More on Sources of Public Policy

By recognizing responsibility-G1 people naturally participate in the 7 arenas of social/political commitment…

…which are sustained and developed by those who feel obligated to use pressure to make a difference:

In doing political work-G2, these political players become adept at using some of the 6 instruments of pressure…

…which are sustained and developed by self-interestedly taking advantage of emerging crises:

By using crises-G3, the political organizers aim for results using one or more of the 5 drivers of political mobilization… 

…which are sustained and developed by formally pursuing 4 sources of policy for government and society:

In commissioning inquiries-G4, government and society expect to benefit from 4 sources of policy ideas…

…now read on:

Other Arenas:  The inquiry is not specifically driven by group power-L1. It does not engage with official decisions-L3. Rule of law-L2 is not particularly relevant during the inquiry, and recommendations may or may not indicate new legislation.

Other Arenas: Think-tanks may be affected by group power-L1 e.g. their funding source, but their reports seek and claim to stand above society’s power-struggle as statements «akin to the truth». Rule of law-L2 is not an issue, and communal needs-L7 play no role given the emphasis on defining the public interest-L5.

Other Arenas:  Government departments or agencies are not defined by group power-L1. Moral institutions-L6 and communal needs-L7 may be referred to in statements in support of the policy ideas (i.e. as political pressure-G2), but they are not used to produce the policy paper.

Other Arenas: Vested interest proposals cannot consider the wider public interest-L5; they tend to avoid moral institutions-L6; and they have no brief to address the overall or general needs of the community-L7.

As should have been evident, a politically-motivated person cannot easily get ideas into policy documents. It is necessary to become formally part of one of the four systems that produce such papers. It is also rather difficult for an outsider to grapple with policy documents, once they are produced.

Formal inquiries ensure that methodical investigations of problematic situations in society are properly carried out. Issues around practically implementing recommendations are also usually considered. Read more about sound inquiry methods.

Policy documents once produced are available for comment from any interested group or person as part of consultation. However, studying and appraising the documents, often with numerous technical Appendices, is usually rather difficult, even for experts.

Appraisal is difficult because any worthwhile recommendations to deal with societal complexities are themselves inherently complex—which was why they needed handling in a formal way.

Powerful groups often have specialists employed to study policies, and their responses are naturally given due attention. Because a person does not exist for society, respect by authorities for any single person’s comments, however pertinent or wise, is usually negligible.

The method and people chosen for developing public policy often seem to determine the outcome far more than social realities, communal aspirations or practical possibilities.

Quite apart from any deliberate bias, ideological intrusion or deliberate sabotage, any policy recommendation based on inquiry will be affected by:

• the preferred and chosen method(s) of inquiry;
• mindsets about the proper relationship between the government and the public.

There may be limited awareness of either of these two psychosocial factors.