The McKinnon Policymaking Assessment Framework is a tool to measure the quality of policymaking processes across policies and sectors, intended to be used as both:

• a forward-looking guide for policy practitioners to guide policymaking processes

• a tool for post-hoc assessment of the quality of policymaking processes.

The Framework is based on our research into “what good looks like” in contemporary policymaking in Australia. The Framework accommodates the real complexity of policymaking processes and reflects the realities and context within which policymaking is undertaken. The policymaking process criteria can be tailored for different policy problems and policy types and applied across sectors and levels of government. Our Framework was used in policy assessments in the ‘How the Sausage is Made’ series.

McKinnon developed the Framework based on research and advice provided University of Technology Sydney’s Institute for Public Policy and Governance (IPPG), who were commissioned to develop a set of indicators of good practice in policymaking. McKinnon also worked with the Australian and New Zealand School of Government (ANZSOG) to refine these indictors into an assessment framework suitable for rating public policy processes based on information commonly available in the public domain in Australia.