Public Information
As discussed by
Janet A Weiss
Background On Dr. Weiss
• Professor of Organizational Behavior and
Public Policy at Univ. of Michigan
• Widely published in academic journals on
role of information in the policy process
• Earned Ph.D. in psychology from Harvard
NHTSA: Click It or Ticket!!
Defining the Tool
• Influence people’s
thoughts, knowledge,
and behaviors
• Public Information
may be :
– distributed by the
government
– collected by the
government
Assumptions
• People are rational
• People will adjust their behavior based on
new information
• Information will reach the targeted
audience
• The information will be understood
Dimensions of Public Information
• Directness: info is very versatile
-may be direct or indirect
-hurricane evacuation or
financial disclosure statement
• Automaticity: uses channels created for
purposes (print, broadcast media,web)
-seldom automatic, used to counteract
info from other sources
Dimensions continued
• Visibility: seldom require large amounts of
money but are highly visible by public
• Coerciveness: mixed feelings
-govt dissemination of info seen as
non-coercive
-govt collection of info may be viewed
as highly restrictive to some
Catalog of Federal Domestic
Assistance
• Identifies three categories of federal govt
information interventions
1) Counseling or advisory services
2) Dissemination of technical info
3) Training
• According to CFDA, US govt has spent 5
billion – 7 billion per year on information
between 1979 and 1999
Samples of US policy
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Truth in Lending
Environmental Impact Statements
Hazardous Material Disclosure (OSHA)
Tobacco Warning Labels
Nutrition/Food Lables (FDA)
Freedom of Information Act
Policy Implementation
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Define target audience
Decide what info will be useful
Obtain the information
Deliver the information
Mobilize social and institutional factors to
reinforce desired behavior
When to use public information as
a governmental tool
• Problem is caused by information
asymmetry
• Targets of the policy are broadly dispersed
• Voluntary compliance is expected
• Broad agreement on desired outcome
• Target behavior is outside realm of
governmental action (vices, habits,
exercise, food consumption)
Public Information may be
ineffective when:
• Uniform compliance with the policy is
desired
• Problem is caused by lack of resources
• No information is available regarding the
problem (conflict of values or ideology)
Political Challenges
• May be used for the appearance of action
without actually delivering results
• May be cheapest alternative
• May be designed to “blame the victim”
• May not be completely honest or forthright
Evaluating Public Information as a
Governmental Tool
• Effectiveness:
1) Organizational Reporting-generating
specific info within an organization and reporting
it to an outside audience
-use of reports by external actors not
important
-organization will use own report to internally
improve agency (avoid criticism or controversy)
Evaluating Public Information as a
Governmental Tool
• Effectiveness continued:
2) Public Information Campaignsattempt to change what people think in
order to change a specific behavior
-difficult to measure effectiveness
(was message received, received by
target audience, message understood,
was action taken as a result?)
Evaluating Public Information as a
Governmental Tool
3) Labeling- designed to promote informed
choices under some consideration of the risk
involved (health and safety)
-research reveals a well-designed warning or
label does seem to be effective in reducing
risk taking and increase safe behavior
Evaluating Public Information as a
Governmental Tool
• Equity:
-may increase inequality between those
with access to information and those
without
-offers an opportunity to lessen this gap
• Efficiency:
-low cost of policy assumes efficiency
-efficiency not adequately analyzed in
literature. More research required
Evaluating Public Information as a
Governmental Tool
• Legitimacy:
-area of high debate
-information and a well informed public
is the heart of a democracy
-”tutelary power” of majoritarian
government will undermine freedom
(Alexis de Tocqueville)
Future Impacts/Conclusions
• Best used in combination with other policy
tools
• Focus should be placed on training
• Increased access to information through
technology will revolutionize government