Eightfold Path

  1. Define the Problem
  1. Assemble Some Evidence
  1. Construct the Alternatives
  1. Select the Criteria
  1. Project the Outcomes
  1. Confront the Trade-Offs
  1. Stop, Focus, Narrow, Deepen, Decide!
  1. Tell Your Story

Get the cuantitative and cualitative data

Go whith the target population gatter mote info and suitch it into evidence and demonstrate it is a public problem

Ideas on how to solve a public problem, con 5 alternativas de solucion.

Crear tu Matrix of alternatives y decidir cual es la alternativa que es mas factible.

Decidir de acuerdo con la naturaleza del problema cual es la mejor alternativa.

Empezar a visualizar el resultado futuro

Evaluar los costos beneficios.

Para, enfócate, reduce, profundiza, decide. ¿Si es tan buena idea por que nadie lo ha hecho antes?

Contar tu historia

  • Evidence-gathering activity.
  • Include a quantitative feature.
  • Diagnose Conditions That Cause Problems

• Hustling data that can be turned into evidence -> takes much more time.

• Time pressure.

• Think before you collect.

• Review Available literature.


• “Policy options,” or “alternative courses of action,” or “alternative strategies of intervention to solve or mitigate the problem.”

• Start Comprehensive, End Up Focused

• Hit the target! Efficiency Equality, equity, fairness, justice

• Legality

• Political acceptability

• Administrative robustness and improvability.

• For each of the alternatives on your current list, project all the outcomes (or impacts) that you or other interested parties might reasonably care about.

• Confront the Optimism Problem

• Construct an Outcomes Matrix

• One of the policy alternatives under consideration is expected to produce a better outcome than any of the other alternatives with regard to every single evaluative criterion.

• Unless you can convince yourself of the plausibility of some course of action, you probably won’t be able to convince your client.

• Apply the Twenty-Dollar-Bill Test

• Get ready to tell your story to some audience.

• Apply the Grandma Bessie Test

• Give Your Story a Logical Narrative Flow

• Consider What Medium to Use

Some Common Pitfalls

• Following the Eightfold Path too closely.

• Compulsive qualifying.

• Showing off all your work.

• Listing without explaining.

• Spinning a mystery yarn.

• Inflating the style.

• Forgetting that analysis doesn’t persuade—analysts do.