The purpose of this assignment is for students to apply the 5-step model of policy analysis to analyze the case study on the management of the Yellowstone bison. This is a controversial case, which includes many stakeholders who have been debating the best way to manage the bison for a long time. As a policy analyst, armed with the knowledge of the 5-step model of policy analysis, it is your job to help the stakeholders determine the best policy to solve this problem.
STEP BY STEP GUIDE
To complete this assignment follow the steps:
- You should have already read chapter 6 of Clemons and McBeth (2020), A Pragmatic Public Policy Analysis Method.
- Carefully read the case study Playing Politics: Bison, Brucellosis, Business, and Bureaucrats. You can find it on pages 187-204 of the textbook.
- Review all the materials included on the Activities and Resources page of the module for week 11.
- Conduct any research you consider necessary (remember claims without support are opinions), although outside research is not required for the case.
CONTENT INSTRUCTIONS
This is the part of the assignment you should submit on Canvas. Complete the assignment task described below.
Assignment Task:
The Greater Yellowstone Interagency Brucellosis Committee (GYIBC) has hired you to conduct a policy analysis of the situation today and come up with policy recommendations. You are to apply the following 5 steps as your model of analysis:
Step 1: Define the problem and determine its causes (4-5 sentences).
After defining the problem discuss your approach to defining the problem. Answer the following questions: Why did you adopt this definition? Who are the main stakeholders in the case? What are the values and interests of the stakeholders? Whose values matter. How does your personal view of power structures affect your problem definition?
Step 2: Establish Criteria to Evaluate Alternatives
For each criterion, you establish, explain why this criterion is a good one to evaluate policy alternatives in this case. Discuss how the criterion relates to major stakeholders.
Step 3: Generate Policy Alternatives (only two alternatives)
Explain how you generated the alternatives in this case? Do these alternatives eliminate the problem without favoring one group over another?
Step 4: Evaluate and Select Policy
Simply state which alternative is the best one among the two you identified in step 3. Include a table where you demonstrate the pros and cons of the two alternatives based on the criteria established in step 2. Shortly, state why the alternative you are recommending is the best among the two.
Step 5: Evaluate Politics.
Given that your recommended alternative has not been implemented yet. It is impossible to evaluate it. Thus, for the purpose of this step just state one problem you anticipate will make the evaluation of this policy difficult. Why do you think this will be a problem?
FORMAT INSTRUCTIONS
- The assignment should be submitted as an attachment. It should be written in Microsoft word, times new roman 12pt, double spaced. The text of the assignment should be no longer than 3 pages. You are required to cite the textbook, and any research you use to complete the assignment. Also, include a reference list. Citations and references should be in APA.
- There is no specific format required for this assignment. However, the assignment has to be organized logically, and clearly. I, the reader, should not have to shop for your answers. Clearly indicate which step you are discussing, and which question you are answering. You can use headers, italic, bold, underline to organize your answers. One 3-page long answer will not work for this assignment, even if you divide it into paragraphs.
