but a national infrastructure policy really is a fanciful notion. America has never had a national infrastructure policy, there is no consensus as to what constitutes “infrastructure,” and little to agreement on public policy at the national level. Although we may agree that public expenditures to build and maintain infrastructure should be effective, efficient, and equitable, however hard we try and however sincere our efforts, we never agree on the meanings of terms like infrastructure, policy, effectiveness, efficiency, or equity. The futility of striving toward “a” national or unified infrastructure policy does not, of course, prevent America from pursuing innumerable national infrastructure policies. This essay posits that America can take many practical and important steps to manage and improve its infrastructure regardless of whether it has a document called a “national infrastructure policy.”

What’s Next for a National Infrastructure Policy: An Encore or a Requiem?

2021 ◽  
pp. 1087724X2110146
Author(s):  
Richard G. Little
Keyword(s):  
Economic Growth ◽  
Public Policy ◽  
21St Century ◽  
Environmental Sustainability ◽  
Infrastructure Systems ◽  
Infrastructure Policy ◽  
Policy Objectives ◽  
The Many ◽  
National Infrastructure ◽  
Roll Out

In an essay almost 30 years ago, Professor Dick Netzer of NYU asked the question “Do We Really Need a National Infrastructure Policy?” and came to the conclusion that we did not. As the Biden Administration prepares to roll out a multi-trillion dollar infrastructure package, the nation is faced with numerous questions regarding the infrastructure systems necessary to support continued economic growth and environmental sustainability. The purpose of this essay is to look to recent history for guidance for how to proceed by revisiting the underlying premises of the Netzer essay and reconsider whether a National Infrastructure Policy is needed. Because linking infrastructure to broader public policy objectives could both unite the nation and position it to address the many challenges that the 21st century will present, I believe the idea of a National Infrastructure Policy definitely deserves a second look.

Contours of a National Infrastructure Policy for the New Millennium

2021 ◽  
pp. 1087724X2110166
Author(s):  
John C. Morris ◽  
Ryan D. Williamson ◽  
A. Stanley Meiburg
Keyword(s):  
21St Century ◽  
National Policy ◽  
National Government ◽  
The State ◽  
The Core ◽  
Infrastructure Policy ◽  
Wastewater Infrastructure ◽  
The Many ◽  
National Infrastructure ◽  
New Millennium

As calls for renewed efforts to address the state of the nation’s infrastructure grow across both partisan and ideological lines, they raise pointed questions regarding the nature of such efforts. For example, how do we pay for needed infrastructure? How do we set priorities among the many and varied needs across the nation? Most critically, should the national government play the central role in such an effort or is this task more appropriately left to the states? With Netzer’s article in mind, we examine the core factors that a national infrastructure policy in the 21st century should consider. We illustrate these factors through the use of two exemplar cases: traditional wastewater infrastructure, and the infrastructure required to conduct free, safe, and fair elections. Contrary to Netzer, we contend that there are many advantages to employing a national policy in these areas.

Design as an Agent for Public Policy Innovation

2019 ◽  
Vol 2 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Federico VAZ ◽  
Sharon PRENDEVILLE
Keyword(s):  
Public Policy ◽  
Process Model ◽  
Public Policies ◽  
Policy Innovation ◽  
Design Methods ◽  
Policy Effectiveness ◽  
The Public ◽  
Dependent Activity ◽  
Effectiveness And Efficiency ◽  
Context Dependent

Described as units developing public policies in a design-oriented manner, Policy Labs are tasked to innovate to gain in policy effectiveness and efficiency. However, as public policymaking is a context-dependent activity, the way in which these novel organisations operate significantly differs. This study discusses the emergence of design approaches for policy innovation. The purpose is to map how Policy Labs in Europe introduce design approaches at distinct stages of the policymaking cycle. For this study, 30 organisations in Europe operating at various levels of government were surveyed. Based on the public policymaking process model, it investigates which design methods are Policy Labs deploying to innovate public policies. The study exposed a gap in the awareness of the utilised methods' nature. It also showed that the use of design methods is of less importance than the introduction of design mindsets for public policy innovation, namely ‘user-centredness’, ‘co-creation’, and ‘exploration’.

