This is part 3 of the 3-part Course on Public Policy Formulation. This course explains the way policies are formulated, the steps involved and the activities to be performed in the various steps. It also explains the main features of a good public policy and discusses it with reference to policy formulation in Pakistan In this presentation, we will be discussing the features of public policy formulation in a developing country like Pakistan

1. Shahid Hussain Raja
Author/Trainer/Consultant
Cambridge.UK
www.shahidhussainraja.com
21/10/2021 1

2.  Introduction
 Procedural mismatch
 Institutional overstepping
 Structural flaws
 Evaluation failure
 Personality imprints
 Global influences
 Implementation inadequacies
21/10/2021 2

3.  This is part 3 of the 3-part Course on Public Policy Formulation
 This course explains the way policies are formulated, the steps
involved and the activities to be performed in the various steps
 It also explains the main features of a good public policy and
discusses it with reference to policy formulation in Pakistan
 In this presentation, we will be discussing the features of public
policy formulation in a developing country like Pakistan

4.  Retired as Federal Secretary, Govt. of Pakistan, held senior positions
 Ex.Chief Instructor, National School of Public Policy, Lahore (Pakistan)
 M.A. (Economics), M.A. (Political Science)-Punjab University, Lahore
 M.Sc.(Defence and Strategic Studies)-National Defence College
 Post Graduate Diploma (Development Studies)-Cambridge University
 Executive Development Program-JFK School of Government, Harvard
 Author of 12 books on various public policy, national/global issues.
 Conducts courses online and offline

5. 21/10/2021 5
Public Policy Formulation in Pakistan

6.  Pakistan is a federation with parliamentary form of government.
 Being a functioning democracy, its policy formulation process resembles
any nation-state with functioning democratic institutions.
 Multiple institutions and stakeholders which take part, directly as well as
indirectly, in the formulation of any public policy of Pakistan.
 Parliament/Provincial Legislatures:Supreme policy making institutions
 Federal/Provincial Cabinets: Practically, it is cabinet, headed by elected
chief executive i.e., Prime Minister or the President which make policies

7.  Federal Ministries/Provincial Departments: At centre, Ministry makes
policy; Minister approved.Cabinet approval if multi-sectoral effects
 Foreign Office: Ministry of Foreign affairs focal point for the initiation
of all proposals relating to the foreign affairs of a country
 Armed Forces: Due to multiple reasons, larger than life role played by
Pakistan's armed forces in the political governance of the country
 Non-state Institutions: Think tanks, media, and civil society
organizations play useful role by providing independent assessment

8.  Policy formulation in Pakistan is a mixed bag. There have been some
very good policies formulated and executed since its creation in 1947
 However, there have been some glaring examples of poorly designed
or badly executed policies in different periods
 Sometimes it did not have a policy at all for a long time in the field in
few crucial sectors like agriculture, industry, land use, transport etc
 Some main features of public policy formulation in Pakistan are as
follows in the succeeding slides
21/10/2021 8

9.  Multiple actors involved in policy formulation but ultimate authority to
formulate actionable policies lies with elected representatives
 Unfortunately, in Pakistan, they do not take keen interest in policy
formulation debates in the Parliament and its Standing Committees
 These elected representatives usually rubber-stamp drafts prepared by
consultants and endorsed by the bureaucrats or technocrats
 Besides creating crises of legitimacy, it also creates crises of ownership
as well as of responsibility and accountability when it fails
21/10/2021 9

10.  Every institution is responsible to formulate policies belonging to its
respective sphere with suitable inputs from concerned stakeholders.
 However, in case of defence, national security, foreign policy etc., the
concerned ministries have been abdicating their responsibility
 Multiple reasons for the larger than life role played by Pakistan's
armed forces in the political governance of the country
 Consequently, there has been mis-allocation of resources due to
security imperatives getting precedence over public welfare
21/10/2021 10

11.  Public policy formulation is a structured process involving country’s
formal institutions-Parliament, federal/provincial governments
 However, non-state institutions such as think tanks, media, and civil
society organizations provide important inputs in this process.
 Pakistan is woefully shorty of tank tanks, Civil society organizations
are not well organized while media is not upto the mark
 Consequently, contributions of these important organs of society are
not properly reflected in the public policy formulation

12.  Policy capture- public policies are consistently or repeatedly directed
away from the public interest towards a specific interest.
 Main reasons-lack of level playing due to vast economic inequalities,
lack of transparency in policy formulation, absence of all stakeholders
 Exacerbates inequalities, undermines democratic values, retards
genuine inclusive economic growth, and erodes trust in government.
 Ensure maximum engagement of stakeholders with adequate access
to reliable, timely and relevant information in the decision-making

13.  One of the biggest charges against the policy formulation in Pakistan
 Main reasons-low socioeconomic development, absence of
commitment, lack of ownership, capacity deficit of responsible for its
implementation.
 Sometimes those responsible are not well versed with the process of
scrutinizing these policy drafts submitted by the consultants
 Sometimes best-designed policies are doomed because of inadequate
funding or stoppage of their execution due to change of political elite.

