Public Policy

Public policy is a policy the objective of which is the common good; it is a policy which its maker(s) believes will serve the people well.

A policy is a course of action or inaction chosen by public authorities to address a given problem or interrelated set of problems. Atkinson observes that "policy is a theoretical construct. It is a course of action, yes, but action that is anchored in both a set of values regarding appropriate public goals and a set of beliefs about the best way of achieving those goals. The idea of public policy assumes that an issue is no longer a private affair. Policy analysis is the "disciplined application of intellect to public problems." It reduces to one question: what are we going to do about the problem in view?

In the best case, public policy, and public policy development should be driven by a vision of the future that builds the capacity of our society to achieve a safe, healthy, and prosperous, country. It must be recognized, though, that although all our political parties would embrace those themes, the specific policy directions they choose to achieve them may differ widely. So, from government to government and from jurisdiction to jurisdiction we must accept that people with good intentions can differ profoundly on the policies needed to achieve common goals. This produces the dynamic tension between the stakeholders in policy development, and it is from this tension, and the consensus building that accommodates it, that strong policy is developed.