ABSTRACT
Action planning is Stage 4 of the seven-stage model used in this book. We assume that the
first three stages of analysis have been completed at this point in time: Stage 1 (problem
analysis), Stage 2 (goals and objectives), and Stage 3 (program or policy design). Recall that
the steps involved for developing a new program or policy or analyzing an existing one are
similar (see “Introduction”). If developing a new program or policy (Table 1-1), you now
have the program or policy design specified, and it is time to develop a plan to put it
into motion. If analyzing an existing program or policy (Table 1-2), you want to collect
information to determine how critical decisions were made to implement the program
(e.g., how resources were estimated and acquired, how support was built).
