Five Mistakes to Avoid in Public Policy Design

Good policy design is deceptively difficult. It requires balancing political priorities, technical evidence, operational realities, and public expectations. Even experienced teams fall into predictable traps — but the good news is that every one of these traps is avoidable.

Below are five common mistakes we routinely see in policy design, and how organisations can avoid them.

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1. Starting with assumptions instead of evidence

Policy design should begin with curiosity, not conclusions. When teams rush to define solutions before understanding the problem, they create blind spots that are costly to fix later. Good evidence gathering reveals underlying issues, tests assumptions, and highlights unintended consequences.

In our work reviewing communications during the COVID-19 pandemic, we saw this challenge play out clearly. Messages that assumed public knowledge often landed poorly, while messages grounded in clear evidence and audience insight built trust.

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2. Designing for institutions rather than people

Many policies sound logical on paper but fall apart in the real world because they don’t reflect actual user experiences. Public services are ultimately human services. That means policymakers must understand how people navigate systems, what motivates them, and where barriers exist.

User-centred policy design — observation, interviews, small tests — leads to more inclusive and effective services.

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3. Trying to solve too many problems with one policy

Policy ambition is admirable, but attempting to solve multiple complex problems simultaneously often results in diluted impact. Focused policies supported by targeted interventions tend to outperform broad, unfocused strategies.

When we worked with a Caribbean political coalition on their joint manifesto, it became clear that consolidating and sequencing commitments — rather than expanding them — made the platform stronger, clearer, and more credible.

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4. Underestimating the importance of communication

Good policy is only as effective as the public’s understanding of it. If communication is unclear, inconsistent, or overly technical, people will disengage or resist. Communication must be built into the policy from the start, not added as an afterthought.

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5. Ignoring delivery capacity

One of the biggest reasons policies fail is that they assume capabilities, resources, or political conditions that simply don’t exist. Realistic delivery planning — staffing, funding, systems, timelines — is essential.

Successful policy design requires humility: knowing that the best ideas are grounded in evidence, shaped by people, and constrained by reality.

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Pull Quote:

“If people can’t use your policy, they won’t support it.”