THE STRUCTURING OF GOALS AS A CONDITION OF EFFECTIVE POLICY DESIGN: ANALYSIS OF THE TECHNICAL DIMENSION OF CROATIAN POLICY GOALS Cover Image

STRUKTURIRANJE CILJEVA KAO UVJET UČINKOVITOG DIZAJNA JAVNIH POLITIKA: ANALIZA TEHNIČKE DIMENZIJE CILJEVA HRVATSKIH JAVNIH POLITIKA
THE STRUCTURING OF GOALS AS A CONDITION OF EFFECTIVE POLICY DESIGN: ANALYSIS OF THE TECHNICAL DIMENSION OF CROATIAN POLICY GOALS

Author(s): Anka Kekez, Nikola Baketa, Marko Kovačić, Ana Petek
Subject(s): Politics, Political Theory, Governance
Published by: Hrvatsko politološko društvo
Keywords: Croatian policy strategies; policy design; policy goals; structure of policy goals; technical characteristics of policy goals; qualitative content analysis;

Summary/Abstract: The goal of the paper is to contribute to the development of the empirical theory of public policies in matters of the quality of public policy design. The paper is focused on the goals of public policies which are the central component of the design of each policy area. The analytical framework is based on the distinction of seven technical types of public policy goals: general goals, goals focused on the way of realization, on the responsible actor, on the user, concretely focused goals, semi-structured and structured goals. The collection and analysis of data are guided by the rules of qualitative content analysis, and the objectives are investigated using 11 strategic documents of the Croatian government. In the examined policies, goals with general purposes dominate, as well as those with a smaller number of structural elements, which shows a lower level of operationalization of goals, poorer quality of preparation for implementation and connection with instruments, and a lower effectiveness of the design of Croatian public policies. The groups of analyzed policies differ, and the strategies intended for the target groups are better operationalized than those of the fundamental areas and specific social problems. The analysis of technical types of goals shows that the ratios between the frequency of their occurrence are a good indicator of the overall efficiency of public policy design.

  • Issue Year: 2023
  • Issue No: 20
  • Page Range: 155-179
  • Page Count: 25
  • Language: Croatian