The Practice of American Public Policymaking

Designed for upper-level and professional courses, this text is a state-of-the-art introduction to the public policymaking process that gives equal attention to issues of policy implementation and public governance. It uses an innovative systems approach, integrating the activities, actors, tools, and techniques of policymaking, to provide a comprehensive framework for policy design and analysis.

The book is practice-oriented, with a focus on the ways that policymakers at all levels employ the standard technologies of governance--authority, agency, program, rule, contract, and budget--to design policy outputs and achieve policy outcomes. Through extensive use of graphics, the text makes concepts easy to grasp for a generation of students accustomed to the visual presentation of ideas. Case studies illustrate the tools and techniques discussed, and key terms, questions for discussion, and suggested readings round out each chapter.

Among the many emerging issues covered in this text that will be especially relevant for upper-level and professional programs and student-practitioners are:
--program design
--performance management
--public contracting
--policy networks
--venue shopping
--commercial and nonprofit sector participation in the policymaking process.