What is Policy and Public Policy?
Policy is a course of action or plan in directing affairs, chosen by government, political party, individual, or Business Company, which typically becomes a law or regulation later on. It can also be defined as the design and implementation of a continuous strategic planning process that leads to a general concept. It is kind of a political decision that includes certain measures planned for the future developments of the issue. An agreement has to be made on which group of measures in specific scenario is appropriate to accomplish intended goals in the finest way. This complete concept is a legally binding agenda for more comprehensive plans and concepts to be covered in a longer period. In comparison, public policy can be termed as the decision of government against specific issues that may influence public. Public policy is acted through legislation, regulation, funding priorities etc.
The various types of public policies formulated for the better future of societies include, aviation policy, communications policy, information policy, economic policy, education policy, social policy, transportation policy, water policy etc.
There are three main stages involved in the policy-making process that includes, initiation, formulation, and implementation. The process of policy formulation and implementation also takes place in stages or phases. This systematic method allows to easily identify key elements of the process. However, the process is not simple. At times, it does not move smoothly from one-step to another. The policy formulation process is followed in three steps, including, policy demand, policy decision, and policy statement. During this process, alternatives to the solution of problems are identified, collection and analysis of alternatives, and application of decision tools are followed. At the point of policy statement, the government provides formal guidelines and assign people with specific policy roles.
In a British Parliamentary system, there is a complex fusion of unofficial and official bodies of influence. The policy decisions of UK politics are usually made in the Parliament. These decisions are made by those who represent public and interpret their will in the Parliament. These members of parliament normally have different status, rank and normally belongs to a political party. According to theory, policies are formulated by government cabinet ministers and civil servants.
Role of Individuals and Institutions in Policy Formulation and Implementation
The civil servants or bureaucrats have an important role to play in the policy-making. They are more often referred as the civil servants assigned with the responsibility to take part in the policy formulation and implementation. They represent public and their interest by claiming organizations and government to allocate resources for the public, which is sometimes referred as the bureaucratic decision-making. The role of civil servants in policy-making can be summarized as one who coordinates with the federal ministries, advise political officials, formulate and implement government policies, collect and supply data to policy makers, and ensure continuity of public relations and services. All of these roles are highly critical in policy-making and for the smooth running of administration to an extent, that it may be concluded, civil services are essential for the policy formulation and implementation .
It is usually believed that only Government bodies are involved in the policy-making, but there is room for other institutes and groups that also take part in policy formulation and implementation. Local and regional governments also take part in the process of policy formulation. These sub governments take on the responsibility of pursuing local issues. These local and regional governments collect information about the issues and discuss with the national government to formulate and implement public policy. Public community refers to this group of individual and other interconnecting bodies that influence the process of policy formulation and implementation. The common types of institutes and organizations that makes up the community group includes pressure groups, trade unions, cause groups (includes charities and voluntary groups), academics and media groups. In addition, the access to policy-making process is made to restrict for only those groups or institutions, which act constitutionally, accept government’s authority, make reasonable demands, and understand or willing to change the world of party politics .
The participation process refers to the presence of all public representing individuals and institutions that includes politicians, civil servants, institutions, local and regional governments, and union leaders etc. During the participation process, following goals and principles are ensured,
- Inclusion of all stakeholders (Executive Councils, pressure groups, interest groups, legislature, experts, technocrats, and professionals)
- Plan as a joint process
- Identify needs of stakeholders
- Information and knowledge of stakeholders regarding the planning process
- Developing trust between the planners, decision makers, and stakeholders
- Conflict management
- Participation as principle of democracy
These goals also ensure the right formulation and implementation of the policy with the participation of all public representing stakeholders .
Transport Policy Formulation and Implementation
Transport and road safety management includes formulation of transport policies, coordination, and monitoring of standards, projects, and programs to justify the existing transport processes, infrastructure requirements, and promotions of safe and easy movement of goods and persons; provision for the large transport system and an institution to regulate road users; implementation and administration of enforcement operations, traffic education programs, and traffic engineering services .
Transport related policies and activities have a strong impact on the society and it can influence social development, environment, and economic growth in different ways. These policies impose problems differently in different regions as if rural and remote areas experience different set of issues, while urban areas face other problems. Similarly, aviation, land, and maritime transportation have diverse issues, which must be considered in a different way. For this reason, policies are formulated and implemented in a different way for each country or type of transport .
