STRUCTURING A POLICY PROBLEM
Given the difficulty of defining real-world problems objectively and finally, and the necessity of moving quickly toward a policy solution, simplifying tech niques must be used. To produce information on the nature of and possible solutions to a problem, one must apply the "policy-analytic procedure of problem structuring," which Dunn calls the "most important but least understood aspect of policy analysis" (1981, 98).
In general, selection of an appropriate technique for problem definition depends first on a preliminary assessment of data trends, causation among variables, and relevant stakeholder positions. New information that can change our assumptions about these subjects will probably emerge during the process of problem structuring. In this event, the definition will change, but the tech niques for definition will not. Of initial importance to defining a policy problem is how likely it is, based on the information we have, that the problem can be structured for institutional action in the short or medium term? Dunn (2008, 79-81) suggests that policy problems fall into three classes: well structured problems, moderately structured problems, and ill-structured problems, based on their degree of complexity and interdependence.