This paper uses the case of Polychlorinated Biphenyls (PCBs) to examine the dynamics of the public policy cycle in Canada. A process approach is applied to examine the principal stages of the cycle: problem identification, agenda-setting, decision-making, and implementation. In examining these stages, the factors that drive the policy cycle and those that impede its progress are identified. The regulatory history of PCBs is traced to demonstrate some of the complexities of the policy cycle. As one of the better known hazardous wastes in Canada, PCBs have been the catalyst for the introduction of new toxic chemical regulations throughout the 1970s and 1980s. Since the late 1970s, regulatory policies have been developed and implemented for PCB use and handling. After major PCB accidents occurred during the second half of the 1980s, regulations were introduced for their transport, storage and disposal. This case study provides seven major conclusions: (1) before the right policy solution is found and implemented, several stages in the cycle may need to be repeated; (2) public perception is a key determinant of the policy problem; (3) focusing events are a critical factor in setting the agenda; (4) decision-making often takes an incremental approach due to incomplete information and divided policy jurisdictions; (5) successful implementation, particularly in divided jurisdictions, requires sympathetic officials who are supportive of the enabling legislation; (6) constituency group support is a necessary condition for policy implementation; and (7) to deal with public concerns which may impede the implementation process, officials need political and managerial skills.

This paper uses the case of Polychlorinated Biphenyls (PCBs) to examine the dynamics of the public policy cycle in Canada. A process approach is applied to examine the principal stages of the cycle: problem identification, agenda-setting, decision-making, and implementation. In examining these stages, the factors that drive the policy cycle and those that impede its progress are identified. The regulatory history of PCBs is traced to demonstrate some of the complexities of the policy cycle. As one of the better known hazardous wastes in Canada, PCBs have been the catalyst for the introduction of new toxic chemical regulations throughout the 1970s and 1980s. Since the late 1970s, regulatory policies have been developed and implemented for PCB use and handling. After major PCB accidents occurred during the second half of the 1980s, regulations were introduced for their transport, storage and disposal. This case study provides seven major conclusions: (1) before the right policy solution is found and implemented, several stages in the cycle may need to be repeated; (2) public perception is a key determinant of the policy problem; (3) focusing events are a critical factor in setting the agenda; (4) decision-making often takes an incremental approach due to incomplete information and divided policy jurisdictions; (5) successful implementation, particularly in divided jurisdictions, requires sympathetic officials who are supportive of the enabling legislation; (6) constituency group support is a necessary condition for policy implementation; and (7) to deal with public concerns which may impede the implementation process, officials need political and managerial skills. / Arts, Faculty of / Political Science, Department of / Graduate

This study reviewed how networks, entrepreneurs and narratives were intertwined in keeping a policy process moving and preventing it from stagnating. By applying Roe's narrative analysis theory (as developed in Narrative Policy Analysis - 1994), along with Kingdon's theory of entrepreneurs (as developed in Agendas, Alternatives and Public Policies - 1995) and Kickert's explanations of networks (as developed in Managing Complex Networks - 1997) the study attempted to uncover how a complex policy issue is managed by the stakeholders involved. The Children's Bill was the case study used to show the usefulness of these three theories in understanding the intricate engagements and relations of participation around a complex policy. By applying qualitative data collection and analysis techniques, the case study illustrated how a complex policy is able to move through the policy and legislative processes despite the conflict and difficulties encountered. The dominant narratives were identified, the narrative of the Working Group (WG) (to hold the Bill over to the next parliament and to include a National Policy Framework), and the counternarrative of the Department of Social Welfare and Development (to fast track the Bill through parliament and to make excisions), as were the non-stories (on issues of poverty). The research also identifies the policy entrepreneurs (the WG secretariat and in particular the Children's Institute and Paula Proudlock) and the networks in which they operated. This information provided the basis to identify the meta-narrative to hold the Bill over to the next parliament for further deliberations on the excisions that had been made, which allowed the Children's Bill process to continue. Some recommendations for further evaluation and research into this policy process are noted. / Thesis (M.Soc.Sc.)-University of KwaZulu- Natal, Pietermaritzburg, 2006.

This thesis examines the public policy process. It explores the role of and relation between three concepts considered important in defining and shaping the making of policies: policy networks, evidence-use and policy transfer. It does this through examining a high profile and controversial area of public policy: the debate about sex offender community notification that resulted from the abduction and murder of eight-year-old Sarah Payne by a convicted sex offender in the summer of 2000. A case study methodology is employed, which includes interviews with key players and extensive documentary analysis. The study finds that none of the main concepts for understanding policy networks - iron triangles, issue networks, policy communities and advocacy coalitions - provide sufficient characterisation of the policy network involved in the 2000 community notification debate. Areas that these concepts do not fully address include the degree of choice participants have in getting involved in a policy network, the causes and processes of alliance building between network participants and the importance, characteristics and impact of organisational as well as personal links. Practitioner knowledge emerges as a major influence in policy making with different forms of evidence entering the policy debate in a strategic way - that is to support an argument. Factors that explain the influence of research evidence are its comprehensiveness, its perceived value for future policy debates on the same topic and the assumed integrity of the evidence-provider. The existing concept of lesson-drawing is found to focus too much on cases in which policy transfer has taken place. It is necessary to develop the concept further to explain situations in which lessons are drawn but where the idea of transferring a policy is dismissed. Finally, lesson-drawing is not limited to the substance of policies and practices but also includes lessons about tactics and processes.