The Phases of the Policymaking Process are Interactive and Interdependent
The diagram on page 86 emphasizes the phases of the policymaking process, while showing how highly interactive and interdependent each phases are to one another.
1. Formulation Phase (Legislative branch)
This is made up of 2 distinct and sequential parts: agenda setting and development of legislation. The formulation phase results in policy in the specific form of new public laws or the far more likely result of amendments to existing laws.
2. Implementation Phase (Executive branch)
When the formulation phase of policy making yields a new or amended public law, enactment of legislation marks a transition from formulation to implementation. Policy implementation unfolds in a series of interrelated steps: designing, rulemaking, operating, and evaluating.
3. Modification Phase (Judicial branch)
Policymaking is an intricate process. It is never a perfect process. Mistakes of omission and commission are routinely made in the formulation and implementation phases. The modification phase is necessary because perfection eludes policymakers in the formulation and implementation phases. Even policy decisions that are correct when they are made must adjust to accommodate changing circumstances.
Policymaking Occurs in the context of a dynamic external environment
An important feature of the public policymaking process is the impact of factors external to the process on policymaking, and the impact of the process on the larger environment.