Policy Reform

Imagine a group of people arranging themselves on a banca (an outrigger canoe). People are jockeying for the best seats, some get what they want, others have to make do with what they can get. They are willing to endure the discomfort because it’s more important for them to keep the banca afloat, stable, and moving towards a common destination. The way they are settled in their seats, let’s call it a political settlement. If the rules about their seating arrangement are written down, that piece of paper may be called a policy.

The agreement to sail together, the common destination, keeping the banca afloat - these are more important than other policies, such as how to manage waste, who gets to use the armrest, deal with health issues, etc. The first kind of agreements are called overarching policies, and are enshrined in the Constitution. The more detailed agreements are called subsidiary policies.

Sometimes a set of conditions makes life very difficult for a group of passengers, and to make things better for them, certain agreements would have to be changed. This is policy reform. Note that this happens in the context of the overarching political settlement - that is, changes in the law are sought, but still under the protection and rules of the Constitution.

Policy reform requires cognitive mastery of the subject matter - if you want to change something, you must know enough about it of you might be proposing changes that will just make things worse. It also requires maturity in social and political interaction. A policy reformer should understand what motivates people involved in a situation, discern and test a solution, craft a message and find a way to deliver it effectively.

If you want to seek the good of others, and you need to pursue policy reform to do it, write a theory of change based on what you currently know. What is the current bad situation that you want to address? What are the existing policies and context that allow this condition to happen? What policies need to change to get to a better situation? What do you need to do to have that policy introduced?

Then take small, inexpensive, immediate steps to test your theory. As you learn more, adjust your theory and your future actions. Go through this cycle of action and reflection as fast as you can. Progress might be slow at first, and surely there will be dead ends and frustration. Just remember why you started in the first place, the people you want to help, and keep moving.

What is the policy that needs to be put in place to make life better, for the people you want to help?