Award Date
Summer 2009
Degree Type
Capstone
Degree Name
Master of Public Administration (MPA)
Department
Public Administration
First Committee Member
Christopher Stream, Chair
Number of Pages
33
Abstract
The purpose of this study is to investigate the use of policy analysis by planning and development departments throughout the Southern Nevada region. The data for this study was collected from interviewing eight planning and development department heads within various jurisdictions. The interviews consisted of twelve questions that were designed to explore the roles of department heads with respect to the policymaking process as well as whom is conducting policy analysis to assist in Decision-making. The main research question this study attempts to answer is, do Southern Nevada planning and development agencies conduct and use policy analysis?
The data was interpreted through qualitative analysis and conclusions were derived from the findings. The findings suggest that all the departments in some form utilize policy analysis such as GIS mapping, flow charts, gantt charts. The exact extent these organizations conduct policy analysis is unknown. However, it is speculated the amount of analysis conducted increases with the size of the organization. Although elected officials are the primary decision makers, they were not the focus of this study.
After summarizing the findings, limitations are discussed to explain challenges and obstacles encountered. The small sample size and inconsistent methods of obtaining interview answers are some of these challenges that could be addressed in future research. Additional suggestions of improving and expanding on the current study are discussed in the future research. Further research is needed to provide more comparable and universal results for Nevada
Keywords
City planning -- Government policy; Nevada; Policy sciences
Disciplines
Other Public Affairs, Public Policy and Public Administration | Policy Design, Analysis, and Evaluation | Public Administration | Urban Studies
File Format
Degree Grantor
University of Nevada, Las Vegas
Language
English
Repository Citation
Barlow, Dawn; Dillon, Shane; Hunsinger, Lynn; Lendis, Ted; Vidal, Neo; and Yada, Wendy, "The Use of policy analysis in southern Nevada planning and development departments" (2009). UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones. 831.
http://dx.doi.org/10.34917/2172404
Rights
IN COPYRIGHT. For more information about this rights statement, please visit http://rightsstatements.org/vocab/InC/1.0/
Included in
Other Public Affairs, Public Policy and Public Administration Commons, Policy Design, Analysis, and Evaluation Commons, Public Administration Commons, Urban Studies Commons
Comments
Appendixes attached