The office of policy analysis in the department of the interior

The history of a particular policy office, located in the U.S. Department of the Interior, is reviewed from the standpoint of a long‐time participant‐observer. This office played an active part in the formation of federal policies with respect to the leasing of Outer Continental Shelf oil and gas, the leasing of federally owned coal, and the supply and distribution of federally controlled water in the west, but in many other areas the office was less involved. The article examines the factors that affected the level of office involvement and, more generally, the character of office interactions with the various parts of the Interior Department. The problems of sustaining long‐term agency support for a policy office and other issues with respect to the practice of policy analysis in government are discussed.