Introduction

This introduction presents an overview of the key concepts discussed in the subsequent chapters of this book. The book traces the development of the policy analysis field from its formal origins in the US in the 1960s. It highlights the globalization of the field, moving from a set of activities mostly limited to the US to a variegated activity with very different behaviors that by the twenty-first century represent international political cultures, structures and expectations. The book deals with the practice of identifying clients because of their positions as individuals with formal authority who are located on the top rungs of a public organization. It focuses on those attributes that seem to be embedded in the activities associated with a particular policy sector. The book provides the definition of information, the kinds of information that are appropriate, sources of information, the need for it, as well as its functions and uses.