ABSTRACT
Transforming policy ambitions into practice is a complex process. Policy design is a particular type of policy formulation, involving activities like collecting knowledge about the outcomes of policy instrument use on policy targets and analyzing its relevance to the creation and implementation of policies meant to attain specific policy goals and aspirations. In contemporary policy studies, ‘design’ is associated with both the identification and analysis of policy instruments and their implementation. Public policies are government decisions composed of policy goals and means at different levels of abstraction. Policy decisions can be careful and deliberate in attempting to find the best way to resolve a problem or can be highly contingent and driven by situational logics and political or economic self-interest. Policy design elevates the analysis and practice of the policy instrument choices to a central focus of study, making their understanding and analysis a key design concern.
