Study Group with Eric Hargan

How Policy is Developed and Enacted in Government

Policy broadly considered, is an articulation of what the government "should do" or "intends to do" or "wants to be doing." It is not just a description of what it does. So, it often requires real change in how government is currently operating. But government is legendarily inertial and resistant to change, and in the case of the United States, seems to be designed to be so. 

How is policy developed? Is it essentially just the thoughts of elected officials? What is the role of policy experts in universities and think tanks and elsewhere? What about other subject matter experts? Government officials? And once a policy is decided on, how does it become a reality, whether as a regulation, a program, or something else? And is this process the best or only way? Do different administrations handle policy development differently? Is there a right way to do this? 

In this session, we will examine how government turns "Dreams into Action" through activities inside and outside government, the role of the White House and its policy arms, the department and agencies, Congress and other actors. We will examine how policy is proposed, refined, coordinated, finalized, and implemented.

AUDIENCE: These conversations are open to members of the Harvard community. Please RSVP with a valid Harvard email address. 

OFF-THE-RECORD: In keeping with our long tradition at the IOP to ensure honest and candid discussions of politics, all IOP study groups are off-the-record.