Career Guidance: Living on the Edge of Public Policy

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
John McCarthy ◽  
Tibor Bors Borbély-Pecze
Keyword(s):  
Public Policy ◽  
Social Inclusion ◽  
Career Guidance ◽  
Evaluation Studies ◽  
National Level ◽  
Policy Instruments ◽  
Economic Incentives ◽  
Policy Formation ◽  
Education And Employment

Public policy formation and implementation for career guidance provision are complex issues, not least because in most countries career guidance is a peripheral part of legislation for education, employment, and social inclusion. Policy solutions are compromises by nature. Regulations and economic incentives are the main policy instruments for career guidance provision, but there is often incoherence between the intentions of the regulations and the economic incentives provided for policy implementation. The intermediary organizations that serve to implement policy add significant variability to policy effects. International bodies and organizations have shown significant interest in the role of career guidance in education and employment policies through the undertaking of policy reviews, the formulation of recommendations for career guidance, and, in some cases, providing economic incentives to support their implementation. However, there is a dearth of evaluation studies of policy formation and implementation at the national level.

scholarly journals Beyond national indicators: adapting the Demographic and Health Surveys’ sampling strategies and questions to better inform subnational malaria intervention policy

2021 ◽  
Vol 20 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Ifeoma D. Ozodiegwu ◽  
Monique Ambrose ◽  
Katherine E. Battle ◽  
Caitlin Bever ◽  
Ousmane Diallo ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Health Surveys ◽  
Survey Design ◽  
National Level ◽  
National Policy ◽  
Sampling Strategy ◽  
Epidemiological Data ◽  
Malaria Prevalence ◽  
Demographic And Health Surveys ◽  
Malaria Indicator Survey ◽  
Narrow Scope

AbstractIn malaria-endemic countries, prioritizing intervention deployment to areas that need the most attention is crucial to ensure continued progress. Global and national policy makers increasingly rely on epidemiological data and mathematical modelling to help optimize health decisions at the sub-national level. The Demographic and Health Surveys (DHS) Program is a critical data source for understanding subnational malaria prevalence and intervention coverage, which are used for parameterizing country-specific models of malaria transmission. However, data to estimate indicators at finer resolutions are limited, and surveys questions have a narrow scope. Examples from the Nigeria DHS are used to highlight gaps in the current survey design. Proposals are then made for additional questions and expansions to the DHS and Malaria Indicator Survey sampling strategy that would advance the data analyses and modelled estimates that inform national policy recommendations. Collaboration between the DHS Program, national malaria control programmes, the malaria modelling community, and funders is needed to address the highlighted data challenges.

Reconsidering the state

2020 ◽  
pp. 55-74
Author(s):  
Kate Crowley ◽  
Jenny Stewart ◽  
Adrian Kay ◽  
Brian W. Head
Keyword(s):  
Public Policy ◽  
Policy Making ◽  
The State ◽  
Binary Choice ◽  
Policy Effectiveness ◽  
Comparative Public Policy ◽  
Policy Studies ◽  
The Core ◽  
State And Society ◽  
Public Policy Analysis

State-centred and society-centred explanations in comparative public policy analysis disagree markedly on the extent to which the state has autonomy or is essentially a clearing-house for outside forces. In this chapter, we reconsider the position of the state in policy studies by investigating the interactions and inter-dependency between the state and society rather than making a binary choice between state-centred and society-centred perspectives on governance. The core argument is that policy studies can improve its ability to apprehend the position of the state in dilemmas of contemporary policy-making by acknowledging that the state is, at once, both critical to collective action and reliant on crucial elements of societal support for its policy effectiveness. In such terms, governance is a useful label for the variety of ways in which society is not simply acted upon by the state, but actively shapes the actions of and outcomes of state activity.

scholarly journals 051 A policy effectiveness-feasibility loop? Promoting the use of evidence to support the development of healthy public policy

2010 ◽  
Vol 64 (Suppl 1) ◽  
pp. A20-A21 ◽  
Author(s):  
N. Unwin ◽  
K. Bennett ◽  
S. Capewell ◽  
J. Critchley ◽  
F. Fouad ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Public Policy ◽  
Policy Effectiveness ◽  
Healthy Public Policy

scholarly journals Whose Children? Protecting Unaccompanied Migrant Children in Europe: A Case of Diffused Responsibility?

2020 ◽  
Vol 28 (4) ◽  
pp. 925-949
Author(s):  
Ingi Iusmen
Keyword(s):  
Bystander Effect ◽  
National Level ◽  
National Policy ◽  
Migrant Children ◽  
Theory And Practice ◽  
Child Rights ◽  
Explanatory Factors ◽  
Policy Interventions ◽  
Legal Enforcement ◽  
Failure To Protect

Abstract This paper examines the reasons behind the failure of EU and national policy interventions to protect unaccompanied migrant children’s (unaccompanied minors – uams) rights during the refugee crisis in Europe. By drawing on policy documents and empirical data, it is argued that the deficient protection of uam s’ child rights was essentially a failure of responsibility allocation in line with the “bystander effect” analytical explanation. While this argument does not disregard the role of other explanatory factors, such as the lack of European solidarity, poor legal enforcement and financial reasons, among others, it is claimed that the diffusion of responsibility (in theory and practice) between various policy systems at the national level, as well as between the EU and domestic levels, contributed to the failure to protect uam s’ child rights across Europe.

