The conceptual framework for analysing two policies, poultry vaccination for HPAI and antiviral stockpiling for pandemic influenza in three countries in South-East Asia (Indonesia, Thailand and Vietnam), was adapted from Walt and Gilson (1994). Our retrospective analysis focused principally on the policy formulation process of the two defined policies. Policy content was determined through a review of policy documents. In the case of vaccination, though no explicit policy to vaccinate was introduced in Thailand, there was an explicit policy not to do so (Department of Livestock Development 2006).