This document discusses decision-making, policy-making, and policy analysis. It defines decision-making as making a rationally calculated choice between two or more alternatives. Policy is defined as a set of interrelated decisions by actors concerning goals and means of achieving them. Policy-making is a complex process with three stages: formulation by identifying problems, developing alternatives, and selecting the best; implementation by considering policy content, resources, clients, and environment; and evaluation to determine if objectives are achieved. Policy analysis examines potential impact before formulation and seeks to answer questions about the policy, its determination, alternatives, effectiveness, success or failure, and potential improvements.

1. Decision­Making, Policy­
Making/Policy Analysis
BY
PROFESSOR KAMILU SANI FAGE
DEPARTMENT OF POLITICAL
SCIENCE
BAYERO UNIVERSITY, KANO

2. Introduction
 The terms decision­making, and policy
making and policy analysis are
interrelated but distinct things.
 The three are so closely related that
many people tend to, erroneously, use
them interchangeably.

3. Conceptual Analysis
 As the title of this paper indicates, its
theme revolves around the concepts of
“decision making”, “policy making” and
policy analysis. Hence, the logical
questions are: what do these concepts
mean? How are they related?

4. Decision­Making
 Decision: a rationally calculated choice
two or more alternatives
 Identification of the problem (immediate
cause, underlying cause, root cause)
 Analysis
 Choice

5. Policy
 Policy: is a set of interrelated decision
by actor(s) concerning the selection of
goals and the means of achieving them
within a specified situation where those
decisions should, in principle, be within
the power of those actors to achieve.

6. Policy Making Process
 Policy: course of action or patterns of
action including decision and other
actions related to it
 Complex process comprising three
interrelated and sequential steps;
namely formulation, implementation and
evaluation.

7. Policy Formulation
 The preliminary stage of goal setting
which involves:
(1) Identification of the problem
(2) Development of alternative course of
action
(3) Analysis of available alternatives
(4) Selection of the best alternative

8. Policy Implementation
 At the implementation stage, attention
has to be given to four things, viz:
2. Policy content
3. Resources
4. Client
5. Environment

9. Policy Evaluation
 The stage of determining the extent to
which a policy is yielding its set out
objectives using available tools.
 The purpose of evaluation therefore, is
to monitor the satisfactory execution of
the policy and to discover any problem
that might arise in the course and find
solution to such problem.

10. Policy Analysis
 A before hand attempt to examine,
measure and evaluate the impact/effect
of policy
 It seeks to answer 6 questions:
(1)What is the actual policy being
formulated?
(2)How is the policy determined?
(3)Why is policy X chosen not Y?

11. Policy Analysis contd.
(4)Is the policy selected the best?
(5)Why has the policy succeeded or
failed?
(6)How can the policy be improved?

12. What is to be done?
 Identify problems
 Capability of matching the rightly
diagnosed problem with available
resources
 Development of feasible implementation
strategy
 Prudent, judicious policy evaluation
 Feedback