scholarly journals Introduction to the analysis of public policies

2020 ◽  
Vol 3 (2) ◽  
pp. 3-6
Author(s):  
Prof. univ. dr. habil. Mihaela Rus ◽  
Lect. univ. dr. Mihaela Sandu ◽  
Tanase Tasente
Keyword(s):  
Public Policy ◽  
Public Policies ◽  
National Level ◽  
Academic Research ◽  
Monitoring And Evaluation ◽  
Cultural Environment ◽  
Action Program ◽  
Social Actors ◽  
State Institutions ◽  
Applied Approach

We can talk about public policies when a public authority - central or local - intends, with the help of a coordinated action program, to modify the economic, social, cultural environment of social actors. At national level, public policies can appear from any of the major state institutions (Parliament, President, Government, central or local authorities). The study of public policies is different from the traditional academic research, having an applied approach, oriented towards: (1) designing and developing solutions for the problems of society, (2) Interdisciplinarity, (3) Orientation towards problem solving: it does not have a purely academic character, but it is oriented towards the problems of the real world, looking for solutions for them, (4) Normativity. The general stages of this process are as follows: (1) defining the problem, (2) making the decision, (3) implementation of public policy, (4) monitoring and evaluation of public policy.

scholarly journals FORMAÇÃO DO ENFERMEIRO: POLÍTICAS PÚBLICAS NA ATENÇÃO ONCOLÓGICA

2018 ◽  
Vol 9 (3) ◽  
Author(s):  
Andresa Mendonça Oliveira ◽  
Katia Stancato ◽  
Eliete Maria Silva
Keyword(s):  
Public Policy ◽  
Nursing Education ◽  
Professional Practice ◽  
Policy Development ◽  
Positive Impact ◽  
National Policy ◽  
Cancer Control ◽  
Nurse Training ◽  
The Public ◽  
The Impact

Objetivo: Refletir teoricamente sobre a Política Nacional (brasileira) para Prevenção e Controle do Câncer na Rede de Atenção à Saúde das Pessoas com Doenças Crônicas e articulações na formação do enfermeiro e na prática profissional. Metodologia: Reflexão teórica, por meio de questionamentos das pesquisadoras, discussões em grupo e busca na literatura. Resultados: Os trabalhadores que atuam no cuidado ao paciente oncológico possuem papel essencial na efetivação dessa política. Porém, para que sejam implementadas, é necessário que seus princípios estabelecidos façam sentido na formação e nas práticas profissionais. Conclusão: O ensino reflexivo sobre essa política na formação do enfermeiro contribui para melhorias em sua prática, assim como, práticas reflexivas e melhor qualificadas certamente impactam positivamente na formação profissional. O desenvolvimento de políticas públicas com ênfase nas demandas da população pressupõe articulação teórica e prática e transformações sociais.Descritores: Educação Superior; Educação em enfermagem; Políticas públicas de saúde; Prática profissional; Enfermagem Oncológica.NURSING EDUCATION : PUBLIC POLICY AT ONCOLOGI C ATTENTIONObjective: Reflect theoretically about the Public Policies on the Oncological Care, especially the National Policy(Brazilian) for Prevention and Cancer Control in Health Care Network of People with Chronic Diseases and the impact on nurse training and professional practice. Methodology: Theoretical speculation by means of interviews with researchers, group discussions and literature research. Results: Caregivers of oncological patients have an essential role on the effecting this Policy. However, in order to implement this policy, it is necessary that its established principles make sense for nursing education and professional practices. Conclusion: The reflective teaching about this policy in the formation of nurses contributes to improve its practice, as reflective and better qualified practices certainly have a positive impact on vocational education. The public policy development with emphasis on population demands assumes theoretical and practical articulation and social transformations.Descriptors: Education Higher; Education; Nursing; Public Health Policy; Professional Practice; Oncology Nursing.EDUCACIÓN EN ENFERMERÍA: POLÍTICA PÚBLICA EN ATEN CIÓN ONCOLÓGICAObjetivo: reflexionar teóricamente sobre las políticas públicas para atención oncológica, especialmente para la Política Nacional (brasileña) para Prevención y Control del Cáncer en la Red de Salud de Personas con Enfermedades Crónicas e articulaciones en la formación de enfermeras y en la práctica profesional. Metodología: Reflexión teórica por medio de cuestionamientos de los pesquisidores, discusiones en grupo y pesquisa en la literatura. Resultados: Los cuidadores de enfermos oncológicos tienen un papel esencial en la implementación de políticas. Sin embargo, para funcionar, es necesario que sus principios hagan sentido en la formación y en las prácticas profesionales. Conclusión: La enseñanza reflexiva sobre la política en la formación de enfermeros contribuye para mejoras en su práctica, como tal, prácticas reflexivas y más calificadas, sin duda, causan impacto positivo en las prácticas de formación profesional. El desarrollo de las políticas públicas con énfasis en las demandas de la población presupone la articulación teórica y práctica y la transformación social.Descriptores: Educación Superior; Educación en Enfermería; Políticas Públicas de Salud; Práctica Profesional; Enfermería Oncológica.

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