ABSTRACT
Public policy is defined here as what government ought or ought not do, and does or does not do (see Box 1.1, The Definition). Government, as a group of institutions and processes, is not closed to new policy ideas. Government is constantly changing as our values and priorities adapt, and as a result of cultural diversity, political evolution, and new concerns. How many of us have been involved in a conversation and not had someone-or more usually, several people-discuss the priorities of government and offer specific or general prescriptions of what government ought to do?
