Eightfold path (policy analysis)

{{Short description|Method of policy analysis}}

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The eightfold path is a method of policy analysis assembled by Eugene Bardach, a professor at the Goldman School of Public Policy at the University of California, Berkeley.{{cite web|title=Eugene Bardach {{!}} Emeritus Professor of Public Policy|url=https://gspp.berkeley.edu/directories/faculty/eugene-bardach|publisher=University of California at Berkeley}} It is outlined in his book A Practical Guide for Policy Analysis: The Eightfold Path to More Effective Problem Solving, which is now in its seventh edition.{{cite web|title=A Practical Guide for Policy Analysis: The Eightfold Path to More Effective Problem Solving, 6th Edition|author= Eugene Bardach and Eric Patashnik |url= https://us.sagepub.com/en-us/nam/a-practical-guide-for-policy-analysis/book255357 |publisher=CQ Press |access-date=4 February 2022 }} The book is commonly referenced in public policy and public administration scholarship.{{cite web|title=List of scholarly works referencing A Practical Guide for Policy Analysis|url=https://scholar.google.com/scholar?cites=4884126323094470718&as_sdt=20005&sciodt=0,9&hl=en|publisher=Google Scholar|access-date=6 August 2011}}

Bardach's procedure is as follows:

1. Define the problem
2. Assemble the evidence
3. Construct the alternatives
4. Select the criteria
5. Project the outcomes
6. Confront the trade-offs
7. Decide
8. Tell your story

A possible ninth step, based on Bardach's own writing, might be "repeat steps 1–8 as necessary."

The method is named after the Buddhist Noble Eightfold Path, but otherwise has no relation to it.