Content Analysis of Policymakers Communication Narrative Addressing Coronavirus Diseases 2019 Pandemic in Indonesia

BACKGROUND: Coronavirus diseases 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic severely affected Indonesia in health and socio-economic sectors. As a new disease and the challenge became an opportunity for policy creation of the government. AIM: The study explored how the government as a policymaker responded to the COVID-19 pandemic within the framework of the policy window, as seen in the news media. This study also looked at how the public perceived the policy creation and the implementation. METHODS: A qualitative case study was conducted to answer the research questions by reviewing three main national news media, namely, Respublika, Media Indonesia, and Kompas, on primary communication from three policies makers (president, ministry of health, and COVID-19 task force). The searching coverage was within 1 year of the pandemic, from March 2019 to February 2020. The articles were analyzed using content and contextual analysis approaches. The articles were coded thematically using open coding in the native language, supported by MS Excel and qualitative software ATLAS.ti version 8. The data discuss with the existing literature using the policy window framework. RESULTS: We found that 147 articles were eligible for the study, which the majority of them were president communication. The president communicated in all aspects COVID-19 related policy, including integrated policy, health policy, and the economic. Ministry of health mainly focused on health policy and the task force on public education. The study showed that the government has utilized a policy window for policy creation in addressing the COVID-19 pandemic. The policy addressed all related issues that were affected by the pandemic, ranging from healthcare to financing. There were weaknesses in the implementation, such as not adequately informed to the public and some inconsistency among stakeholders. CONCLUSION: Policy creation without consistent implementation led to public distrust and rejection.

Agenda-setting of tobacco control policy in Iran: a retrospective policy analysis study

Background The prevalence of tobacco use, especially hookah, has increased in Iran In recent years, particularly among young people and women, and the age of onset of use has decreased. Tobacco use is the fourth leading risk factor for non-communicable diseases in Iran. These issues cause concerns in the country and led to the present study on tobacco control agenda-setting in Iran over a 30-year timeframe. Methods We conducted this retrospective analytical study to investigate process analysis in Iran using Kingdon’s multiple-streams framework (MSF). We collected the data using semi-structured interviews with key informants (n = 36) and reviewing policy documents (n > 100). Then, we analyzed the policy documents and in-depth interviews using the document and framework analysis method. We used MAXQDA 11 software to classify and analyze the data. Results Iran’s accession to the Framework Convention on Tobacco Control (FCTC) opened a window of opportunity for tobacco control. The policy window opens when all three streams have already been developed. The adoption of the comprehensive law on the national control and campaign against tobacco in the Islamic Consultative Assembly in 2006 is a turning point in tobacco control activities in Iran. Conclusions The tobacco control agenda-setting process in Iran was broadly consistent with MSF. The FCTC strengthened the comprehensive plan for national control of tobacco as a policy stream. However, there are several challenges in developing effective policies for tobacco control in the Iranian setting.

A Possibility or Just a Wish? Assessing Current Perceptions on the Potentials of a Full Student Loan Debt Forgiveness Legislation

Burdensome and unmanageable is what student loan repayment has become to almost 45 million Americans who owe a total of about $1.7 trillion in student loans. It is therefore intriguing to find out if a complete student loan debt forgiveness miracle is a possibility or just a wish, based on current perceptions. This study is based on the Three-Policy Window Stream Theory and the Interest Group Theory. Four mini-focus interview groups were created and their responses were analyzed using the Grounded-Theory Technique. From our findings, it is evident that student loan debt affects the mass, forming a rapidly growing informal interest group made up of mostly millennials. Yet, the pressure from this fast-growing informal interest group is not strong enough to oppose that of other interest groups like Republicans, taxpayers, financial institutions, and other stakeholders involved in student loans, to necessitate an immediate passage of legislation on student loans debt forgiveness.

