Public policies: what they are and how they regulate our social life

This concept has a lot to do with the way we try to tackle problems collectively.

One of the most basic and at the same time most complex processes of political and administrative systems is decision-making. It involves, among other things, defining problems and finding possible solutions. It also involves different needs, interests and explanations related to social phenomena. Ultimately, the complexity lies in finding ways to "significantly alter the way in which collective problems are addressed" (Dente and Subirats, 2014).

In the public sphere, decision making can become visible in the design and implementation of strategies that directly impact situations defined as a collective problem. The latter is what is defined as "public policy".The concept that we will develop in an introductory way in this article.

What is a public policy?

The word "policy" is a term that has its origins in the most classical traditions of philosophy and that can have many definitions, depending on the purpose of its use. The most modern definitions refer to matters that have to do with the exercise of power.. And in this sense, the term is also related to the intention of solving collective problems, which in turn, links public powers and expenditures with everyday life.

If we also understand the "public" as a common space, where both conflicts and solutions are generated. both conflicts and solutions are generatedIn terms of public policy, we can say that a "public policy" is a set of objectives, decisions and actions carried out by a government to solve problems that are considered a priority in a particular context (Tamayo, 1997). Some examples of public policy are the set of measures implemented to manage health, education, culture, sports, among others, and the costs and benefits involved.

In this sense, public decisions and public policies are strongly related elementsbut which do not refer to the same process. The latter is a much more extensive mechanism, and is composed of different decisions.

The cycle of construction of public policies.

The set of objectives, decisions and actions that make up a public policy is carried out through a complex process that starts with the detection of a problem. The latter must be sufficiently important to receive more or less immediate political and governmental attention. That is to say, to place it on the government agendaIn other words, to place it on the government's agenda, and thus begin to propose different solutions that will have a significant impact on the problematic situation.

The process of making public policies then follows different phases, which have traditionally been divided as follows: defining the problem, designing alternative solutions, deciding on an alternative, implementing it, and evaluating the results obtained.

On the analysis process

As we have seen, public policy is the set of actions that are implemented to provide a solution to a previously identified collective problem. In conjunction with this, we can speak of another process: the analysis of public policy, which occurs when the scope and results of the actions that have been implemented are evaluated. when the scope and results of the actions that have been implemented are evaluated.. Or, when we evaluate the objectives, the performance of the different actors, the networks that were generated, the means that were used, among other elements inherent to the process of implementing a specific policy.

As the result of a process, the isolated phases of public policy creation have no meaning or effectiveness in themselves, but only in relation to the others, which becomes visible precisely in the analysis. For example, it is possible to adequately define and detect a problem, but fail to err at the moment of implementing the solution. Or it may happen that there is an adequate implementation plan, without a well-defined problem, or that the implementation plan does not correspond to the real problem.

For all these reasons, the concept of public policy can also be understood as a term that is operational for analysts, although, due to the complexity of each of the phases described above, only partially corresponds to the implementation of each of the phases described above..

Who does it? Governance and citizen participation

The processes through which public policy decisions are made are closely linked to the activity of different actors, as well as to a plurality of needs and interests. a plurality of needs and interests.

Originally, and in many contexts, the process of making public policy was a task reserved for the political powers and specialized individuals. That is, for one or more actors considered competent to implement any of the phases that make up the public policy process.

However, and given that specialized actors often turn out to be alien to the problem and the impacts of its solution, the process of design, implementation, evaluation and analysis has recently moved towards more participatory mechanisms, including the people who will be affected by the policy in question. The latter has made public policy making processes acquire a complex character with respect to decision making. complex character with respect to decision makingThe latter has made public policy-making processes complex in terms of decision making, where various illusions about the participation of different actors may arise.

In very general terms, participatory processes have emerged after recognizing that the government, traditionally in charge of carrying out public policies, as well as "politics" itself, are nothing more than a set of people and institutions with political and legal powers to make decisions that impact common spaces. Whereby, people who are also part of such spaces can be considered as competent in political terms.

Bibliographical references:

• Dente, B. and Subirats, J. (2014). Public decisions. Análisis y estudio de los procesos de decisión en políticas públicas. Editorial Ariel: Barcelona.
• Tamayo, M. (1997). The analysis of public policies. In Bañón, R. and Carrillo, E. (Eds.). La nueva Administración Pública. Alianza Universidad: Madrid.