14.  Public policy making is an interactive process needing continuous
monitoring and evaluation for taking any midterm correction
 Thus, every policy must have some clearly defined evaluation
mechanism to gauge its impact and learn lessons for the future.
 Unfortunately, this crucial element of policy formulation has been
missing in most of our policies
 Resultantly, there has not been a single case of anyone held
responsible for failure of policy formulation or its implementation.

15.  Once formulated by the elected representatives, a policy reflects the
wishes of the people, owned by the concerned institution
 However, in Pakistan, most policies are known by the name of the
person who championed it and go to cold storage when he is gone.
 Besides wasting time, efforts, and resources, this discontinuance of a
scheme under a policy deprives the people of the potential benefits
 It is also harmful for long term growth as lack of policy continuity
sends wrong signals to long term investors-local or foreigner
21/10/2021 15

16.  Strictly conforming to environmental laws, and regulations is now
part and parcel of all policies formulated anywhere in the world.
 In Pakistan, every policy document relating to a development project
does have a separate chapter dealing with the environmental issues
 However, these requirements are usually deficient and are openly
flouted when the project is being implemented.
 Consequently, Pakistan is facing one of the worst-case scenarios of
environmental degradation

17.  Globalization has resulted in larger than life role of the global state
and non-state actors in domains reserved for state machinery.
 This is all the more penetrative where the state is suffering from
capacity and legitimacy deficits.
 Pakistan is no exception to this wholesale blind following of global
actors' prescriptions, visible in almost all major policies formulated.
 This is bad if the policies formulated have not been in sync with the
wishes of the people but only reflect the wishes of foreign donors
21/10/2021 17

18.  Build National Consensus: Broad holistic national consensus of all about long
term vision for the country and plan of action to achieve
 Establish National Security Forum: effective institutional framework to define
Pakistan's national interest, best strategies to achieve them
 Activating Standing Committees of Parliament: facilitating consultation on
major issues by holding public hearings, weigh alternative courses of action
 Capacity Building: All those involved particularly politicians and bureaucracy
 Responsive Feedback system: internal checks and balances assisted by
external stakeholders, civil society organisations, think tanks, and media.

19.  Public policy is an official document duly approved by the competent
authority, outlining the actions for solving a problem
 Quality and effectiveness of policy formulation and implementation
differ from country to country due to multiple reasons.
 Pakistan is a federation with parliamentary form of government. Its
policy formulation process resembles any democratic nation-state
 However, being a developing country its policymaking suffers from
many flaws such as procedural mismatch, institutional overstepping

20.  This presentation has been prepared by using the material contained in
the author's book “Public Policy Formulation and Analysis”
 It has been published as an ebook by Amazon and is available at
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B01672SU10
 This book has been translated into Spanish, French, and Portuguese also
 Although written primarily for the managers, this handbook is equally
useful for the senior executives belonging to the public or private sector

21.  1.International Relations: Basic Concepts & Global Issues: A Handbook
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B08QZSRWT1
 2.10 Essential Skills for Public Servants: A Handbook (2nd Edition)
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0723GMMT1
 3.Political Economy of Pakistan: 1947-2020: A Short History
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0844ZJ8ZL
 4.Accelerating Economic Growth of Pakistan: Plan of Action
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0844PG64R
 5.Finance for Non-finance Managers- A Handbook
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07TTNNTC8
 5.Agricultural Sector of Pakistan: Challenges & Response
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B010TMK28S

22.  If you like the presentation , kindly click the icon
 For any question, kindly email me at shahidraja@hotmail.com
 For downloading the presentation or its word version, please visit my
website
www.shahidhussainraja.com
This website contains large number of articles on diverse issues. Some
of these are presented in the next few slides