National Nonprofit Sector Advocacy During the COVID-19 Pandemic

When the COVID-19 pandemic hit Canada in March 2020, charitable and nonprofit sector leaders quickly realized the survival of many organizations was at risk. Three national coalitions formed to seek support for the sector from the federal government. Their efforts produced several concrete policy outcomes, including the inclusion of charities and nonprofits in all major federal relief programs and two support programs designed for charities and nonprofits. They also contributed to significantly increased awareness among policymakers of the role and challenges of charities and nonprofits. This has opened a policy window that the sector can use to advance several long-standing goals. RÉSUMÉ Quand la pandémie du COVID-19 a frappé le Canada en mars 2020, les dirigeants du secteur caritatif et sans but lucratif se sont vite rendu compte que la survie de plusieurs organismes était menacée. On a donc formé trois coalitions nationales afin de chercher un appui au secteur auprès du gouvernement fédéral. Les efforts de ces coalitions ont mené à plusieurs politiques concrètes, y compris l’inclusion d’organismes de bienfaisance et sans but lucratif dans tous les programmes d’aide fédéraux majeurs et la création de deux programmes d’aide conçus spécifiquement pour les organismes de bien- faisance et sans but lucratif. Ces coalitions ont aussi contribué à accroître de manière significative la conscience parmi les stratèges du rôle et des défis des organismes de bienfaisance et sans but lucratif. Ces progrès ont créé des occasions politiques dont le secteur pourra profiter pour faire avancer plusieurs objectifs de longue date.

“We don’t have any answers within the current framework”: tensions within cannabis policy change in Ireland

Purpose International policy approaches to cannabis production and use are changing rapidly, and within the Irish context, alternatives to prohibition are being considered. This study aims to explore policymaker’s attitudes towards the decriminalisation and legal regulation of cannabis for recreational use in the midst of an unfolding policy process, examining the degree which a “policy window” might be open for the implementation of cannabis policy change. Design/methodology/approach Semi-structured interviews were held with eight key informants within the policy field in Dublin, Ireland. Kingdon’s (2014) Multiple Streams framework was used to consider whether the problems, policy and political streams were aligning to support progressive policy change. Findings Irish policymakers indicated broad support for the decriminalisation of cannabis. The legal regulation of cannabis received more qualified support. Existing policy was heavily criticised with criminalisation identified as a clear failure. Of particular interest was the willingness of policymakers to offer opinions which contrasted with the policy positions of their organisations. While a policy window did open – and close – subsequent governmental commitments to examine the issue of drugs policy in a more deliberative process in the near future highlight the incremental nature of policy change. Originality/value This study provides unique insight into the opinions of policymakers in the midst of a prolonged period of policy evolution. A latent aspiration for historical policy change was situated within the realpolitik of more traditional approaches to policy development, demonstrating that the alignment of Kingdon’s (2014) problem, policy and political streams are essential for change in cannabis policy.

A policy window and a network of global and local policy entrepreneurs: The introduction of opioid substitution therapy in Belarus

Why does a regime that is predominantly characterised by conservative ideology introduce opioid substitution therapy (OST), a liberal policy? This article applies the Multiple Streams Framework (MSF) to examine the introduction of OST in Belarus. Methodologically, the research draws on qualitative content analysis of drug policy documents and reports as well as on interviews. Results show how an increased HIV prevalence among injecting drug users opened a policy window in the problem stream. The increase in HIV cases could be used by a network of global and local policy entrepreneurs to frame OST as a public health policy instead of a drug policy measure. Findings suggest that, in nondemocratic regimes, global policy entrepreneurs can play a dominant role in introducing new policy ideas. However, the sustainability of the policy change remains questionable when acquiescence by key policymakers is lacking.

Policy Formulation During Pandemic COVID-19: A New Evidence of Multiple Streams Theory from Yogyakarta, Indonesia

This study aims to answer how the policy formulation process resolves the pandemic's impact in DIY Province, Indonesia, in 2020. DIY is chosen as the case in this study because the governor is also a king in this region. It was also considered the best province in handling the pandemic Covid-19 in 2020. This study used multiple streams proposed by John W. Kingdon to elaborate on the policy formulation process. This research method is qualitative, conducted using an online questionnaire, in-depth interview, documentary from March to October 2020. It found that policy, problems, and political streams overlapped in a policy window, i.e., pandemic crisis, as a common concern that must be addressed immediately. The new finding is that the government administration system that combines monarchy and decentralization models has encouraged crises to be resolved more quickly through an integrated multiple streams formulation. The other new finding is the governor, as a policymaker, can take advantage of the pandemic as a policy window to act as the sole policy entrepreneur.

