Discusses the need for organizing concepts with which planners can formulate goals or policies to deal with social problems. The literature on social systems is reviewed and five models are identified. Illustrations of planning problems to which each model would apply are provided, together with a discussion of the model's relative advantages and…

Any effort to change a complex social system should begin by constructing models and simulations of the problem and its social context. These will increase the likelihood of long-term success, decrease the chance of unexpected negative side effects, and help conserve scarce national resources. Models may be of three types: (1) prose models--which…

A framework involving five elements--cause, change agent, change target, channel, and change strategy--provides a useful framework for social action analysis. (Author)

An eight-course curriculum in social policy analysis which follows a policy analysis paradigm is proposed. The undergraduate curriculum concentrates on the ability to appreciate and operate under uncertainty; anticipation of interrelated, unexpected ramifications of new stimuli; understanding of the social construction of problems and their cures;…

Aspects are summarized of a current approach to social indicator research and related problems in policy analysis generated by an interest in isolating major sources of variability in the generation of human welfare and developing indicators associated with welfare-generating processes. A set of models being developed for indicator research is…