Preface Acknowledgments Introduction PART I - THE EIGHTFOLD PATH STEP ONE: DEFINE THE PROBLEM STEP TWO: ASSEMBLE SOME EVIDENCE STEP THREE: CONSTRUCT THE ALTERNATIVES STEP FOUR: SELECT THE CRITERIA STEP FIVE: PROJECT THE OUTCOMES STEP SIX: CONFRONT THE TRADE-OFFS STEP SEVEN: STOP, FOCUS, NARROW, DEEPEN, DECIDE! STEP EIGHT: TELL YOUR STORY PART II - ASSEMBLING EVIDENCE GETTING STARTED LOCATING RELEVANT SOURCES GAINING ACCESS AND ENGAGING ASSISTANCE CONDUCTING A POLICY RESEARCH INTERVIEW USING LANGUAGE TO CHARACTERIZE AND CALIBRATE PROTECTING CREDIBILITY STRATEGIC DILEMMAS OF POLICY RESEARCH PART III - HANDLING A DESIGN PROBLEM IT'S A PRODUCTION SYSTEM CROSSWALKS FROM THE EIGHTFOLD PATH TO "SYSTEMS OF ACTION" DEFINE THE PROBLEM -> FOCUS ON A PRIMARY OUTCOME CONSTRUCT THE ALTERNATIVES -> CONFIGURE THE SYSTEM'S ORGANIZATIONAL STRUCTURE AND ITS OPERATING PROCESSES SELECT THE CRITERIA -> DEFINE THE OBJECTIVES TO BE A ACHIEVED PROJECT THE OUTCOMES -> TEST WHETHER IT WILL WORK CONFRONT THE TRADE-OFFS -> EXAMINE THE SYSTEM FROM MULTIPLE PERSPECTIVES DESIGN A TRANSITION STRATEGY PART IV - "SMART (BEST) PRACTICES" RESEARCH: UNDERSTANDING AND MAKING USE OF WHAT LOOK LIKE GOOD IDEAS FROM SOMEWHERE ELSE DEVELOP REALISTIC EXPECTATIONS ANALYZE SMART PRACTICES OBSERVE THE PRACTICE DESCRIBE GENERIC VULNERABILITIES BUT WILL IT WORK HERE? BACK TO THE EIGHTFOLD PATH APPENDIX A - THINGS GOVERNMENTS DO APPENDIX B - UNDERSTANDING PUBLIC AND NONPROFIT INSTITITIONS: ASKING THE RIGHT QUESTIONS APPENDIX C - STRATEGIC ADVICE ON THE DYNAMICS OF GATHERING POLITICAL SUPPORT APPENDIX D - TIPS FOR WORKING WITH CLIENTS APPENDIX E - SUGGESTIONS FOR INCORPORATING "BIG DATA" AND RIGOROUS SCIENTIFIC EVIDENCE INTO POLICY ANALYSIS REFERENCES INDEX