Sustainable Development: from Policymaking to Practice (Explaining the Model of Public Policies Gap in the Subject Area of Environment)

Among the major actions toward sustainable development is public policymaking that seeks to fundamentally address and resolve environmental issues. The purpose of this research is to explain an exigency model of the government public policy gap analysis in the subject area of environment. This is an applied research conducted through a survey. The statistical population included 121456 Iranian graduates with a master's degree or PhD in the field of environment. Of this population, based on the Cochran formula, a sample consisting of 384 respondents was formed, the individual members of which were selected using stratified random sampling. The validity and reliability of the measurement tool were assessed and confirmed using content validity (of face validity type) and Cronbach's alpha, respectively. The results indicated the dimensions of the link between organization policies and goals, community expectations and feelings, and reflecting stakeholders' views as relevant in the gap analysis model. In addition, the results indicated that the exigent policy gap analysis model of the environment had the required validity. The proposed model in this research which has been further improved by expert views may serve as an applied model for policymakers, practitioners, and executives of environmental policies, and particularly, the Iranian Department of Environment.