What is an Underpinning Policy?

Underpinning policies are at the core of change.

When there are several policies launched or enacted that link back to a single initiative, root cause or concept, this is the general idea behind an "underpinning policy."

What is an Underpinning Policy?

An underpinning policy is one that unites a number of other policies or actions back within a single effort. If the goal were to establish better education opportunities for a group of people, there might be many different policies put in place to achieve that. That educational improvement is the underpinning policy for all the others.

Example of Chile

Recently, an academic paper from the International monetary fund studied and tried to evaluate the economic boom Chile experienced within the last two decades. While there are many specific examples of why and how this occurred, the researcher determined that it was underpinning policies of "fiscal discipline" and "open trade" that allowed for the overall success.

Example of Security

Another study conducted on U.K. businesses saw that rising threats in information security required serious efforts on behalf of ownership and management. While many of these businesses had recently added security police to their worksites, the study argued that it would be an underpinning policy focused on technology that would provide the necessary safety measures.

References

• Chile: Institutions and Policies Underpinning Stability and Growth
• Corsaire: Security Policy