Publications from ODSW Social Insights: Letters by DSW (Vol 2) | Page 93

Practice Issues
fate based on the notion that those who work hard and are self-reliant will
be rewarded with material success. Those who do not make it are in their
condition because of personal inadequacy, lack of effort or insufficient
skill. However, if the belief is that it is important to have a concerted effort
on behalf of common goals to correct the divisiveness that comes from
unchecked self-advancement, then it is necessary for the state to be more
interventionist. The question then is the extent of that intervention and the
role of the state in it. The conflict in values and beliefs these days happen
more in the area of identifying socioeconomic factors, addressing inequality
and disparities, creating opportunities and defining social justice. Whatever
it is, we all wear different lenses that are shaped by our values and beliefs
when we design, review or critique welfare policies.
The tension in policy making is often played out in the nexus of the state,
community and individual, where the question arises on whom a social
problem should be attributed to and with whom the responsibility in
resolving the problem should lie. To allow for a better discussion on the
responsibilities and roles of various stakeholders in policy making, one could
examine the process of policy making in terms of ‘values’ and ‘principles’ 3.
Some see ‘values’ as something more personal and lived out by individuals
and families, and ‘principles’ as rules and statements of aspiration. For
example, a principle can be lived out through different values. For example,
“meritocracy” can be a principle, while “rewarding talent” and “aiming
for excellence” are values. One way to demarcate the responsibilities and
roles of policy making is for the state to determine the broad principles for
governing and delivering essential services to meet needs and to enable civil
society to play a role in operationalizing values which may take on a variety
of expressions. By demarcating the role of the state and that of civil society,
the latter is given a role and the space to accommodate the increasing
number of players, thereby in the process, create more comprehensive
policy reviews.

Relevance of research in policy making
What then is the role of research in policy making if in practice, policy
making is a less than systematic process? We must remember that policy
making must try to be built on as much information about the problem
and on as many possible choices available as possible. As such, research
is a crucial aspect of policy formulation. Research, indicators and statistics
are important elements in policy formulation and planning, just as the scale
3

Values are standards of behaviour while principles are rules or beliefs governing one’s
behaviour. (www.oxforddictionaries.com)
92