Public transport industry and national roads network development of the country have wide impact on social and economic areas. For this reason, governments and other authorities pay close attention to formulate transport policies to the led the country towards success. In South Africa, the authorities have been facing critical issues related to transportation for the past three decades. The authorities looked for the affordable and effective solutions to the public transport issues and formulated transport policies. Public transport or the commuter bus transport policy was developed that was aimed to improve affordability and mobility of the local public travelling. The policy directly influenced the general economy and improved the situations. During that period, the transport services promoted reliable and safe travelling through improved through road passenger quality system. In addition, the policy simplified regulations that were imposed for the provision of bus services .
Transport policies are usually developed to manage the environmental, social, and economic impacts that are brought by the increased desire for society’s mobility. There are a number of research studies that attempted to investigate the best combination of transport policies to meet environmental, social, and economic objectives. However, the application of such transport policies remains inconsistent in real situations. For this purpose, it is important to develop effective and functional institutional frameworks for the right implementation of programs and policies that can be applied to real scenarios as well.
It is highly important to involve public in formulating transport policies, because they are the ones who identify issues, understand the needs of large community groups, test ideas, and recognize the right transportation solution. The process of policy formulation starts with the participation program that help policy makers better understand regional scenarios of transportation, needs, and identify concerns of constituents. The participation of public institutions and individuals was quite challenging because of the complex technical issues, long time horizons, and involvement of state, federal, and regional agencies. However, the role of private and public institutions in the UK transportation area have been substantially changed. The transportation sector was initially run by the government. However, over the last 50 years, the control has been shifted from central government to private sector institutions. However, the private sector runs transportation sector within the same framework that was formulated by the central government.
In the participatory process of transport policy, it is important to include politicians, traffic experts, transport planners, and representatives of citizens, local and regional trades people, interest and pressure groups, media, transport related organizations, i.e. PT- operator and traffic police. In addition the neutral person should be included, who perform the role of mediator or moderator of the process of participation. During this process, tasks are clearly defined and divided among the policy formulation members.
The work of road safety or transport policy formation is a complex process that involves different sectors. Therefore, it needs an effective and functional institutional framework for the formulation and implementation of programs and policies so road traffic injuries can be prevented. Besides different institutional frameworks, there is also a need of lead agency in the government sector that can guide in the work of national road safety. The lead agency should be authorized to make decisions, coordinate work processes, and control resources. Moreover, it should have enough finances that can be incurred on road safety.
Each country should create a lead agency of its own. Different models can be applied in road safety programs; however, they are customized as according to the country’s circumstances. The agency also needs to engage all-important groups that are police, education, transport, and health in road safety actions .
The national transport or road safety agency should be an independent legal organization attached to ministry that deals with road transport. The national lead agency is responsible for,
- Managing, coordinating, and commissioning all activities related to road safety in the country
- Conduct advisory programs to inform government arms about the road safety issues
- Make policies, set goals, and explain road safety strategies in the region by setting priorities and targeting specific areas.
- Fund road safety projects
- Collect and analyse national statistics, and make it sure that enough data is available for planning of road safety
- Coordinate with different agencies, including nongovernmental institutions, research and development institutions, and government.
- Formulate safety standards for vehicles and road infrastructure
- Motivate and enable local government institutions to set up institutional structures
- Organize national conferences and programs on road safety
National lead agencies conduct programs and make efforts for road safety in the entire country. However, sub-national and local institutions can be grouped to explain and implement policies at the local level. For this purpose, formal systems can be created in each province or state and in every city so that local efforts can be coordinated. In addition, inter sector operational programs can be planned and implemented each year .
Even after following all the processes and steps of policy formulation and implementation, the policies fail to accomplish what was expected. There can be various reasons of failure of policy, which are as follows:
- Disregarding recurrent cost implications of expenditures
- Poor monitoring
- Unreliable and insufficient data
- Lack of skilled workforce
- Wrong identification of the issues
- Resistance to change
- Bureaucratic or political corruption
- Inadequate consultation
- Vague policy objectives and plans
- Poor sequencing of policy-making steps
It is important to consider all of the above overlooked issues and plan accordingly, so transport policies can be clearly formulated and accomplish all goals and objectives what are expected.
References
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