Public policy, to put it simply, is whatever the government decides to do or not to do. Public policy education, therefore, should concern with what must or must not be done by the government, coupled with how it should or should not be done. Recent years have witnessed a growth in the public policy sector all across the globe and especially in the Asian continent. The United States has been leading this endeavour of public policy education for decades with its well-funded public and private schools, housed by the state of the art facilities and highly decorated faculty. In Asia, Singapore has emerged as the leading educator in the field of public policy with the establishment of the Lee Kuan Yew School of Public Policy in 2004 in National University of Singapore (NUS).
With the Indian government aiming towards maximum public service delivery, public policy education and training have become even more essential. It becomes important for us to produce more experts to a) formulate efficacious public policies, and b) effectively implement these policies. However, the present educational infrastructure for public policy training does not match the requirement and desire for trained experts.
This paper traces the evolution of public policy education in India and analyses the scope that the discipline has in the present context. It further analyses the need for such training, and of experts in general. Additionally, it charts some recommendations for public policy education in India.
The approach towards public policy education in India so far has primarily targeted those in the government and civil service since they are the ones who make decisions that affect groups of citizenry and public at large. While those who were conventionally expected to implement policies were awarded the opportunity to study public policy, the practice of policy implementation was often facilitated by social science researchers and research institutions, with the likes of IIPA, ICSSR, IIMs, etc. However, a near universal complaint of research institutes was that their research and findings were never utilised by policy makers – even when the studies were directed at specific policy issues or the evaluation of particular programmes and projects (Weiner, 1979). Interestingly, recent years have witnessed a shift in the locus of policymaking away from the state and towards civil society with the emergence of lobbies, pressure groups and policy think tanks.
Even though the government is the only authority at policy formulation and execution, the policy ecosystem is influenced by many stakeholders. The policy ecosystem consists of think tanks and academia, interest groups and industries, philanthropies, policy and government consulting organisations, grassroots organisations, and, of course, the Government. With such a vibrant interplay of players and actors that facilitate an evolving discussion, it becomes necessary that people from all walks of life ought to become more aware of public policy – design, formulation, analysis, evaluation and impact. The ‘public’ should be brought back into public policy so that it is not hijacked by technocrats or eco-crats who may not know or appreciate what matters to most people. Public policy is much too important to be left to policymakers alone, be they politicians, public servants, or experts (Sudarshan, 2019).
Things must not be looked at in silos. Problems of distribution, as well as the solutions that are consequently curated, are multifaceted and multi-layered. Hence, public policy studies focus on different social and political problems, which have multiple facets that can be illuminated by insights from various social science disciplines. Therefore, policy studies must fundamentally be interdisciplinary in their intellectual, pedagogical and practical capacities to be fully comprehended and appreciated as a social and institutional phenomenon.
An important element of public policy education is experiential learning. Hence, involvement in live projects becomes vital to gain all-round learning of public policy formulation and analysis. A complete education in policy requires a combination of knowledge, skills and temperament in a manner where the latter two do not just supplement the first, but act in their capacities as well. Unfortunately, people inhibit biases which unconsciously make them look at the world from a lens built out of their own experiences. However, as a policymaker, it is one’s duty to contextualise their learning to offer the best possible solution. Hence, we must rethink our idea of, say, development – one that goes beyond quantitative aggregation of monetary and physical resources. Public policy is all about making choices. In light of this, the inclusion of courses and academic programs on ethical reasoning and moral philosophy would serve as a, if not effective, then at least thought-provoking activity to inculcate the practice of deliberation over consequential and categorical reasons behind actions.
Knowledge of data science is another skill that should be factored in in the curriculum. These approaches all use data, programming, and statistics to infer meaningful conclusions about the world. Still, the term “data science” has some value, as it connotes a broader set of methods and data types than is traditional to the field of policy analysis. While many of these methods have existed for a long time, the proliferation of new and diverse data sources means this expanded toolkit should be more widely understood and applied by policy analysts. Many of the methods detailed below fall into the field of machine learning, but in this case, that terminology complicates the issue without adding much clarity. (Brookings, 2020)
The field of public policy is constantly evolving with the emergence of new discourses, some of which have been reduced to the status of rhetoric and propaganda. Emerging demographic trends at the national level such as urbanization and environmental trends at the global level such as climate change have redefined the contours of public policy and governance, posing new challenges for policy formulation as well as engendering debates on appropriate forms of governance (Kumar & Narayan, 2014).
This article discussed the evolution of public policy in India with the prime aim of maneuvering through the realities of public policy education in the country. While explaining the various stakeholders involved in the process of policy formulation and implementation, the article also highlighted the interplay of all these players along with the various disciplines and sectors they represent. The article went ahead to bring forth the shortcomings of the current state of public policy education in the country while acknowledging and appreciating the progress made thus far. It also listed some recommendations that could help flourish the sector further. Demand for policy experts is at an all-time high. This is compounded by the COVID crisis. Henceforth, it becomes important that policy training combines theoretical knowledge with on-field experience to equip future or aspiring policymakers with the required tools to furnish policies that benefit and inspire.
BIBLIOGRAPHY
Weiner, M. (1979, September 15). Social Science Research and Public Policy in India. Economic and Political Weekly, 14(37), 1579+1581-1587. Retrieved from https://www.jstor.org/stable/4367949
Weiner, M. (1979). Social Science Research and Public Policy in India: II. Economic and Political Weekly,14(38), 1622-1628. Retrieved September 19, 2020, from http://www.jstor.org/stable/4367972
Asher, M. G. (2007, January). Why Public Policy Education is Essential in India. Singapore: National University of Singapore. Retrieved from http://www.inpad.org/res102.html
Engler, A. (2020, April 20). What All Policy Analysts Need to Know About Data Science. The Brookings Institution. Retrieved from https://www.brookings.edu/research/what-all-policy-analysts-need-to-know-about-data-science/
Sudarshan, R. (2018, June 21). Why Study Public Policy in India? New Delhi, Delhi, India. Retrieved from https://highereducationplus.com/why-study-public-policy-in-india/