Transcript Document

EM430 Unit 4
Decision Making and
Communication Tools
Seminar Overview
 Assignments
 Unit 4 Outcomes
 Decision making tools
 Checklists
 Cost-benefit and effectiveness
 Multi-attribute tools
 Communication policies
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Laws and regulations
Executive Orders
Court Decisions
Changes in leadership and resources
 Tips for communicating policy
Assignments
 Unit 3: Brownfields Assessment – LATE Assignments
MUST be submitted by end of Unit 6
 Unit 4 due June 12th (110 pts): Stakeholders of MTBE
Debate - Chapter #3 of Greenberg Text - Table & Map
in Doc Sharing (be sure you understand expectations!)
 Unit 5 due June 19th (125 pts): Review of Cap & Trade
 Unit 7 due July 3rd (200 pts): Food Safety Policy
 Unit 9 due July 17th (225 pts): Deep Water Horizon Oil
Spill
UNIT 5 Assignment – Review of Cap and Trade
Background on Midterm Assignment:
 For 20 years, the world has grappled with the global
environmental climate change. To date, the international
community has produced only one major agreement, the
Kyoto Protocol (1997), to reduce GHG emissions that
contribute to changes in the structure of the atmosphere.
• The U.S. is not a signatory to the Kyoto Protocol, yet
cities, states, and the federal government have been
taking steps. In 2009 the EPA announced requirements
about GHG emission reporting. The Obama
Administration has advocated the implementation of a
cap-and-trade approach to reduce emissions.
UNIT 5 Assignment – Review of Cap and Trade
Assignment Steps:
1: Acting as a policy strategist/consultant, you are to write a
3-5 page memo that will inform your client about the
implications of different approaches for the U.S. to
implement and address climate change. You will need to
identify who your client is (e.g. an executive of a
company, a non-profit, an administrative agency, etc.)
and provide some basic information about the client.
UNIT 5 Assignment – Review of Cap and Trade
2: The memo should be written in memorandum format:
Date: <date>
From: <You>
To: <Client of your choice>
Subject: <Options for Mitigating U.S. Contributions
to Climate Change>
UNIT 5 Assignment – Review of Cap and Trade
3: The memo has 3 sections: 1) a background section, 2) a
policy process analysis section, and 3) a policy
recommendation section. Begin each section by offering
your client a foundational understanding of the issue
before moving into details and analysis. You can assume
that your client is intelligent enough to understand what
you are explaining but not informed enough to be
conversant about it already.
UNIT 5 Assignment – Review of Cap and Trade
4: This assignment assumes that you have already
developed a basic understanding of climate change. In
particular, this assignment assumes that you can already
discuss how the burning of carbonaceous fuels is
perturbing the climate by increasing the Earth’s
greenhouse effect.
More information is available in the online assignment
description. Your memo should consider all of the
material covered in the course to date; however, the
focus of the memo is the material in Unit 4.
UNIT 5 Assignment – Review of Cap and Trade
In addition to fulfilling the specifics of the assignment, a
successful memo must also meet the following criteria:
• Length should be 3-5 pages, excluding cover page and
references.
• Viewpoint and purpose should be clearly established and
sustained.
• Assignment should follow the conventions of Standard American
English (correct grammar, punctuation, etc.).
• Writing should be well ordered, logical and unified, as well as
original and insightful.
• Your work should display superior content, organization, style,
and mechanics.
• Appropriate citation style should be followed.
Unit 4 Outcomes
 The distinction between “hard” and “soft” policy
outputs.
 The types of policy instruments.
 The idea of venue-shopping.
 Program experimentation and learning as a policy
approach.
Checklists as Decision Making Tool
 Checklists are compilations of decision-making factors
 Series of questions with follow-up questions (if….then)
 Are valuable to ensure that important factors to
consider are not left out.
 Can be seen as a “to-do” list
Question: What is one important limitation to
checklists?