Garbage Can Model at Covid 19 Countermeasures Policy in Banten

The Garbage Can Model is a public policy model that is taken by the government when an urgent event occurs which requires a fast and populist policy. Covid 19 is a deadly virus that spreads very quickly and is transmitted through human intermediaries, data released by the Covid 19 Response Acceleration Task Force on April 24, 2020, at least 8,211 people tested positive for this virus, and those who died reached 689 people and recovered 1,002 people. As for cases in the world, 2,626,321 people have tested positive, who died reaching 181,938 people covering 213 countries / regions (WHO Data Last update: 24 April 2020, 07:00 GMT + 7). In tackling the spread of this virus, the state as the policy holder has a stake in protecting the safety of its citizens. However, there are several cases where the policy dynamics are very intense, resulting in policy actors not being able to fully utilize their rational capacities. This study focuses on a number of government policies in the response to covid 19 which especially occurs in Banten. This study uses a qualitative methodology with a descriptive approach to better describe how it is possible to understand all actors involved in the covid 19 prevention policy in Banten. Finding of this research garbage can model can’t runs well, the four element of garbage can such alternative choice (policy window), problems, solutions, and participants can’t go hand in hand. The very large role of the participants limits the roles of other elements that actually play an important role in shaping the garbage can.

The European Investment Bank’s ‘Quantum Leap’ to Become the World’s First International Climate Bank

In November 2019, the European Investment Bank (EIB) announced its ‘metamorphosis’ into a ‘Climate Bank.’ Associated with the EU’s Green Deal, presented a month later, the EIB claimed to be the first international climate bank and a front runner in the EU’s priority climate agenda. The EIB is mandated through the treaties to support EU policymakers. However, with its ‘makeover,’ the EIB also announced the launch of a new climate strategy and energy lending policy, ending fossil fuel financing after 2021. It is thus valuable to examine the question of whether the EIB has developed into a policymaker, and if so, how this can be best understood. In exploring this question, this article follows a principal-agent approach, attempting to discern the rational interests behind organisational rhetoric and posits that the EIB’s claimed transformation hints at a type of policymaking activism, exploiting a policy window to serve the EIB’s rational interests in a strained political and market contest. This represents a paradigm shift in the EIB’s institutional behaviour and rhetoric within the EU governance constellation and is, in fact, in this sense a ‘quantum leap’ as suggested by the EIB. However, it remains to be seen if the bank’s metrics will prove a bold departure from their current activity or simply another adaptation to a policy field of intense interest to the EU, as has occurred on several occasions in the past.

A narrative account of the key drivers in the development of the Learning from Deaths policy

Objective In recent years there has been a proliferation of patient safety policies in the United Kingdom triggered by well publicized failures in health care. The Learning from Deaths (LfD) policy was implemented in response to failures at Southern Health National Health Service (NHS) Foundation Trust. This study aims to develop a narrative to enable the understanding of the key drivers involved in its evolution and implications for future national patient safety policy development. Methods A qualitative study was undertaken using documentary analysis and semi-structured interviews (n = 12) with policymakers from organizations involved in the design, implementation and assurance of LfD at a system level. Kingdon’s Multiple Streams Approach was used to frame the policymaking process. Results The publication of the Southern Health independent review and subsequent highlighting by the Care Quality Commission of a fragmented approach to learning from deaths across the NHS opened a ‘policy window.’ Under the influence of the families affected by patient safety failures and the then Secretary of State, acting as ‘policy entrepreneurs,’ recently developed methods for mortality review were combined with mechanisms to enhance transparency and governance. This rapidly created a framework designed to ensure NHS organizations identified remedial safety problems and could be accountable for addressing them. Conclusions The development of LfD exhibits several common features with other patient safety policies in the NHS. It was triggered by a crisis and the need for a prompt political response and attempts to address a range of concerns related to safety. In common with other safety policies, LfD contains inherent tensions related to its primary purpose, which may hinder its impact. In the absence of formal evaluations of these policies, deeper understanding of the policymaking process offers the possibility of identifying potential barriers to goal achievement.