The research on education philanthropy typically characterizes foundations as practicing either "traditional" or "strategic" philanthropy. These labels are used to indicate divergent ways of thinking about the impact of grants and approaches to grantmaking between the two models. Drawing on a theoretical framework informed by…

Agent-based models combine data and theory during both development and use of the model. As models have become increasingly data driven, it is easy to start thinking of agent-based modelling as an empirical method, akin to statistical modelling, and reduce the role of theory. We argue that both types of information are important where the past is…

Policy evaluation focuses on the assessment of policy-related personal, family, and societal changes or benefits that follow as a result of the interventions, services, and supports provided to those persons to whom the policy is directed. This article describes a systematic approach to policy evaluation based on an evaluation framework and an…

This paper seeks to clarify and spells out the responsibilities of policy makers to create the conditions for an effective accountability system that produces substantial improvements in student learning, strengthens the teaching profession, and provides transparency of results to the public. The authors point out that U.S. policy makers will need…

Support for producing systematic reviews about health systems is less well developed than for those about clinical practice. From interviewing policy makers and systematic reviewers we identified institutional mechanisms which bring systematic reviews and policy priorities closer by harnessing organisational and individual motivations, emphasising…

In this paper we describe the development and application of a research-based model for understanding the formulation and implementation of education policy. We draw upon research on policy implementation across a variety of contexts to create what we call the "high leverage policy" (HLP) framework. The HLP framework identifies three…

In this paper we outline an analytical approach to identifying points in the policy process where management intervention to adjust organizational design could enhance delivery of innovation policy over time. We illustrate this approach using an example from native vegetation policy in the state of Victoria, Australia. We then use this approach to…

Examines economic equation systems by describing the simultaneous equation model, its application to the economy as a whole, and a systemwide approach to microeconomics. The systems approach focuses on particular segments of the economy such as consumer spending. (Author/KC)

To help assess the consequences of food policies, the world's food system is being assembled into models. These models should help planners evaluate the impact of food-related policies and will try to account for the interactions of all food-related supply and demand factors. (BT)

A policy system design that can benefit from the dynamics of small group behavior without suffering from the adverse effects associated with group thinking, in which the members of small groups acquire a concurrence seeking tendency, is comprised of three subsystem functions: (1) a sub-system normative function which requires that small groups be…

A rationale for developing national systems of postsecondary education in developing nations is outlined, and models for public policy, legislation, governance, and institutional administration are presented. (MSE)

Noting limitations of applying corporation techniques to universities, the author develops a model of decision-making which utilizes marketing techniques within a structure designed to encourage, sensitively record, and facilitate the efficient implementation of policy politically determined by the collision of various interests in continuing and…

An account of planning's evolution at American University emphasizes the importance of building flexible working relationships among the various representatives of the university community and the planning staff, in support of the faculty-student relationship at the core of the learning process. (Editor/LBH)

Discusses conceptual models of thought that have recently emerged to confront the conventional approaches to analysis and solution to complex environmental problems. In addition to a critical attack on the tradition of specialization and reductionism, several models are summarized that originated from ecology, cybernetics, and system theory. (BC)

During 1974-75, a nine-month field study of the Michigan Department of Education (MDE) was performed. Researchers observed MDE members at work, attended meetings, conducted interviews, and read documentary material. Attention was focused on the MDE at a system level and on the top 30-40 persons whose actions both caused and reflected…