Much of what agencies do during the implementation of policies may appear to be routine, mundane, or tedious—processing requests or applications, inspecting records, collecting information, writing reports, and so forth. Most people may have little or no awareness of what agencies are doing unless they are directly affected. Nonetheless, the consequences of implementation for the content or substance of policy, and for its impact and degree of success, are
every bit as important as what transpires during the formulation and adoption stages. Indeed, if implementation fails, then all that preceded was of no avail.