Policy Option Assessment

What the framework is

Policy option assessment compares ways of tackling a problem against the criteria a good policy must meet, such as effectiveness, cost, fairness and feasibility (examples; the template starts with five criteria). It separates two kinds of disagreement. One is about evidence: will this work? The other is about values: what matters more?

What the result looks like

When it earns its place

Use it when a council, NGO, member organisation or advocacy group must pick a position or a response from several options. It also fits consultations with a board or members, and policy teaching.

Two habits make it credible:

• Include doing nothing. Every option should have to beat the status quo, not just the other options.
• Say who weighted the criteria. A weight on fairness versus cost is a value judgement, not a technical one. Record whose it was.

How to run it with a group

1. Frame the problem in one sentence. List three to six options, including the status quo.
2. Give each option a short, neutral evidence summary before anyone judges it.
3. Rename the criteria to fit your problem, and agree their weights before judging begins.
4. Participants compare the options two at a time on each criterion. Participants do not need an account to respond.
5. Read the ranking per criterion as well as overall. An option that wins overall but ranks last on fairness needs to be defended in public.

More templates like this

• Participatory Budget

  Let a group allocate a shared budget across competing priorities. Each participant distributes a real total (e.g. €100,000,000) across the areas — seeing both the amount and the percentage as they go — and the results show where the group would collectively spend.

• Intervention Prioritisation

  Compare actions, programmes, or initiatives to determine which are most likely to create meaningful impact. Useful for policy, sustainability, social impact, organisational change, and systems improvement. The criteria can be changed, added to and weighted.

• Community Needs Prioritisation

  Compare community issues, challenges, and opportunities to determine where support or intervention is most needed. Useful for local government, nonprofits, healthcare, and community development. The criteria can be changed, added to and weighted.