Policy

The overall primary concern of policy concerns the jural mode of valuing, and how other kinds of valuing support the good of justice. Many policy areas concern justice to people (public or social justice). Environmental and ecological policy can be directly concerned with public justice or with a perceived public duty to care for non-human animals or to conserve biodiversity, for example.

While all kinds of stakeholder (1st pillar) and process (2nd pillar) remain essential, the analysis of valuing (3rd pillar) can focus on issues of (social) justice and fairness.

Some modes of valuing are foundational to justice. For example, social stability and cohesion are important foundations for fair outcomes, while economically, efficient use of public funds can enhance the effectiveness and scale of the policy.

The moral and ultimate aspects come after the jural aspect, so concern for their respective modes of valuing can be seen as ‘enlightened’ policymaking, going beyond the basic remit of justice.

Policy evaluation

The Pluralistic Evaluation Framework can be used at each stage of a policy cycle. This typically comprises appraisal of policy options, monitoring of a policy in force, and then evaluation after a period of observation. After this, modifications or new policies may be put forward for appraisal as the next cycle begins. 

At any stage of this cycle, the three pillars of the PEF are considered:

Appraisal

  1. Who are the relevant stakeholders (or rightsholders) to consider? Which, if any, should be consulted at the appraisal stage?

  2. What kinds of impact is the policy likely to have? What processes could possibly be affected?

  3. What forms of value is the policy intended to deliver, and at what costs (across all modes of valuing)? How might stakeholders perceive the potential impacts across all modes of valuing?

Monitoring

  1. What stakeholders must be consulted?

  2. What impacts must be monitored as a matter of routine? What steps will be taken to detect unforeseen impacts as they arise? Over what timescales should different processes be monitored for impacts?

  3. How are stakeholders judging the policy’s effects?

Evaluation

  1. What stakeholders must be consulted for an adequate evaluation?

  2. What effects has the policy had? What effects may still be developing at the point of evaluation, and how can their trajectories best be assessed?

  3. Has the policy delivered the intended forms of value, with acceptable costs? How do stakeholders perceive the policy’s impacts (now and in the future)?

Download a template for the PEF.

Contact us to discuss your evaluation needs and how the PEF can help.