What are the implications for the social work profession in the insertion in the analysis and evaluation of social policies/programs and their impact on

Theories as a Starting Point, Guide, and Determinant of Research for the Analysis of Social Policies

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The analysis of public and social policies includes the processes of describing and investigating how and why certain policies are proposed, adopted, and implemented. This analysis also allows us to analyze why some policies are not adopted but rather discarded. The analysis lets us know the chances of a policy's adoption, its likely effectiveness, and possible difficulties in its implementation. The analysis allows us to discover which proposals comply with the important values of society, such as freedom, social justice, equality, equity, dignity, and human rights, among others. The analysis of social policies must rest on ethical principles in which a given policy's positive and negative effects are evaluated and revealed. 

Roth Deubel (2008) argues that several paradigms and theories allow us to build models of analysis of public policies and social policies. However, he argues that it is necessary to introduce rhetoric analysis. The analysis of rhetoric allows us to analyze the actions of convincing or persuading inscribed in social policies. In other words, it analyzes the "speech," conversations, and discourses used to legitimize and justify a public policy.  

Before beginning to describe the various theories used in the analysis of social policies, it is necessary to point out that "it has been shown that scientific theories are not neutral and that they are "framed" or "attached" to a certain vision of the world, in a paradigm" (Roth Deubel, 2008, p. 69). Therefore, depending on the paradigm from which the researcher (social policy analyst) positions himself will determine the selected theory to analyze a certain phenomenon. In addition, several theories can be used to analyze a social policy or to analyze the various aspects or phases of a social policy, from its conception to its completion. Consequently, there are various forms, multiple strategies, various explanations, and interpretations of the phenomena to be analyzed.  

Birkland (2020) mentions seven theoretical frameworks used to analyze public policy: a. Multiple Streams Framework (MSF), b. Punctuated Equilibrium Theory (PET), c. Political Feedback Theory, d. Advocacy Coalition Framework (ACF), e. Narrative Policy Framework (MPN), f. Analysis and Institutional Development (AID), and g. Innovation and Diffusion Models (p. 382).

A. Multiple Streams Framework (MSF) - Kingdon (2011) indicates that this theory holds that a problem/dilemma and its respective solutions are taken into consideration when the elements of the problem, policy, and political streams come together in a "window of opportunity" for public policy change (Figure 1).

Figure 1: Multiple Stream Framework (MSF)   

Kingdon (2011) indicates that on many occasions, they are not solutions or new alternatives offered for a specific problem, but rather they are alternatives and solutions already thought of and placed in a "wastebasket" waiting for that window of opportunity. Some theorists point out that this theory is incomplete since it only discusses a window of opportunity and does not explain or account for other processes in developing social policies. In other words, it only analyzes and explains the first phase or stage of a public policy; agenda and decision making.

B. Punctuated Equilibrium Theory (PET) - This theory seeks to explain why public policies tend to be characterized by long periods of stability or move slowly, punctuated by short periods of radical change (Masse Jolicoeur, 2018) (Figure 2).

C. Political feedback theory - This theory is based on historical institutionalism that seeks to understand how past political decisions influence future decisions (Birkland, 2020). It is necessary to note that policies become, in turn, political forces that reconfigure the underlying terms of power, reposition actors in political relationships, and reconfigure the identities, understandings, interests, and preferences of political actors (Moynihan & Soss, 2014).

D. Advocacy Coalition Framework (ACF) – This theoretical model involves the public policy process. It is based on the principle that interest groups organize themselves into public policy communities or coalitions within a given public policy arena (Birkland, 2020; Roth Deubel, 2008). This theory seeks to understand the interactions that occur in coalition groups, called advocacy coalitions for public policy.

Sabatier (1988), the primary promoter of this theoretical framework, established three premises of the ACF model that can be applied to the analysis of any public policy. First, he argued that a decade or more is needed to analyze and understand the process of policy change. Sabatier argued, in his second premise, that it is necessary to focus on the unit of analysis of the subsystems of public policy, on the coalitions that are formed, and to analyze the interactions of the actors of the different institutions. In his third premise, Sabatier argued that public policies (or programs) or social policies are a belief system: "a set of value priorities and causal assumptions about how to realize them" (Sabatier, 1988, p. 131). This implies that the various actors or coalitions advocate policies that promote their beliefs and values to achieve their vision through public and social policies that promote how the world should work.

