Establishing policy authority

The policy adoption stage, also referred to as “legitimation”, is about securing the necessary authorization to deliver the policy response. The type of authorization will depend significantly on the nature of the migration policy. It will also depend on which of the policy instruments considered at the policy formulation stage are needed. Processes for policy adoption are very context specific. Subject to the nature of the agreed policy solution, adoption can involve:

• Passage of legislation or other regulatory instruments;
• Approval by the executive arm of government including for the release of funds;
• Other necessary financial authority;
• Approval at the level of the bureaucracy;
• Signing and/or ratifying international agreements;
• Establishment of arrangements to govern implementation;
• Appointments including to decision-making or advisory bodies.

The policy adoption phase often pushes the policy into the political and public domain, particularly if new laws, spending approval or institutional arrangements are required and are contested. For this purpose, clear articulation of policy objectives and of how the programme is expected to work are needed, and if the work of the policy formulation stage – appraisal, dialogue, assessment, consolidation – has been done well, it will helpfully inform the policy debate. Briefing or explanatory documentation is most often required for this stage, with the format dependent on national practices for the passage of law and policy.