Source: Howlett, M & Shivakoti, R. (2014) Agenda-Setting Tools: State-Driven Agenda Activity from Government Relations to Scenario Forecasting.  DRAFT PAPER, Presented to ECPR Glasgow General Conference, Non-Implementation Tools Panel

Policy alternatives are composed of different sets or combinations of the policy elements described above. Policy instruments1 are the techniques or means through which states’ attempt to attain their goals. They are the subject of deliberation and activity at all stages of the policy process as they affect both the agenda-setting and policy formulation processes as well as being the subject of decision-making policy implementation, and evaluation (Howlett 2005; Howlett, Ramesh and Perl 2009).

They have a special place in the consideration and study of policy design because, taken together, they comprise the contents of the toolbox from which governments must choose in building or creating public policies. Policy design elevates the analysis and practice of policy instrument choice – specifically tools for policy implementation – to a central focus of study, making their understanding and analysis a key design concern (Salamon 1981; Linder and Peters 1990). Instrument choice, from this perspective, in a sense, is public policy making, and understanding and analyzing potential instrument choices involved in implementation activity is policy design. The role of a textbook in policy design thus is one of assisting “in constructing an inventory of potential public capabilities and resources that might be pertinent in any problem-solving situation” (Anderson, p. 122)

In text citations:

Salamon, L. M. The Tools of Government: A Guide to the New Governance. New York: Oxford University Press, 2002.

A Last Mile Problem: A ‘Live’ Case Study of Marina Coastal Expressway
Author/s:VIGNESH LOUIS NAIDUYear:2014Abstract:On 29th December 2013, Singapore’s tenth expressway – the Marina Coastal Expressway (MCE) – was officially opened. On the first working day after its opening, the MCE was plagued by congestion, leading many commuters to take to social media platforms to voice their anger and frustration. Many commentators attributed the congestion to the lack of salient and effective communication efforts to inform motorists of the quite major changes in the road network. This case study examines the communications strategy adopted by the authorities prior to the opening of the MCE, and asks what could have been done better if policymakers had paid more attention to behavioural insights. The case also analyses the effectiveness of the recovery methods by the authorities following the congestion on the first few days and the subsequent public unhappiness.

Managing the Sin in Singapore’s Casinos
Author/s:TAN SHIN BINYear:2014Abstract:Since Singapore’s early years of independence, the controversial proposal to boost economic growth by allowing casinos here had been repeatedly mooted. The idea had in turn been repeatedly rejected by decision makers who maintained that the social fallout from casinos would outweigh any economic benefits. In 2004 however, things took a different turn, when Singapore’s Prime Minister displayed an new openness to having casinos on local shores and called for a study on this proposal.  This decision sparked off an unusually energetic public response, and generated much media coverage locally and internationally.  The first half of this case examines the debate for and against the legalisation of casino gambling in Singapore, while the second half explores the decision taken, the impacts of the decision, and concludes with two simple questions [...]

Rethinking the Delivery of Welfare Programmes in Singapore
Author/s:VIGNESH LOUIS NAIDUYear:2014Abstract:The Singapore government has always been quite mindful of the potentially corrosive effects of welfare in designing it social policies. In a small city-state with no natural resources, the Singapore government has always feared that the comprehensive provision of state welfare would reduce incentives for individuals to work and strive, and create an entitlement mentality among citizens. The government has therefore sought to keep welfare – or financial support for the poor, the old and the unemployed – on a short leash. The levels of financial help are also relatively low by the standards of developed countries. The emphasis instead has always been on self-reliance and individual savings, the family as the first line of support for the poor, the community as an important ‘helping hand’, and targeting state assistance at those that have no other means of support. To the extent that there is welfare in Singapore, it is low (as it is intended to meet basic needs only), strictly and carefully means-tested, and residual in nature. In social spending more generally, the government has focused more on ‘investment goods’ such as public housing and education, rather than on subsiding people’s consumption.This case examines how ideas from cognitive psychology and behavioural economics could inform the design and delivery of welfare policies in Singapore. It highlights concepts that are relevant to the formulation, implementation and communication of welfare programmes. Using examples of social support programmes in Singapore, the case explores how such programmes should be designed to accommodate people’s cognitive limitations.

