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Useful Books and Links for Policy Analysts

The following are books that I have read and liked enough to recommend to others. Clicking on any of the links or book covers will take you to Amazon.ca from where you can purchase these books (Amazon.ca is a joint venture of Amazon and Canada Post). I have offered links to alternate editions where practical (soft or hard cover, and in two cases French translations). Enjoy.

	A Primer for Policy Analysis This was the text book for my policy course at the Kennedy School, written by two of the leading profs at the School. A good overview of policy formulation and a survey of various analytical techniques, although some of these chapters require a comfort with quantitative analysis and micro economics. Soft cover.
	Smart Choices When I rewrote my Policy Workshop in 2003, this book both validated my approach and gave me a few new ideas. The book provides a general decision-making framework, and illustrates the application of a series of tools. Problem is, some of the tools are just a little too quantitative for what is essentially a qualitative assessment. I would not recommend this book to anyone who has taken the Policy Analysts' ToolBox workshop since 2003. Also available in hard Cover (Up to a four-week wait).
	Making Decisions Many parents will be familiar with the format of DK children's books, and this small book is no exception. It is a very accessible book, with scores of illustrations and captions, built around a 101 ideas/steps for successful decision-making. I like this book so much that I give it away at one of my policy workshops at Health Canada. Version française
	The Regulatory Craft Subtitled: Controlling Risks, Solving Problems and Managing Compliance. I haven't read this yet, but it's by my bed-side table and the table of contents looks great. By another prof at the Kennedy School, so how could anyone go wrong reading this?

	The Tipping Point It is important for analysts to be mindful of how effective communications can improve regulatory compliance. The tipping point is the point at which ideas take off and develop a life of their own. This book explores the three key facets that contribute to "epidemics" of ideas: the law of the few, the stickiness factor, and the power of context. The book describes many fascinating case studies and group dynamic experiments. This book is wonderfully written and was a pleasure to read from cover to cover during my 2003 Cuba visit. Also available in soft cover.
	The Wisdom of Crowds If you ever doubted the value of larger internal working groups or of external stakeholders in producing better policy, you will find this book inspirational. The first part is better than the second, and there are some areas where the author goes round in circles, but it is a pleasurable and easy read and well worth the commitment of both money and reading time. As with The Tipping Point, the book describes many fascinating case studies and group dynamic experiments. A pleasurable read during my Cuba 2005 visit.
	Communicate Clearly Another DK book by the author of the DK book already recommended above. I haven't even ordered this yet, but it's worth a try. Version française

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