E. Narrative Policy Framework (NPM) – NPM focus on how participants tell stories about the policy process. Stories with structures such as characters, morals, and plots. These stories are found at the micro (individuals), meso (groups and coalitions), and macro (culture and institutions) levels. Proponents of this theory argue that the "reality" of public policy is socially constructed. Hence, stories are fundamental in the analysis process since they derive hypotheses that can be tested.

F. Institutional Analysis and Development (IDA) – This theory helps to explain how communities collectively craft policies to allocate scarce resources. This theoretical framework provides a way to understand how actors, institutions, and the rules of the public policymaking process work together to result in particular types of public policy (Birkland, 2020; Roth Deubel, 2008)). "It is rooted in ideas of rationality, group cooperation to achieve shared goals, and a broad definition of the meaning of institution within politics and society" (Birkland, 2020, p. 395). 

This model establishes that there is an arena of action, a physical world, attributes of a community or group, and how the norms of individual and group behavior influence the interaction between the problem, the actors, and the groups that will do something about it. This influence is on four groups of variables: a. The resources an actor brings to a situation, b. The valuation that actors assign to states of the world and actions, c. How actors acquire, process, retain, and use knowledge contingencies and information, and d. The processes actors use in selecting courses of action (Birkland, 2020, p. 398).

G. Models of innovation and diffusion (DOI) – This model explains how policies emerge and how they are adopted. DOI theory attempts to explain how, over time, an idea or policy gains momentum and diffuses (or spreads) through a specific population or social system. The result of this diffusion is that people, as part of a social system, adopt a new idea, behavior, or public policy as innovative. 

Anderson (2015) presents five other theoretical frameworks for public policy analysis which are: political systems theory, group theory, elite theory, institutionalism, and rational choice theory.  

1. Political systems theory – This theory analyzes those identifiable and interrelated institutions and activities (what we usually think of as governmental institutions and political processes) of a society that make authoritative allocations of values (decisions) binding on society. The environment consists of all phenomena – the social system, the economic system, and the biological environment – that are external to the boundaries of the political system (Anderson, 2015).

2. Group theory – Theorists argue that group (pluralist) theory explains that public policy results from struggles between groups. This theory rests on the premise that interaction and struggle between groups are the central facts of political life. A group makes claims against other groups in society or on governmental institutions.

3. Elite theory – This theory holds that public policies reflect the values and preferences of a ruling elite. In other words, public policies are not determined by the demands and actions of the people or the "masses" but by a ruling elite whose preferences are implemented by public officials and agencies.

4. Institutionalism – Traditionally, this approach focuses on describing the more formal and legal aspects of government institutions: their formal structure, legal powers, procedural rules, and official functions or activities. However, it also includes aspects of the political processes within the institutions, focusing on the behavior of the participants in the process and the political realities, as well as the legislative processes that lead to the adoption of a public policy.

5. Rational choice theory – This theory argues that individuals can understand and rank their preferences and what they want and, in making decisions try to maximize benefits. It is necessary to point out that the preferences or values of the individual are more than other values (collective, organizational, or social values).

 

Evaluation of Social Policies and Implications for Social Work Intervention

Evaluation of Social Policies

Evaluation includes analyzing the effectiveness and efficiency of policies. The primary objective is to determine whether policy objectives have been achieved to improve policy performance. Policy evaluation has normative and empirical dimensions. The normative dimension refers to the values, beliefs, and attitudes of society as a whole, of particular groups and individuals in society, and the policy evaluators themselves. The empirical dimension includes the results of quantitative and qualitative evaluations following research processes (Annex 1 and Annex 2). 

Evaluation includes three aspects, according to Majone (1999, p. 214) cited by Torres-Melo and Santander (2013): 

1. Of inputs used, in which the evaluation focuses on resources, skills, and people involved in the activity.

2. The process considers the methods used to transform political, economic, and other inputs into policy outputs or outcomes.

3. The outcome focuses on the impacts or consequences of a particular activity. The policy evaluation process can occur before, during, or after implementing a public policy. 