Social Egg Freezing, Should It Be Permitted in Singapore
Author/s:MICHELLE KHOOYear:2014Abstract:Could social egg freezing solve the population paradox in Singapore? Elective oocyte freezing (EOF) [...]

Promoting Healthy Public Policy through Community-Based Participatory Research:  Ten Case Studies

Promoting Healthy Public Policy through Community-Based Participatory Research:  Ten Case Studies.  A project of the University of California, Berkeley, School of Public Health  and PolicyLink, funded by a grant from the W. K. Kellogg Foundation.

Case Studies Include:

Addressing diesel bus pollution and its health consequences in Northern Manhattan, New York: West Harlem Environmental Action,  Inc., and the Columbia Center for Children’s Environmental Health

Tackling environmental injustice in industrialized hog production in rural North Carolina: Concerned Citizens of Tillery and its partnership with the University of North Carolina, School of Public Health

Moving out of the nursing home and into the community: The Departments of Disability and Rehabilitation at the University of Illinois – Chicago, Access Living, and the Progress Center for  Independent Living
Using “data judo,” community organizing, and policy advocacy  on the regional level: Southern California Environmental Justice  Collaborative
Addressing food insecurity in San Francisco’s Bayview Hunters Point: The Literacy for Environmental Justice Partnership

Preventing lead exposure among children in Tar Creek, Oklahoma: Tribal Efforts against Lead

Improving school conditions by changing public policy in South Los Angeles: The Community Coalition Partnership

Making the healthy choice the easy choice: A Healthy Communities  CBPR Partnership in New Castle, Indiana

Empowering New Mexico’s young people in public policymaking:  Youth Link and Masters in Public Health Program, University of New Mexico

Primary Source: http://www.feem-project.net/epiwater/

Economic Policy Instruments (EPIs) are incentives designed and implemented with the
aim of adapting individual decisions to collectively agreed goals. They include incentive
pricing, trading schemes, cooperation (e.g. payment for environmental services or
voluntary agreements), and risk management schemes. EPIs may significantly improve
an existing policy framework by incentivising, rather than commanding, behavioural
changes that may lead to environmental quality improvements. They can have a
number of additional or ancillary benefits, such as creating a permanent incentive
for technological innovation, stimulating the efficient allocation of water resources,
raising revenues to maintain and upgrade the provision of water services, promoting
water use efficiency, etc.

Launched in January 2011 for a three-year period, EPI-Water project’s (standing  for Evaluating Economic Policy Instruments for Sustainable Water Management in  Europe) main aim was to assess the effectiveness and efficiency of EPIs in achieving  water policy goals. In a first ex-post assessment, the project studied 30 EPIs in Europe and around the world (Australia, Chile, China, Israel and the United States of America).  Below are the case studies from this project.

Gómez, C. M., Delacámara, G., Pérez, C. D., Ibáñez, E., & Solanes, M. (2011). Water transfers in the Tagus River Basin (Spain)
Gómez, C. M., Delacámara, G., Pérez, C. D., & Rodrígue, M. (2011). Lower Ebro (Spain), Voluntary agreement for river regime restoration services
Dinar, A. (2011). Water Budget Rate Structure. Experiences from Urban Utilities in California
Yang, X. (2011). Case Study of China
CS29 Yates, A. J. (2011). Nitrogen Permit Trading in North Carolina’s
Donoso Harris, G. (2011). The Chilean Water Allocation
Viavattene, C., Pardoe, J., McCarthy, S., & Green, C. (2011). Cooperative agreements between water supply companies and farmers in Dorset
Branth Pedersen, A., Ørsted Nielsen, H., & Skou Andersen, [...]