ISSN : 1997-1052 (Print)
2227-202X (Online)
 
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Dynamics of Public Policy Making in Bangladesh: The Case of the Environmental Policy 1992
Naznin Islam
Abstract

Public policies are the product of the interactions of many forces and factors within and out the organization; and the policy making process as such is to compromise with various indigenous and exogenous interests (Rahman & Islam 1995: 39). Policy outcome depends on the one hand on nature, interest, capability, technical knowledge, power of the actors and on the other hand on intensity of the importance of the factors, and above all on the dynamics of the role of these factors and actors. These actors and factors are playing a role at different stages of policy making such as: problem identification, policy demand, policy agenda, policy formulation and adoption, policy implementation and policy evaluation. In Bangladesh, an age-old “top down” approach is generally followed in drafting policies and plans of the government. Hired consultants, from home and abroad, draft a policy; views and comments are received from various ministries and agencies; are discussed in a number of inter-ministerial meetings followed by approval of the policy by the cabinet. Unfortunately, there is hardly any mechanism in place within the government machinery to consult the people, the civil society, the professional groups or the NGOs. But gradually the government has realized that popular support and opinion in favor of a policy would ensure better implementation. The government has also acknowledged that policy decisions cannot be eyed as close door activity. Policy is rather a collective one, it is the outcome of the direct or indirect participation of the government and non-government actors and these actors exerted influence on different levels of policy making. From this realization, the government is giving emphasis on to develop a proactive, participatory process to frame national policy. But there is no initiative to identify what is actually happening in policy making, which increased the need for independent research.

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