Administrative Law and Rulemaking

Question 1: Research is an integral part of the public and nonprofit sectors. Budget analysts use research to generate revenue forecasts. Management analysts use research to determine if a program is serving citizens effectively. In nonprofit organizations, development directors use research to identify potential donors. As you can see, research occurs every day in all public and nonprofit organizations.

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Research used for evaluation is especially challenging in the public and nonprofit sectors. Unlike their counterparts in the private sector, public administrators implement programs that produce “soft” and intangible results. Imagine the situation of a school administrator who implements an after-school counseling program for at-risk youth. One of the “soft” results of this program may be an increase in the self-esteem of a student. Self-esteem is a difficult concept to measure and may be measured in a variety of ways.

Or, consider a nonprofit organization that develops a program to help recovering addicts obtain gainful employment. While the measurement of whether or not the individual obtained a job is rather tangible and obvious, the confidence the individual gains as a result of participating in the program is intangible and much more difficult to measure. In order to measure the more challenging intangible results administrators rely on research. It is imperative for administrators to know how to conduct research in order to evaluate programs so that they can promote the values of efficiency, effectiveness, individual rights, and social equity.

For this Discussion, select a public or nonprofit organization with which you are familiar, or choose an organization from the Virtual Community of New Harbor, Delaware. Consider how research and evaluation could benefit this organization. A good place to start is to consider a program, problem, or policy that the organization may want to address in further detail.

Post by Day 3 a description of how research and evaluation can be used by this organization. Explain what program, problem, or policy could be addressed by research, and how this could benefit the organization.

READINGS

Johnson, G. (2014). Research methods for public administrators (3rd ed.). Armonk, NY: M. E. Sharpe.
- Chapter 1, “Introduction: Research Methods for Public Administrators” (pp. 3–16)
- Chapter 2, “Basic Research Concepts” (pp. 17–33)
Hatry, H. P. (2013). Sorting the relationships among performance measurement, program evaluation, and performance management. New Directions for Evaluation, 2013(137),19–32.
Retrieved from the Walden Library databases.
Litman, T. (2008). Evaluating research quality: Guidelines for scholarship. Victoria, British Columbia:Victoria Transport Quality Institute.
Litman, T. (2012). Evaluating Research Quality Guidelines for Scholarship. Victoria Transport Policy Institute. Retrieved from http://www.vtpi.org/resqual.pdf Used with permission from Todd Litman.
Washington State Institute for Public Policy. (2004). Outcome of Washington state’s research-based programs for juvenile offenders. Retrieved from www.wsipp.wa.gov/ReportFile/852

Law and Public Policy

Question 2: To understand the relationship between law and public policy, you must first develop an understanding of how each is defined. Generally, public policy can be defined as a process by which the government addresses a public issue or problem by creating legislation. Law, as defined by your text, is “one of several techniques people use to prevent or resolve conflicts” (Harrington & Carter, 2015, p. 25). In this week’s readings, you consider four kinds of law, each with its own set of procedural rules. As you read about each, it is important consider the relationship of each to public policy. To prepare for this Discussion:

Review the Course Introduction and reflect on the definitions of law and public policy.
Review Chapter 2 in the course text, Administrative Law and Politics: Cases and Comments focusing on the definitions of the four basic kinds of law.
Based on the readings, think about the relationship between law and public policy.

With these thoughts in mind:

Post by Day 3 an explanation of the relationship between law and public policy. Use specific examples to illustrate your explanation.

Be sure to support your postings and responses with specific references to the Learning Resources.

Administrative Law and Rulemaking

Question 3: In the first Discussion this week, you were introduced to the broad concept of law and how it relates to public policy. For this Discussion, you will delve deeper into this relationship by exploring the role of a specific branch of law, called administrative law, in the public policy-making process. You also are introduced to rulemaking, an important function performed by administrative agencies, and its role in public policy. It is important to have a good understanding of both administrative law and rulemaking because both serve as a foundation for many of the upcoming weeks in the course.To prepare for this Discussion:

Review Chapter 1 in the course text, Administrative Law and Politics: Cases and Comments considering the importance of administrative law as it relates to public policy making.
Review Chapter 1 in the course text, Rulemaking: How Government Agencies Write Law and Make Policy focusing on the definition of and reasons for rulemaking.
Think about the roles of administrative law and rulemaking in public policy making.

With these thoughts in mind:

Post by Day 4 an explanation of the roles of administrative law and rulemaking in public policy making. Be specific and use examples to illustrate your explanation.

READINGS

Johnson, G. (2014). Research methods for public administrators (3rd ed.). Armonk, NY: M. E. Sharpe.
- Chapter 1, “Introduction: Research Methods for Public Administrators” (pp. 3–16)
- Chapter 2, “Basic Research Concepts” (pp. 17–33)
Hatry, H. P. (2013). Sorting the relationships among performance measurement, program evaluation, and performance management. New Directions for Evaluation, 2013(137),19–32.
Retrieved from the Walden Library databases.
Litman, T. (2008). Evaluating research quality: Guidelines for scholarship. Victoria, British Columbia:Victoria Transport Quality Institute.
Litman, T. (2012). Evaluating Research Quality Guidelines for Scholarship. Victoria Transport Policy Institute. Retrieved from http://www.vtpi.org/resqual.pdf Used with permission from Todd Litman.
Washington State Institute for Public Policy. (2004). Outcome of Washington state’s research-based programs for juvenile offenders. Retrieved from www.wsipp.wa.gov/ReportFile/852

Each question has to 300-400 words with APA citation