This evaluation can be quantitative or qualitative. Both designs allow us to give an account of how things are or are going concerning some aspect of reality occur,g. Torres-Melo and Santander, 2013 argue that: 

The capacity of the state to guarantee citizens' rights does not depend solely on the evaluation of public policies will not only depend on the formulation and implementation of certain public policies and the perception that citizens have of the government's fulfillment of this responsibility. Adequate evaluation of public policies will provide decisive information in constructing these citizen perceptions. Evaluation is an essential tool for activating citizen participation in state affairs by providing the information necessary to form criteria for the management of public policies. 

The evaluation guarantees the human rights of the subjects and allows for the demand for the expansion and fulfillment of human rights. Also, evaluation help assesses to ensure the adequate use of resources without jeopardizing human rights. It is evaluated to ensure the adequate use of resources without jeopardizing the guarantee of human rights. It is here where the social work profession has space for the exigibility to the state of the guarantee and expansion of human rights and claim for social justice, especially in favor of the most vulnerable. 

Implications for Social Work Intervention

The analysis of social policies has implications for social workers and the clients they serve. Seda (2009) calls upon social work professionals to insert themselves into the processes of public and social policies and dedicate themself to being a mere implementers of them. She argues that the social work profession has been mostly directed to relief, control, adaptation, and reform, not to structural transformation through the conception, implementation, and evaluation of public policies.  

These actions perpetuate practices of oppression, social injustices, and marginalization of the most vulnerable. Its call is to transform the systemic roots of injustices and oppression rather than to reduce their intensity. Unfortunately, the social work professional usually does not transcend or reach the roots of the social framework that gives rise to the practices of injustice and oppression. Guardiola (1998) states that the practice of social work is contradictory in that it promotes both transformation and social adaptation because it is framed within the institutional context of the state. The latter responds to the model of dependent economic development whose policies are welfarist, while the profession postulates transformation as the ultimate goal (p. 65). 

Morán (2006) points out that "the professional approach ends up being performance-based, moving further and further away from that first transforming and participatory stimulus that should illuminate the practice of Social Work" (p. 106). It is here where the social work professional must carry out that introspection, which is the exercise of looking inward and evaluating where that desire to transform the conditions necessary to achieve that social justice, equality, and equity of the human being we felt when we left the academy. Do we accommodate ourselves to the exercise of service provision? Or, on the other hand, do we use theoretical postulates and intervention models of social justice, equity, and diversity and assume a position consistent with our professional ethics, encouraging active and critical participation of the participants in the solution of their problems or needs, inserting ourselves in the spaces of social policy work. 

How do you achieve that social worker with a critical, proactive attitude and ethical commitment? It can be done by searching for new knowledge that must be translated into effective actions to develop a participatory and inclusive human being, in actions that transform their reality and emancipate not only the client but also the social work professional. According to Martínez and Aguero (2015), "emancipation is a fact. It is to be able to write history and not only participate in the history that others write or, what is worse, to be left out of it" (p. 14). Failure to translate this acquired knowledge into transformative and emancipatory actions is a harbinger of a social intervention accommodated to hegemonic interests and, in the function of power, assuming a neutral stance before instances of oppression, social injustices, and institutional violence.  

The social work professional must make the most of the workspaces, be the promoters of proactive participation, and encourage intervention practices that develop a dignified, inclusive, equitable, and participatory human being, recognizing their rights. For the social work professional, this implies a liberating professional practice, giving voice to the "other," which implies the recognition of the Other where "the questioning voice of the Other is heard" (Bustos, 2012, p. 16). Bustos (2012) argues that we only exist because the "Other" gives us back feelings, sensations, perceptions, and subjectivities, placing the client in a position of a valid interlocutor. "This ethical-philosophical conception of conceiving the Other, in this case, the client, is to place them in a political position, in every sense of the word" (Bustos, 2012, p. 16). 

Finally, the social work professional must recognize that they are the subject of a right. The human being is inserted in an institution whose practices are unjust, discriminatory, and violent towards him and hed, far from remaining neutral and conforming. The social worker must try to know where these practices and actions of oppression and injustice arise from to act upon them. It is here where it is required to recognize these instances and to assume with criticality the fragmented responses of the state's social policies, "building life worlds, identity processes, social ties, and citizenships…" (Martínez and Aguero, 2015, p.15). This implies the uncompromising defense of human rights for social work, a great challenge for the social work professional today. 

