ABSTRACT
The initial task of the policy adviser and of her or his principal is to define the objective of any new policy. Only when that has been done can one examine the different ways to attain the goal one seeks, the various benefits yielded by the options, and the time required both to begin to make a visible difference and to claim success. Sometimes a set of policies has a favorable impact, but the results, though worth pursuing, are long in coming. If that is the case one may support those meritorious policies, but—in an effort to maintain public backing for change—also actively favor efforts that would yield more rapid or visible advances towards the goal. The choice of options is never easy, but it becomes even more difficult when one recognizes that few policies are one dimensional. Most create multiple results, some positive, others negative, along a wide spectrum with results that cannot easily be compared.
