Eugene S. Bardach ’61, Political Scientist and Policy Analyst

Eugene S. Bardach ’61, a political scientist who contributed significantly to the field of policy analysis, died on April 24, 2026, in Oakland, Calif. He was 86. Bardach spent more than five decades at UC Berkeley’s Goldman School of Public Policy, which he co-founded with Aaron Wildavsky.

His most notable book is A Practical Guide for Policy Analysis: The Eightfold Path to More Effective Problem Solving, now in its seventh edition. Bardach prescribed a set of steps for students and political scientists to analyze public policy honestly and effectively, to achieve the ultimate goal of making government work better for citizens.

Born in Baltimore on March 20, 1940, Bardach earned a Ph.D. from UC Berkeley in 1969. He began teaching policy analysis workshops there in 1973 and went on to hold visiting professorships at Hebrew University in Jerusalem and the University of Chicago.

Bardach ensured his students engaged with real stakeholders in the public, nonprofit and private sectors. He coached more than 500 policy analysis projects, which had direct impact on real-world issues. He also held leadership roles in the field, including as president of the Association for Policy Analysis and Management.

Bardach’s eightfold path continues to be taught in classrooms and put into practice by analysts. His other books include The Implementation Game: What Happens After a Bill Becomes a Law; Getting Agencies to Work Together: The Practice and Theory of Managerial Craftsmanship; and Going by the Book: The Problem of Regulatory Unreasonableness.

“Gene was a brilliant and creative scholar: deeply learned and thoughtful about not just politics, but also history, economics and philosophy,” said Eric Patashnik, Bardach’s former student and co-author of the most recent edition of A Practical Guide for Policy Analysis, in Bardach’s San Francisco Chronicle obituary. “Never rigid or doctrinaire, he was open to good ideas no matter their source. Most of all, Gene was a first-class interrogator. For him, the study of public policy is all about asking questions.”

Bardach is survived by his wife, Nancy; daughters, Elizabeth Bardach Lawrence (Jeffrey), Rebecca ’95 (Eliot Goldstein) and Naomi (Jonathan Katzman); sister, Hessa Klasman; and six grandchildren.