Examining Rationality in Policy Design

This study applies activities constituting rationality, organized through the global survey of rationality and its subsequent synthesis, to the context of policy decision-making: Read, Expand, Examine, Evaluate, Select, Act, Observe, Revise, and Regulate. It presents 20 questions and a recording procedure for examining policy-design discussions, and demonstrates their use with a digitally accessible primary text.The pilot applies every item to Howlett and Rayner’s (2013) article on policy portfolio design. Each item records the relevant passage location, the form of coverage, and a follow-up question. Statements in the source are distinguished from the assessor’s judgments. Assessments of an entire theory or actual policy performance require the corresponding evidence and analysis.The contribution comprises both findings from the pilot application and criteria and procedures that other researchers can use. Interested scholars can add evidence, adjust questions and scope, and review the assessment in relation to their own research. A NoteThis work connects a collaborative inquiry into rationality with policy-design research. The checklist and its assessment categories remain open to revision through use. The study presents what accessible digital materials establish alongsidequestions for further investigation.