What Is Public Policy?
Essentially, public policy is a set of laws, guidelines, and actions decided and taken by governments in order to work in the interest of the public. The public policy includes a broad area of government laws, regulations, court decisions, government plans and guidelines, local ordinances, and the effect of these on the public.
Skills Required For A Career In Public Policy
A legal career in the field of public policy is a niche, engaging and challenging. Needless to say, employers look for specific skill sets while looking for policy-related positions. Given below are some of the basic skills that are mostly sought after in the perfect candidate
The core of public policy involves conducting extensive research on a variety of issues which may include primary research in which the researcher is directly involved in the data collection process or secondary research where the individual uses already existing data to suit his or her research goal.
Because most positions in public policy involve dealing with data, skills in quantitative abilities and an understanding of fundamental economics is always preferred by recruiters.
A large chunk of the work involved at a public policy organisation includes gathering large amounts of raw data and then processing it to draw logical conclusions that support ongoing research. Furthermore, policy monitoring is a process by which stakeholders follow and assess policies to ensure they are developed, endorsed, enacted, and implemented as intended.
As part of your position, you may be asked to engage with the public on policy issues through speeches or competitions. Consulting with the masses and gauging their inclination on a particular policy stance is, indeed, crucial for finalising policies prior to launch. This can be done through systematic public speaking which serves as a stage for recording public opinion. Moreover, you may also be asked to write policy speeches for a client. This may be similar to creating a persuasive speech that is designed to influence opinion on some area of public policy.
Public policy lawyers often work in high-pressure environments dealing with the latest legal and political issues. Therefore, it is important to keep oneself updated regarding the same and more importantly, cultivate a habit of reading extensively.
As far as legal careers are concerned, the field of public policy falls on the unconventional end of the spectrum and therefore the threshold of commitment is higher. One must be passionate about the field and what it entails. Recruiters usually look for candidates which have a strong interest in public affair issues in general or specific to a region.
The degree of oversight in public policy organisations is usually less compared to other legal workplaces. Therefore, candidates are required to work with a high degree of responsibility and diligence.
Tasks Involved
Among other tasks, a career as a public policy lawyer involves:
Legislative Assistance
A legislative assistant (LA) drafts and edits legislation, including bills, rules or other items. Other job duties include generating ideas for legislation and writing speeches to introduce new legislation to a committee or legislature at the state or central level.
Research
Research in a public policy organisation involves monitoring progress of research projects and coordinates information between departmental sections. Researchers perform a wide and complex variety of assays, test, and studies as well as highly specialized and advanced experiments.
Public Affairs
A public affairs specialist plans, directs, or coordinates activities designed to create or maintain a favourable public image or to raise issue awareness for their organization or client; or if engaged in fundraising, plan, direct, or coordinate activities to solicit and maintain funds for special projects or non-profit organizations.
Policy Monitoring
Policy monitoring involves-
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appraising the policy environment,
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gauging the level and quality of stakeholder engagement,
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documenting the progress of policy development and the legislative endorsement of policy,
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putting policies into practice through financing and implementation planning, and
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evaluating outcomes of implementation.
Why Should You Pursue A Career In Public Policy?
A degree in public policy is versatile and relevant across sectors. Employers in various industries are looking for professionals who can think critically about policy and program impact. If you are interested in working in the public sector, a public policy degree is an effective and well-regarded pathway to both political and non-political careers. Political careers include running for state and local office, working with elected officials, managing campaign operations, and assuming roles in legislative and political analysis, as well as events and communications.
Nonpolitical options encompass program analysts and administrators, public relations experts, and roles in local, state, national, and international government agencies. The nonprofit sector has always been a reliable employer of public policy graduates. In fact, in some graduate programs, the nonprofit sector accounts for most alumni job placements. In the nonprofit sector, public policy careers include roles in advocacy, policy analysis, government relations, and research.
The intersection of policy development and business decisions is evidenced in a range of private sector careers. Public Policy graduates working in the private sector can be found in government relations and policy roles as well as roles traditionally held by MBA graduates, including marketing, consulting, and communications. Further, if you are interested in social impact, corporate social responsibility, and advocacy within business, public policy is a strong pathway to apply for jobs in these areas.
In addition to this, due to the nature of policy-making, it is critical to contextualize technical skills within a framework of interaction, negotiation, and decision-making. As such, Public Policy students will also develop key professional skills such as leadership, collaboration, persuasive communication, and effective oral and written presentation. Typical courses include, ethical leadership, organizational behavior and management, and political communication. In addition to skills-focused coursework, Public Policy graduate programs often include required internship components and other hands-on co-curricular opportunities. As a result, graduates both learn and apply technical and professional skills throughout their programs.
Public Policy is still a young field in India that holds great potential. In a developing country like India, more and more citizens want a say in policy making, therefore the need for policy professionals is growing. A masters in public policy will enable you to do this and the opportunities are endless.
