Implementation and Evaluation of Public Policy

Policy implementation is of keen importance to the success of government. Even if the political system is fair, goals are noble and organizational structure is strong, no policy can succeed if the implementation part is not up to the mark. The implementation of government policies and programs is now playing a vital role in the development strategy. Measured by economic growth or attainment of human development objectives, India remains not only an underdeveloped country but one which is regarded as under-performer, which could do better.        

Announcements of policy decisions, be it for industry or otherwise, cannot be allowed to go up in thin air after the political purpose is served, and must be notified by the governments within a reasonable time frame. Representations by public authorities need to be held scrupulous standards since citizens continue to live their lives based on the trust they repose in the state. The generation of a business-friendly climate for trade and investment is conditioned by the faith which can be reposed in government to fulfill the expectations which it generates. 

In India, when policies are made and implemented without the desired results, blame is often placed on the implementation end. This blame is partly correct. Unintended consequences often raise their ugly heads, new intermediaries spring up and the policy gets captured. Strength of the policy making is integral to the strength of the Govt. as a whole and the country at large. 

Policies essentially flow from problem discovery, followed by problem definition. Hence policies need to be designed and cannot be conceived. Diagnosis of the problem is so important that with only a superficial understanding, problems end up being defined wrongly. One must understand that Design is neither a patchwork  nor a copy of best practices. 

Once the policies are in place, the impact and efficiency must be tested by monitoring the process and evaluating the impact. This is where Indian policy making under performs. Impact evaluation is too small and slow, and willingness to acknowledge weak points is almost non-existent. This requires a level of honesty in the relationship between politicians and bureaucrats on one hand, and society and politics on the other, which in India is missing. Everyone tries to sweep it under the carpet, lest they get the blame. Evaluation should have led to problem redefinition and possibly changes in policy. Because everyone in the policy spectrum is reluctant to admit the weakness in the policy, same old policy continues without being tweaked.

Next, problem of implementation, where various persons both in Govt. and private are involved. Inadequately designed policy provide inadequate staff and funding for implementation. Due to this, significant discretion is given to the functionary, particularly at the grassroots level while documentation requirement of a top down program remains substantive, because of limited accountability, poor supervision veto powers emerge because of conflicting priorities. 

Another temptation is to make policies into laws. This makes the things very rigid when the requirement is flexibility. 

Policy evaluation applies evaluation principles and methods to examine the content, implementation or impact of a policy. Evaluation is the activity through which we develop an understanding of the merit, worth and utility of a policy. The way to end corruption is a progressive, policy driven state with proper implementation. Because it is rightly said that change is easy to propose, hard to implement and especially hard to sustain.  

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