Public policy affects every aspect of our lives, which is why it is often the subject of controversy and debate. It is a broad domain that encompasses government laws, rules, and regulations, as well as the way governments spend money and regulate the economy. The affirmative team will typically present a specific plan that fits within the resolution in question, and then argue why it is the best option for the future of the country or world. The negative team will question whether the alleged harms from the status quo are really serious, or suggest alternatives to the plan that might work better in this context.
The first step to understanding public policy is to understand the process through which they are formulated. This is a complicated process involving many different stakeholders and is influenced by social and economic conditions, the prevailing political values, and the structure of government.
There are five pathologies that are particular to complex public policy, and these are what make them so difficult to manage. These pathologies are why even policies that have the best intentions and the best experts, and do not suffer from corruption or incompetence, tend to fail.
To combat these pathologies, it is important to understand what the research says about the problem and how it might be solved. Implications are the effects that the research suggests might occur, and recommendations are the next steps that the research recommends. It is important to draw a clear line between your implications and your recommendations, because you want to be sure that your audience can see the link between your research and the action that you recommend they take.