This paper investigates the technical dimension of policy goals or their structural properties. The paper challenges the idea that policy goals can be conceptualized within a unidimensional hierarchy. It aims to contribute to policy theory by classifying goals based on systematic empirical research. Qualitative content analysis of 11 governmental strategies was conducted by focusing on the overlap of six technical features of policy goals: level of specification, mode of accomplishment, presence of time frames, quantifiable indicators, beneficiaries, and responsible actors. Based on the analysis, the paper distinguishes seven technical types of policy goals: broad, mode-centered, direction-centered, beneficiary-centered, actor-centered, semi-structured, and structured. Technical types of policy goals do not form a hierarchy with clear-cut levels, but can be placed on a continuum, from broad to structured, with the mixed types in between. This insight could enhance policy design theory by introducing a more sophisticated tuning of policy goals, potentially leading to better advice for practical policy planning and, in turn, to more successful policy implementation.

本文研究了政策目标的技术维度或其结构特性。该论文挑战了政策目标可以在一维层次结构中概念化的想法。它旨在通过基于系统的实证研究对目标进行分类，为政策理论做出贡献。通过关注政策目标的六个技术特征的重叠，对 11 项政府战略进行了定性内容分析：规范水平、完成模式、时间框架的存在、可量化的指标、受益者和负责任的参与者。在分析的基础上，本文区分了七种技术类型的政策目标：广义的、以模式为中心的、以方向为中心的、以受益者为中心的、以行为者为中心的、半结构化的和结构化的。政策目标的技术类型不形成层次分明的层次结构，但可以放在一个连续体上，从广泛到结构化，介于两者之间的混合类型。这种洞察力可以通过引入更复杂的政策目标调整来增强政策设计理论，从而可能为实际政策规划提供更好的建议，进而导致更成功的政策实施。