Into the swamp: The analysis of social issues

Abstract

Prior analysis of the implications of public policy initiatives is commonly quite inadequate, and spectacularly so in recent government history. There has been a retreat from reason in public affairs. Until now Operational Research has largely failed to address or be applied to issues in the public policy domain. However, the new generation of problem structuring methods offers forms of analysis well suited to the environment in which public policy is formed. The quality of public debate would be much enhanced by a wider dissemination of analytic support. Cabinets, Parliamentary Committees, political parties, and a wide range of community-based groups could benefitin this way. A network of think-tanks and research institutes, whose inter-disciplinary basis would incorporate operational research, is proposed to provide the requisite analytic capability. © 1992 Operational Research Society Ltd.