Checklists as Decision Making Tool
 Checklists are typically welcomed by the public and
community groups
 They want to understand the impact of alternative policies
 Agency stakeholder tend to be focused on their
mandate and are less likely to be concerned with other
impacts that don’t meet their mandate
 This difference can lead to stalemates and frustrations
when dealing with policy issues
Cost-Benefit as a Tool
 Cost-benefit is more complicated that checklists
 Attempt to aid decision makers by converting
information to costs and benefits in financial terms
 This analysis makes sense since most decisions come
down to monetary costs
 Simple forms look at only direct costs and not
environmental health and other impacts
Cost-Benefit as a Tool
 Attacks against this tool are often related to putting a
dollar value on human life
 Businesses often attack the tool because meeting
regulations are costly and assert that there are
thresholds in which there are no effects
 Is this an immoral effort for businesses to push there costs on
the general public?
 Economists feel that this analysis must be done
because the fact is we can’t not afford every policy
Question: What do you think?
Multi-Attribute Analysis as a Tool
 Checklists assume an equal value to every attribute of
a policy issue.
 Cost-benefit only focuses on dollars
 Multi-attribute methods consider several objectives
such as quality of life, equity, and cost-benefits
 Using this method translates into multiple objectives
and then specific outcomes within those objectives
Multi-Attribute Analysis as a Tool
Attribute
Minimize Cost
Maximize Safety
Min Env Damage
Max Economic Benefit
Min Social Disruption
Overall Score
Rank
Weight Option 1 Option 2 Option 3
(1-10) (0-1)
(0-1)
(0-1)
8
0.6
0
0.3
9
0.4
1
1
8
0.3
0.8
0.8
4
0.3
0.4
0.9
3
0.2
0.4
0
12.6
3
18.2
2
21.4
1
 You can use “red flags”
do delete options with a
Option 4
“0”
(0-1)
0.4  This method allows you to
0.3
assess multiple attributes
0.5
0.6  Process is transparent
0.3
Question: What are the
limitations?
12.1
4
 The fact is that a number
of tools can be used
simultaneously why
making or analyzing
public policy
Communicating Policy
 Policy decisions are made to change practice and/or
send a message to a stakeholder
 Tools to do this include:
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Laws and regulations
Executive Orders
Court decisions
Leadership changes
Budget messages
 Laws and regulations are the most direct.
Question: Which is most “sneaky”?
Laws and Regs as Communication Tools
 Laws spell out the broad objectives of a policy and
principles of implementation
 Full implementation is left to government departments
or agencies, which then may delegate to the states.
 Proposed rules and regulations are published in the
Federal Register for comment or notice
 Final regulations then published in the CFR.
 Laws and regulations are a key basic form of policy
communication
Executive Orders
 Executive Orders can have the power to change policy
without going through the process of proposing and
passing a law and development of implementation
 Can begin focus on an issue until a law can be passed
and even help to shape that law
 Can be revoked with new leadership
 EOs can be a strong policy communication tool
Court Decisions as a Communication Tool
 Almost every major environmental policy has been
challenged in court
 The courts dictate policy through interpretations and
application of the law
 Depending on their views, the decisions can send clear
messages to EPA and force them to shift their policy
 Can be confusing with appeals and overturned
decisions. Messages start to get crossed.
New Leaders and Budgets
 Leaders establish priorities
 Leaders can be changed to reflect the views of the
appointer and can be done to shape policy in an
indirect way.
 Allocation of resources can shape policy
 Funding for less desirable programs can be cut or
additional funds can be allocated for those programs
seen as important
 Although indirect, the policy communicated is very
clear
Tips for Communicating Policy
1. Control what you want to include
2. Don’t assume the reporter or public know
anything about the policy or science
3. Be prepared for personal questions
4. Don’t use jargon and be carful using comparisons
5. Be on the lookout for confusion so you can clarify
6. Be open of limitations of research
Tips for Communicating Policy
7. Suggest other perspectives but avoid being
negative about them. Suggest other sources to
interview.
8. Organize what you will say and how you will say
it. Plan a follow-up session to review how it went
9. Coordinate with other speakers and know your
stakeholders to be prepared. This is minimize
confusion of messages.
10. Don’t focus on arguments of values. Instead,
clear up misunderstandings while acknowledging
the differences.
Any Questions….
!! NO SEMINAR IN UNIT 5 – MIDTERM WEEK !!
Office hours Monday & Thursday 8:00 - 9:00 PM Eastern
Daylight Savings Time
Next Week Unit 6 Seminar Monday, June 25th at 10:00 PM ET
This presentation was adapted from the prior work of Matt Mathews of Kaplan
University. Thank you!