How To Get Started In A Career In Public Policy
Understanding Opportunities
Public policy as a diverse field offers ample opportunities across the three spheres:
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Public sector or governmental organisations
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Private sector which includes private firms working with the government or private stakeholders
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Non-governmental, non-profit, value driven entities
Once you decide which area you wish to work in, try and understand which policy issues interest you the most. For example, you may choose from varying issues such as agriculture, climate change, social justice, etc.
Educating Yourself On Public Policy
Needless to say, before you embark on a career in public policy, it is important to understand what working in the sector means and gaining all the relevant knowledge that will hold you in good stead. For example, it is important to learn:
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The relevant terminology that is commonly used in the field or the terms that are used in statutes, regulations, etc.
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How legislative and executive processes in the country work- for example, what is the journey of a new policy from concept to implementation, how budgeting or rule making works, etc.
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Key Governing Laws- for example, if your subject of interest is something that falls in the Concurrent List, you may have to familiarise yourself with the laws on the subject at both state and central government levels.
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Current issues being faced or policies under consideration
By becoming knowledgeable in these aspects, a candidate is able to increase his value to organisations and build his strengths as a top contender.
Understanding Your Skills And Target Roles
Public policy as a career itself offers a variety of roles and while you may be proficient in some, others may not suit you. It is therefore important to reflect on your skills at an early stage and determine the type of work you love doing the most. This clarity will help you determine which specific roles you wish to pursue. Some roles that are offered in a public policy organisation include:
You may take a few other factors into consideration such as which roles have more demand in India, which compensate better, etc. and decide accordingly.
Gaining The Relevant Experience
While knowledge is important, so is experience. In fact, public policy is one such field of work where hands-on experience is immensely valued. As a law student, you may choose to work with non-profit organisations or public policy think-tanks to get an idea how actual tasks are conducted and also to understand whether you are a correct fit for this sector. Internships are also immensely valuable in building the relevant skills and making valuable connections.
Leading Public Policy Organisations In India
The Vidhi Centre for Legal Policy (‘Vidhi’) is an independent think-tank doing legal research to make better laws and improve governance for the public good. This is done through high quality, peer reviewed original legal research; through engaging with the Government of India, State governments and other public institutions to both inform policy-making and to effectively convert policy into law; and through strategic litigation petitioning courts on important law and policy issues.
Official Website: https://vidhilegalpolicy.in/
All details regarding recruitment and internships are available HERE.
The Centre for Civil Society advances social change through public policy. Their work in education, livelihood, and policy training promotes choice and accountability across private and public sectors. To translate policy into practice, the team engages with policy and opinion leaders through research, pilot projects and policy training. CCS is currently India’s leading liberal think tank, ranked 5th in India and 83rd in the world by the annual study conducted by 2021 Global Go To Think Tank Index Report released by the University of Pennsylvania.
Official Website: https://ccs.in/
All details regarding recruitment and internships are available HERE and HERE.
The Centre for Law and Policy Research (CLPR) is a not-for-profit trust that was started in 2009 by Jayna Kothari and Sudhir Krishnaswamy. The organisation takes a multidisciplinary approach towards public interest intervention and legal research which is built on an ethic of social engagement and a rigorous and independent analysis of the law. Through their work, they aim to equip citizens to better evaluate their own socio-political contexts and improve access to justice to marginalised groups.
Official Website: https://clpr.org.in/
All details regarding recruitment and internships are available HERE.
The Centre for Policy Research (CPR) has been one of India’s leading public policy think tanks since 1973. CPR is a non-profit, non-partisan, independent institution dedicated to conducting research that contributes to high quality scholarship, better policies, and a more robust public discourse about the issues that impact life in India.
Official Website: https://cprindia.org/
All details regarding recruitment and internships are available HERE.
TQH is a Delhi-based organisation that was founded in 2017 with the express intent of working on complex public policy problems in the dynamically evolving Indian ecosystem. Set up as a consulting firm, TQH was conceptualised to bridge the gap that exists in the policy space. TQH works with a host of clients – both private and public – on challenging policy problems across a range of sectors. We also undertake in-house research to push the thinking on important policy issues being deliberated by the government.
Official Website: https://thequantumhub.com/
All details regarding recruitment and internships are available HERE.
Salary And Remuneration
Compensation-wise, the field of public policy pays well as one gains seniority and more experience. It is a rewarding field and there is more job satisfaction as compared to conventional legal roles. The salary of a policy analyst in India ranges between Rs 3.7 Lakhs to Rs 17.4 Lakhs with an average annual salary of Rs 7.0 Lakhs, according to Ambition Box. Also, according to Ambition Box, the average annual salary in one of the leading public policy organisations, Vidhi Centre For Legal Policy, is Rs 14.8 lakhs.
In order to know what avenues are open in this field, or what a career in this space would be like, we at LegalBots.in have interviewed Yash Agarwal[1], who works as a Public Policy Associate at a renowned social media platform. Yash also runs and leads ‘Public Policy India’[2], a knowledge platform dedicated to making Public Policy more engaging and accessible for citizens.
To read the full interview on Career in Public Policy, please click HERE.
[1] https://www.linkedin.com/in/yashagarwalm/?originalSubdomain=in
[2] https://publicpolicyindia.com/
