Revised Findings with Implementation
You can submit a revised version of your findings in this assignment with an implementation section. The important part is the implementation section.
As we have seen in policies ranging from the Affordable Care Act to the COVID-19 vaccine rollout, sometimes initially promising solutions to policy problems have issues with implementation. This is often a result of not thinking about who is involved in implementation, what steps are needed to put the recommendation into action and in what sequence, what the participants think of the recommendation, and what could go wrong. For example, a cost-effective, well-organized vaccination campaign could sound like a magic bullet. However, if it is rolled out poorly (or even too quickly), the public may be skeptical, and the solution will fail to solve the disease problem it aimed to address. This assignment aims to help you think critically about what could go wrong in implementing your recommendation(s) and how you could guide your client to move your recommendation best forward.
If you need more insights, I recommend reading “Chapter 12: Implementation” from Weimer and Vining and “Policy Analysis and Political Sustainability” by Patashnik and Weaver.
Task: Prepare a 2-page, single-spaced memo (typically no more than 1,000 words), creating an implementation plan and noting the implementation challenges, attached as a supplement to your revised Findings assignment.
Implementation should not be a hasty brainstorming of the next steps. Take the time to research how similar recommendations have been implemented and what problems they’ve faced; who is/should be involved in moving your recommendation forward and what roles they should play (such as implementation managers, doers, or fixers); and what steps, procedures, and sequencing are needed to ensure smooth implementation. Include references.
Your memo should include an introduction providing an overview of the implementation issues and then address at least 3 of the following questions or others relevant to implementing your recommendation(s). Please consult with your instructor about other focus areas (if any) before submitting this assignment.
- What stakeholders are involved in moving your recommendation forward? What roles do they play?
- What steps must your client take to move your recommendation forward? How should these steps be sequenced and timed? You may want to include a diagram or other visual aid to show these steps.
- What are the perspectives of various stakeholder groups affected by the recommendation? Can you predict whether they will be supportive, resistant, or combined? What could your client do to mitigate resistance? What type of leadership will they need to exercise?
- What else could go wrong (“worst case scenario analysis”)? (e.g., refrigeration breakdown in the supply chain for vaccines so they are all ruined, change in president within a key partner organization with a different vision, etc.). Are these risks likely or unlikely? Which ones are most important to consider when thinking about implementation? What could be done to address them?