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| Public policy is for people not policy makers |
How often has one come across the highly intelligent person with the brilliant ideas who can map out a series of steps and actions (A policy) and who believes that by actually undertaking that process that will be the end of the story. Things will happen, outcomes will be delivered, problems resolved, the job is done and the world is a happier place. The sheer brilliance of the idea and the intelligence of the person who formulates the policy will be sufficient to carry the day. Nothing else is really needed or so they think. The end is never achieved by putting forward brilliant policies and waiting for things to happen. We can never divorce policy from its implementation. A policy which cannot be implemented in the real world is not a policy it is a waste of everyone's time.
So what happens when policies which look really good in a ministerial briefing document don't come up to scratch? There are several potential causes. Policies may be prepared by people who do not know of, or who do not share the life experiences of, the people who the policies are supposed to benefit. They think that everyone thinks and acts like they do. When the policies unravel, they just do not understand why. Logically,according to their knowledge and experience they should work but they don't deliver the intended outputs and outcomes. This underlines the need for plurality and diversity not only in the types of policies themselves but also in the people who prepare those policies.
Diversity is not always evident in the higher echelons of government policy making professionals and that is a great shame. Another important point about a lack of diversity in these areas is that people of the same background with the same experiences and the same cultural outlooks will, yes you've guessed it, approach the resolution of social problems and challenges in very similar ways. Other people outside this magic circle of achievement will not get a look in which is always a great shame and also can contribute to policies which look good on paper,never working in practise.
There is also the cultural barrier, these bright people who come up with wonderful ideas about how to resolve problems and challenges are often not the type of person who likes getting their hands dirty or who wants to get things done. They prefer to think about things rather than do them. A lot of people are very intelligent and talented but that in itself does not make them effective. The cultural divide also expresses itself in the fact that very often, these people look down on the grunts who are supposed to make these splendid ideas work. The plumbers who are there to ensure that the water flows through the pipes. Yet without the plumbers doing their job effectively -- no policy will ever succeed and the policy wonks must learn to love and respect the plumbers but this does not always happen.
What about testing policies out before they are implemented? If there is a policy idea then has it worked in another setting? If not why not? If yes then is the setting comparable with our own living environment or not? Can we make these judgements if a policy appears to have worked in a setting but that setting is very different to the life we lead? If the policies have not been tested in other settings then can we pilot them in our own setting? Will we learn from that and apply the lessons to make sure we do not make mistakes we could have avoided at the outset? Will the lessons be learnt in time?
The UK tax credits system is a good example of where things go wrong. Policy makers assumed that all recipients of tax credits would easily be in a position to undertake an annual reckoning with the HMRC and settle any anomalies. Sounds really sensible until one digs a bit deeper and finds out that people who are struggling with their finances live from week to week and even day to day. They are not in such a good place to do a logical annual tax credit reckoning up because many of them lead unstable and chaotic lives, lives that are very different from the policy makers who dreamt up the policies in the first place.
Practical application is the key here -- will the policies work and have they been properly tested. We need to do this more and more so that we can solve policy challenges in a better way.
Good ideas are important but so are the plumbers who make them work if they have been proved to be workable in ther first place. We cannot forget that.
Diversity is not always evident in the higher echelons of government policy making professionals and that is a great shame. Another important point about a lack of diversity in these areas is that people of the same background with the same experiences and the same cultural outlooks will, yes you've guessed it, approach the resolution of social problems and challenges in very similar ways. Other people outside this magic circle of achievement will not get a look in which is always a great shame and also can contribute to policies which look good on paper,never working in practise.
There is also the cultural barrier, these bright people who come up with wonderful ideas about how to resolve problems and challenges are often not the type of person who likes getting their hands dirty or who wants to get things done. They prefer to think about things rather than do them. A lot of people are very intelligent and talented but that in itself does not make them effective. The cultural divide also expresses itself in the fact that very often, these people look down on the grunts who are supposed to make these splendid ideas work. The plumbers who are there to ensure that the water flows through the pipes. Yet without the plumbers doing their job effectively -- no policy will ever succeed and the policy wonks must learn to love and respect the plumbers but this does not always happen.
What about testing policies out before they are implemented? If there is a policy idea then has it worked in another setting? If not why not? If yes then is the setting comparable with our own living environment or not? Can we make these judgements if a policy appears to have worked in a setting but that setting is very different to the life we lead? If the policies have not been tested in other settings then can we pilot them in our own setting? Will we learn from that and apply the lessons to make sure we do not make mistakes we could have avoided at the outset? Will the lessons be learnt in time?
The UK tax credits system is a good example of where things go wrong. Policy makers assumed that all recipients of tax credits would easily be in a position to undertake an annual reckoning with the HMRC and settle any anomalies. Sounds really sensible until one digs a bit deeper and finds out that people who are struggling with their finances live from week to week and even day to day. They are not in such a good place to do a logical annual tax credit reckoning up because many of them lead unstable and chaotic lives, lives that are very different from the policy makers who dreamt up the policies in the first place.
Practical application is the key here -- will the policies work and have they been properly tested. We need to do this more and more so that we can solve policy challenges in a better way.
Good ideas are important but so are the plumbers who make them work if they have been proved to be workable in ther first place. We cannot forget that.
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