 

References  

Anderson, J. E. (2009).  Public Policymaking: An Introduction. Cengage Learning. 

Birkland, T. A. (2020). An Introduction to the Policy Process: Theories, Concepts, and Models of Policy Making. (5th ed.). New York: Routledge. 

Bustos, F. (2012). Los niños de nadie. Puntos de partida para una ruptura epistemológica en las concepciones de las políticas públicas de niñez y adolescencia.  Boletín Electrónico Surá, 189. Universidad de Costa Rica. 

Guardiola-Ortiz, D. (1998).  El trabajo social en Puerto Rico: asistencia, desarrollo transformación? Editorial Edil. 

Kingdon, J. W. (2011). Agendas, Alternatives, and Public Policies.  Longman Classics in Political Science. Longman.  

Majone, G. (1999). The regulatory state and Its legitimacy Problems.  West European politics,  22(1), pp. 1-24. 

Martínez, S., & Agüero, J. (2015). La intervención social desde la perspectiva del trabajo social emancipador.  Publicado en Intervención, (4).  http://trabajosocial.uahurtado.cl/wp-content/uploads/2014/05/01-La-intervención-social- Links to an external site. desde-la-perspectiva-del-trabajo-social1.pdf 

Masse Jolicoeur, M. (2018).  An Introduction to Punctuated Equilibrium: A Model for Understanding Stability and Dramatic Change in Public Policies. National Collaborating Centre for Healthy Public Policy. 

Morán Carrillo, J. (2006).  Epistemología y Trabajo Social. Epistemología, Ciencia y Paradigma en Trabajo Social. Aconcagua. 

Moynihan, D. P. & Soss, J. (2014). Policy Feedback and the Politics of Administration. Public  Administration Review, 74(3), 320-332. 

Popple, P. & Leighninger, L. (2025). Policy-Based Profession, The: An Introduction to Social Welfare Policy Analysis for Social Workers. Pearson 

Roth Deubel, A. N. (2008). Perspectivas teóricas para el análisis de las políticas públicas: ¿de la razón científica al arte retórico? Universidad de Antioquia. Estudios Políticos, (33), 67-91. 

Sabatier, P. A. (1988). An Advocacy Coalition Framework of Policy Change and the Role of Policy-Oriented Learning Therein.  Policy Sciences, 21(2/3), 129–168.  http://www.jstor.org/stable/4532139 Links to an external site.  

Seda, R. (2009, octubre).  Retos al Trabajo Social en el Puerto Rico del siglo XXI. Ponencia presentada en la Universidad Interamericana de Arecibo, Puerto Rico.  http://www.arecibo.inter.edu/reserva/tsocial/retos.pdf Links to an external site.  

Torres-Melo, J. y Santander, J (2013).  Introducción a las políticas públicas: conceptos y herramientas desde la relación entre Estado y ciudadanía. Instituto de Estudios del Ministerio Público. 

 

Supplemental Resources

· Annex 1 

OUTLINE FOR A POLICY ANALYSIS ANTI-OPPRESSIVE 

Description of the Condition/Social Problem 

A. What is the oppressive social condition? 

B. What are the facts (from official and unofficial reports) about social status? 

·

1. What does the documentation show through the literature review? 

2. What do we know from agency files, surveys, and interviews with key experts? 

3. What are the forecasts for future problems and expenses related to the problem? 

C. To what extent is social status perceived as a social problem? 

1.

1.

1. How is the problem defined at various levels of society? 

.

. What are the implicit value biases? 

. To what source is the problem attributed?

              2. For whom is the situation in question a problem?  

Historical Analysis 

A. What were the relevant social conditions like in the past? 

B. How did social status (e.g., hitting children) come to be defined as a problem? 

1.

1. How did the problem come to be defined regarding changing social values? 

2. How had the problem been dealt with? 

C. What influential groups were involved in and against the proposed remedies? 

D. What precedents for the ideas and values used to correct the situation? 

E. To what extent were the approaches to the problem effective or ineffective? 

F. How do manifest objectives differ from unspoken or latent objectives of possible solutions? 

G. Comment on lessons from history relevant to the present problem. 

Overview of Policy Formulation

A.  What are the objectives (manifest and latent) of your proposed policy? 

B. What can we learn from people's (clients') narratives about the need to strengthen resources? 

C. What are the pros and cons of the various ways to deal with the problem? 

1.

