Five structured tools for rigorous policy reasoning. Work through Bardach's 8 steps, map stakeholder power, build causal loops, score alternatives, and draft a policy brief. Everything saves to your browser automatically.
Eugene Bardach's structured approach breaks policy analysis into 8 sequential steps. Work through each step below. Your answers auto-save and feed into the Policy Brief generator. Saved
State the policy problem in concrete, measurable terms. Who is affected? What is the gap between the current situation and the desired one?
What data, studies, or reports support your problem definition? Include quantitative evidence and qualitative context.
List 3-5 distinct policy alternatives, including the status quo. Each should be a genuinely different approach, not a variation of the same idea.
What criteria will you use to evaluate alternatives? Common criteria: effectiveness, cost, equity, political feasibility, administrative feasibility, legality.
For each alternative, project the likely outcomes against your criteria. Be honest about uncertainty and evidence gaps.
No alternative dominates on all criteria. What are the key trade-offs? Which criteria matter most given the political and institutional context?
State your recommended alternative and justify the choice. Acknowledge what you are giving up.
Craft a concise narrative that communicates your analysis to a busy decision-maker. Lead with the recommendation, then the reasoning.
Map stakeholders by their power (ability to influence the policy) and interest (how much they care). Click the grid to place a stakeholder, then drag to reposition. Saved
Build a causal loop diagram to understand feedback dynamics in your policy system. Add variables and link them with reinforcing (+) or balancing (-) relationships. Saved
Score each alternative against your criteria (1-5). Assign weights to criteria that matter more. The weighted score ranks your options. Saved
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Structure your analysis into a professional policy brief. Fill in the sections or pull from your Bardach analysis. Export as Markdown. Saved