Advocacy Coalition Framework Essay

In order to conduct meaningful change and to be effective in influencing policy, there must be a well thought out plan in place. In the text The Policy-Based Profession: An Introduction to Social Welfare Policy Analysis for Social Workers by Popple and Leighninger (2015) they argue that “For an action strategy to be effective, it is imperative that the people taking the action have a firm grasp on the problem they are dealing with and on achievable goals. You must do your homework before taking action” (p. 262). It is crucial that we do our homework when it comes to influencing policy for medicaid expansion in Texas. This includes having a better idea on who our coalition partners are, these are individuals and groups who share a common goal and purpose. This also includes knowing some strategies to increase public awareness, and as well what potential barriers may lie ahead that could possibly influence our success.

At the beginning of this article, the author brings up the fields of policy studies, how to understand the policy making and how they

The policy cycle suggested by Althaus, Bridgman and Davis consists of a continuous wheel which nominally begins with the task of 'identifying issues ' and progresses through 'policy analysis ', 'policy instruments ', consultation ', 'coordination ', 'decision ', 'implementation ' and 'evaluation ' before beginning the cycle again (Althaus et al 2013: 37-40). The authors admit that policy rarely actually follows this model sequentially in the steps outlined above and is really meant as more of a guide to good policy, rather than an evaluation of actual practice (Althaus et al 2013: 40-42).

This paper is a review of chapter’s one (1), two (2) and three (3) in Thomas A. Birklands (2016) fourth edition regarding policy process. The reading attempts to define and show what is meant by policy process, how government, politics and the public are intertwined, problems that are associated with the policy process and how we address the problems. Current day events as well as past history are applied to the practice of policy process which assists in defining the process and highlighting its connection and importance. Thomas A. Birklands refers to the Clinton administration, the Obama administration and the George W. Bush administration, the DARE Program, World War II, and the Vietnam War, in the chapters and leads us down a path discussing

Community based organizations work to improve health from various angles at a community level. Transportation Alternatives is a community based organization that fights for safe streets for pedestrians and cyclists. They promote bicycling, walking, and use of public transportation in NYC with the help of activist committees. Additionally, Harm Reduction Coalition is a national advocacy and capacity building organization that works to support people who use drugs through policy work. Although Transportation Alternatives and Harm Reduction Coalition are two very different organizations, they are similar in that both organizations are “community” organizations, they both address social inequality, and they use similar forms of communication strategies.

An interest group is an organized group of people that come together to attempt to influence policymakers in any level of government. They influence the different levels of government by giving money to a political candidate. They write letters, emails, and make phone calls to the policymakers. They attempt to get the policymakers to make legislation reflecting the objectives of the group (This Nation, 2008).

How can community health nurses apply the strategies of cultural competence to their practice? Provide at least one example from each of four strategies: cultural preservation, cultural accommodation, cultural repatterning, and cultural brokering. What is a possible barrier to applying the strategy/example chosen? Use an example that is different than the postings of other students.

John Kingdom’s multiple-streams approach has been widely used to analyze public policies in the United States. There are many moving parts in an issue becoming a policy, and all the parts must work together to keep the problem on the agenda according to the multiple-streams approach. The three approaches to the multiple streams approach that act as “windows of opportunity” for agenda setting. Each of three streams plays an important role in policymaking. When problems, policy, and politics streams come together at certain times, solutions can be found. The solutions are then analyzed political forces to find the right solution. The Refugee of Act of 1980 followed the same procedure. The Refugee Act of 1980 was an act created because the

Throughout times, democracy has emerged as the best political way to rule a country. Within democratic systems, citizens have to vote for people who will represent them in the decision-making system. The question that John Kingdon wanted to understand in his writing of How Do Issues Get on Public Agendas? is how the legislative process and the public policies are made. John Kingdon well illustrates the processes by which an issue becomes policy issue, named the Cohen-March-Olsen, and the coming together of three processes. In the Cohen-March-Olsen, Kingdon proposed three stream: problem-recognition, policy stream of proposals and political stream.

In spite of the policy cycle tool, it is not as easy to develop or implement new policy as there are many factors influencing it. The process of policy development involves many participants and individual stake holders. It also involves various areas which will be affected due to the new policy development and implementation. According to Hardee, Feranil, Boezwinkle and Clark (2004) policy circle involves six different stages and involves various parties who are working together for the new policy development. However, it is

The streams model was developed John Kingdon in 2003. It is a powerful tool in understanding policy process. It consists of three parallel processes: problem streams, policy streams, and politic streams (Knaggard, 2015). These three parallel process can also go under multiple different names. Problem streams refers to policy problem that requires attention; issues that capture everyone’s attention (Howlett, Ramesh and Perl, 2009). Policy streams, also known as solution streams, pertains to many potential policy solutions that originate from communities of policy experts, also known as, ‘policy primeval soup’ in which policy ideas and solutions are formed, rejected, and selected (Howlett et al.). Lastly, political streams refer to social and political factors such as public opinion, election results, and demands of interest groups (Howlett et al.). Kingdon states that when the three streams joined at a critical moment, it would constitute a policy window (Chow, 2014). When this window opens, the issue becomes part of the policy agenda and policymaking steps will follow (Chow). The convergence of streams is determined by the presence of policy windows and the actions of policy entrepreneurs (Chow). Policy entrepreneurs, actors who introduce and promote ideas, will the spend time to increase their chances of getting an idea placed on the decision-making agenda (Chow).

My difficult questions surround the doing and the reading of the policy process. There are three areas that I would like further explore: the role of citizen participation in the policy process, importance of critical and postmodern perspectives in understanding public policy, and the role of government.

The assumptions of the individual go beyond strategic, goal-seeker in the ACF. Similar to MSA, individuals in the ACF are rationally bounded individuals, yet in ACF, individuals are bounded by their beliefs (Schlager 2007). Beliefs are a short cut to interpret information, contexts, filters information, and structures a person’s understanding of how the world should be organized (Weible et al 2012; Trousset et al 2015). Beliefs lead to group formation because individuals are attracted to groups with the same worldview as them (Jenkin-Smith, Silva, Gupta, & Ripberger, 2014; Trousset et al 2015). Beliefs also lead to policy learning, whereby individuals shift their beliefs. However, without a catalyst—external or internal shock—beliefs remain stable leading to a policy stalemate (Capano 2009; Menahem and Gilad 2016). Policy change or stability occurs due to belief shifts over a long time-horizon.

Examples of actors include individuals, national and international NGOs, international organizations, funding organizations, private sector companies, and the media as we know policies are the result of those decisions taken by the people who are included in

For the last forty years it has become an accepted notion that the state’s capacity in policy-making and governance has changed through the increasing use of different modes of governance, like markets, networks or associations. This essay will argue that generalised or blanket statements are unhelpful when examining state capacity in policy-making and governance and that we must begin to examine such questions on a case by case basis. In arguing this point, a comparative analysis of five case studies will be used to demonstrate why this approach is necessary in understanding the process of governance in contemporary society.