1. How does each competing policy meet the criteria of self-determination, empowerment, appropriateness, feasibility, and efficiency? 

2. How is your proposal superior to other remedies? 

D. To what extent can public opinion be mobilized to support your proposed policy? 

E. In general, what does research on the problem reveal? 

F. What are the anticipated barriers to policy change? 

The Global Context 

A. What can we learn from alternative policies or approaches to meet the same need? 

B. Discuss differences in funding sources and levels of support. 

C. How is the proposed policy integrated into the cultural values of one or more countries? 

D. Given traditional U.S. values, can we propose a similar policy for the United States? 

E. Relate the policy, under consideration, to a relevant section of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. 

Economic Analysis 

A. How much would the proposed initiative cost? 

1.

1. How does this expense compare to the present or other proposed bids? 

2. How will the proposed program be funded? 

B. What will be the projected savings (benefits) to the state, county, or agency? 

C. Which groups benefit economically from the social problem (e.g., homeowners from the housing shortage)? 

D. Discuss the initiative in terms of its relationship to economic oppression. 

E. If relevant, discuss the economic benefits in terms of the impact on the environment. Is the policy consistent with environmental sustainability? 

F. If the initiative implies an economic benefit, is this benefit verifiable? 

Political Analysis 

A. Who are the main players involved in the innovation policy or policy to change (politicians, professionals, populations at risk)? 

B. Who are the main stakeholders that have a vested interest in making or resisting the proposed change? 

1.

1. Evaluate the degree of support, influence, and media access of political opponents. 

2. Evaluate the degree of support, influence, and access to the media of political supporters. 

C. What is the political context within which the policy initiative was conceived? Is political/racial/gender oppression a dilemma of public concern? 

D. What are the main arguments used by opponents against the proposal? Use research data to refute or accept the truth of such arguments. 

E. What are the values of the NASW Code of Ethics (1996) and NASW policy statements (see Social Work Speaks [NASW, 2003]) relevant to the policy? 

F. Describe lobbying efforts and relevant bills introduced.  

G. Which professionals (lawyers, psychologists, etc.) control the territory? How does this influence affect the acceptability of the policy? 

H. Assess the likelihood of having the policy implemented and anticipate unintended consequences (positive and negative) of this initiative becoming a piece of legislation or law. 

 

Reference 

Wormer, K. S. (2004).  Confronting oppression, restoring justice: From policy analysis to social action. Council on Social Work Education. 

 

· Annex 2

Outline of the political analysis 

Delimitation and overview of the policy under analysis 

A. What is the specific policy or general policy area to be addressed? Analyze? 

B. What is the nature of the problem being addressed? Policy? 

1.

1. How is the problem defined? 

2. For whom is it a problem?

C. What is the context of the policy being analyzed (i.e., how does this specific policy fit with other policies that seek to manage a social problem?)

D. Choice analysis (i.e., what is the design of the programs created by a policy and what are the alternatives to this design).

1.

1. What are the bases of the social assignment?

2. What are the types of social endowments?

3. What are the benefit delivery strategies?

4. What are the methods of financing these benefits?

Historical analysis

A. What policies and programs were previously developed to address the problem?  In other words, how has this problem been addressed in the past?

B. How has the specific policy/program under analysis evolved over time?

1.

1. Which individuals, or groups of individuals, initiated and/or promoted the policy?

2. What individuals or groups of individuals opposed the policy?

C. What does history tell us about effective/ineffective approaches to addressing the problem?

D. To what extent does the current policy/program incorporate the history lesson?

Social Analysis

A.  Description of the problem

1.

1. How complete is our knowledge of the problem? 

2. Are our efforts to address the problem following the research results?

3. What population is affected by the problem?

·

· Size

· Defining characteristics

· Distribution

4. What theory or theories of human behavior are explicit or, more likely, implicit in the policy?

5. What main social values are related to the problem, and what value conflicts exist?

6. What are the objectives of the policy analyzed?

6.

1. Manifest (stated) objectives

1. Latent (undeclared) objectives

1. Degree of consensus on objectives

7. What are the implicit or exp

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