Policy Analysis Paper Guidelines
Due Thursday, Thursday March 15 (hard copy in class and also in dopbox)
25% of your Final Grade for the Course
Students will prepare a 14 page policy paper (excluding title page and references) that identifies
their policy area, succinctly indicates key issues and implications, a theoretical approach using
the frameworks from the course (problem definition, institutions, interests, ideas) and presents
recommendations. Writing style will be diligently evaluated as students must be able to achieve a
high standard for written work.
Papers should contain the following elements:
– statement of the policy area and revised key issues and implications
– an application of the frameworks from the course
– key recommendations
– bibliography
Statement of the Policy and Policy Issue(s)/Implications
Identify the policy and succinctly explain the more specific nature of the problem you are
investigating. In other words, acquaint us with the subject area, but also make very clear the
more precise, proscribed problem you are researching.
Literature Review
Review the existing disciplinary and interdisciplinary literature that relates to your research
problem.
Theoretical Framework
In class we covered various frameworks of the policy process. Students should apply either
problem definition, institutions, interests and ideas in the analysis. If focusing on the
institutionalist framework, you must also include interests and ideas given that institutions alone
do not influence policy. If students incorporate specific criminology/sociological theories in their
analysis, then a link must be made between these and the frameworks covered in class. For
example, if a theory explains the nature of the policy issue, then the analysis must further extend
to include how that would lead to problem definition or how institutions/interests/ideas aligned
to ensure the policy was implemented or considered for implementation.
Key Recommendations
Following the full analysis, students are to present key recommendations. For this section,
students should make their recommendations as if they would present them to Ministry official,
policymaker, a key person specific to the policy being analyzed. As such, ensure that they are
realistic, feasible, relevant, unbiased (this is important). The key recommendations must be
made based on your analysis and not on your perception/opinion.
References
The style used for references must be APA with a minimum of 20 references. Media references
are to be limited to 3 references.
* Research papers will be assessed in relation to all these elements as well as on the basis of
prose style, clear organization and presentation. Please note: Professor notes should not be
used as a reference in the analysis given that all the information is in the readings.
BELOW IS A SAMPLE OF HOW TO ORGANIZE YOUR ANALYSIS �Policy/Policy Issue (approx.. 1pg).
Students will write a description of the policy and thesis statement. This is a revision and
addition from assignment 1 and 2.
Example:
Police have a long-standing history in responding to calls involving people with mental health
issues however evidence suggests that these situations are on the rise and continue to be an issue
for police particularly in light of high profile cases of police shootings (Lamb, 2003). The
Mobile Crisis Rapid Response Team (MCRRT) model began as a pilot project in November
2013 in Ontario’s Hamilton Niagara Haldimand Brant (HNHB) Local Health Integration
Network (LHIN), with formal launch on April 21st 2015. MCRRT involves a partnership
between a local police service, schedule 1 hospital and a mental health service to respond to
mental health and addiction calls through 911 dispatch, as first responders. It involves the pairing
of a CIT-trained police officer with a regulated mental health professional (nurse, social worker,
or occupational therapist) who ride together in a police vehicle and provide immediate, rapid
response to individuals categorized as “persons in crisis” (PIC). MCRRT responds to the call on
site and determines whether the situation can be resolved in the immediate community and
referred to additional supports, brought to the hospital or the police station. Using Kingdon’s
problem definition along with the 3i framework, this paper provides a comprehensive analysis of
MCCRT Model to understand why it is currently on the MOHLTC’s agenda. Particularly, I will
explore how the problem of police encounters with PIC came to represent a need for police,
health and mental health systems to restructure its response; the role that key institutions of
police, hospitals, community organizations came together to formulate a response along with
mental health policy legacies that attributed and limited the response; finally, I will examine the
ideas and interests that allowed MCRRT to be formed including public response around negative
police encounters with mentally ill individuals and the interests of all involved in the process of
formulating the response.
Literature Review (approx. 3pgs)
Students are to complete a critical literature review around their policy/issue by examining
academic sources and could include 1-2 key policy documents.
Example
For the example above, I would focus on literature around police interactions with mentally
individuals; police, health and mental health responses to these individuals.
Key Sides of the Issue and Implications (approx. 1pg.)
This section takes assignment 1 and 2 along with the literature review and should have revised,
succinct key sides and implications.
Theoretical Framework (approx. 8 pgs).
Here, students should now complete their analysis using the problem and 3i (institutions,
interests, ideas framework). Remember, that if you are going to use a theory (ex. criminological
theory), you still must incorporate into how it relates to problem definition and subsequently the
3i (example 2 from work in the class).
However, students can solely focus on problem and 3i if you choose to.Key Recommendations (approx. 1pg.)
The key recommendations should be thought of as if you are writing them to a policymaker
relevant to your particular policy. These are not opinions or personal beliefs. Rather, they stem
from having an in-depth understanding of your policy (or lack thereof).
The recommendations can be numbered BUT need to be in sentence form; you may look at
policy recommendations in policy documents. Additionally, for some, there may already be
recommendations in place and if this is the case, this is not a matter of copy and pasting
recommendations, they must be in your own words and revised.
Key recommendations should be single-spaced as demonstrated below.
Example
1. The Ministry of Health and Long-Term Care (MOHLTC) along with police and hospital
organizations should consider implementing the MCRRT Model throughout Ontario
given that it reduces the use of emergency department and institutions of criminal justice
while increasing the supports to PIC in their environment.
2. The MCRRT Model, while introducing the notion of people in crisis replaces previous
categorizations of these individuals as people with mental illness (PMI) and emotionally
disturbed persons (EDP). Given this new category, there is a definitional gap in who or
what situations include PIC. As such, the following definition is recommended…