23.  Pakistan’s Difficulties at the Time of her Independence
http://www.shahidhussainraja.com/pakistans-difficulties-at-the-time-of-her-independence/
 Why Countries Break? Case of Bangladesh
http://www.shahidhussainraja.com/why-countries-break-case-of-bangladesh/
 Pakistan’s 13th IMF Programme: Prospects & Challenges
http://www.shahidhussainraja.com/pakistans-13th-imf-programme-prospects-challenges/
 Federalism in Pakistan: Challenges & Response
https://www.shahidhussainraja.com/federalism-in-pakistan-challengers-response/
 Water Issues in Pakistan
http://www.shahidhussainraja.com/water-issues-in-pakistan/
 Governance Reforms in Pakistan: Need and Content
http://www.shahidhussainraja.com/governance-reforms-in-pakistan-need-and-content/
 Pakistan’s Strategic Culture: Determinants & Dimensions
http://www.shahidhussainraja.com/pakistans-strategic-culture-determinants-dimensions/

24.  Pakistani Culture: Sources & Drivers
http://www.shahidhussainraja.com/pakistani-culture-sources-drivers/
 Improving Pakistan’s Global Image
http://www.shahidhussainraja.com/improving-pakistans-global-image/
 Two Nations Theory: Myths and Reality
http://www.shahidhussainraja.com/two-nations-theory-myths-and-reality/
 Why do Civil Service Reforms in Pakistan Fail?
http://www.shahidhussainraja.com/why-do-civil-service-reforms-in-pakistan-fail/
 Is Pakistan a Failed State?
http://www.shahidhussainraja.com/is-pakistan-a-failed-state/
 Pakistan Ideology: Sources & Features
http://www.shahidhussainraja.com/what-is-pakistan-ideology-myths-and-content/

25.  International Relations: Definition, Scope & Subject Matter
(http://www.shahidhussainraja.com/the-scope-of-international-relations/)
 Modern Nation-state System: Challenges & Prospects
(http://www.shahidhussainraja.com/modern-nation-state-system-challenges-prospects/)
 Foreign Policy: Features, Success Factors & Challenges
(http://www.shahidhussainraja.com/foreign-policy-features-success-factors-challenges/)
 Clash of Civilisations by Huntington
http://www.shahidhussainraja.com/clash-of-civilizations-a-critique/
 Globalization: Compressing Time and Space -Part 1& 2
http://www.shahidhussainraja.com/globalization-compressing-time-and-space-part-1/
/http://www.shahidhussainraja.com/globalization-compressing-time-and-space-part-2/

26.  Determinants of Foreign Policy
http://www.shahidhussainraja.com/determinants-of-foreign-policy/
 Foreign Policy: Tools & Implements
http://www.shahidhussainraja.com/foreign-policy-tools-instruments/
 National Interest: Meaning & Components
http://www.shahidhussainraja.com/national-interest-meaning-components/
 World Peace: A Norm or an Aberration?
http://www.shahidhussainraja.com/world-peace-a-norm-or-an-aberration/
 End of History by Francis Fukuyama
http://www.shahidhussainraja.com/end-of-history-by-francis-fukuyama-a-critique/
 Breakup of Soviet Union: Causes & Consequences
http://www.shahidhussainraja.com/breakup-of-the-soviet-union-causes-consequences/

27.  Global Terrorism: Challenges & Response – Part 1 & 2
http://www.shahidhussainraja.com/global-terrorism-challenges-response/
http://www.shahidhussainraja.com/global-terrorism-challenges-response-part-2/
 War on Terror: Causes, Course, Costs and Consequences Part 1 & 2
http://www.shahidhussainraja.com/war-on-terror-causes-course-costs-and-consequences-part-1/
http://www.shahidhussainraja.com/war-on-terror-causes-course-costs-and-consequences-part-2/
 Arab Spring: Genesis, Causes of Failure & Lessons Learnt
http://www.shahidhussainraja.com/arab-spring-genesis-causes-of-failure-lessons-learnt/
 Islamophobia: Genesis, Challenges & Response
http://www.shahidhussainraja.com/islamophobia-genesis-challenges-response/
 Vietnam War: Causes & Consequences
http://www.shahidhussainraja.com/vietnam-war-causes-course-and-consequences/

28.  Nine Drivers of Sino-American Cold War
http://www.shahidhussainraja.com/9-drivers-of-america-china-cold-war/
 IMF Programmes: Do they help Developing Countries?
http://www.shahidhussainraja.com/imf-programme-does-it-help-a-developing-country/
 American Interests in Afghanistan
http://www.shahidhussainraja.com/american-interests-in-afghanistan/
 Reasons for Soviet Invasion of Afghanistan in 1979
http://www.shahidhussainraja.com/why-did-soviet-union-enter-afghanistan-in-1979/
 The Middle East Crises: Genesis and Dimensions
http://www.shahidhussainraja.com/the-middle-east-crises-genesis-and-dimensions/
 China Iran Relations: Past, Present & Future
http://www.shahidhussainraja.com/china-iran-relations-past-present-future/

29. Thanks