The analysis of public policy

This paper attempts to examine several aspects of the analysis of public policy as it pertains to the community development professional. Specifically, it looks at some of the definitions of public policy; at who are the policy makers, why we should study public policy, what are the “policy styles” of local government, at what are the models used to understand public policies and at how we may assess the impact of public policy. The analysis of public policy has gone through some immense changes in the last two decades. Knowledge of some of these changes may have a beneficial impact on those of us working in the area of community development.