The six supposed stages of ‘the policy cycle’

1. Agenda-setting – identification and definition of problems and advocacy of action,
2. Policy formulation – specification of goals and choice of means for achieving them,
3. Policy legitimation – mobilization of support and enactment,
4. Policy implementation – mobilization of resources and application to goal achievement,
5. Policy evaluation – measurement of results and redefinition of goals or agenda, and
6. Policy revision or termination.

Vig, Norman J. and Michael E. Kraft (1984) “Environmental Policy from the Seventies to the Eighties,” in Norman J. Vig and Michael E. Kraft (eds) Environmental Policy in the 1980s: Reagan’s New Agenda, Washington D.C.: CQ Press. p. 546

Author: Milan

In the spring of 2005, I graduated from the University of British Columbia with a degree in International Relations and a general focus in the area of environmental politics. In the fall of 2005, I began reading for an M.Phil in IR at Wadham College, Oxford. Outside school, I am very interested in photography, writing, and the outdoors. I am writing this blog to keep in touch with friends and family around the world, provide a more personal view of graduate student life in Oxford, and pass on some lessons I've learned here. View all posts by Milan