A neglected foundation for informed policy making

Hamid Siddique

Decision making is a science and research based information is its essence, as without good data, national planning is compromised, policy making and resource mobilization are hampered, and targeted interventions produce limited impact. So nation-states devise peculiar set of actions for governance to resolve the issues faced by mass public in a country.

These actions, if effective enough, help identify a ‘triple-win’ solution which considers economic, social, and environmental gains altogether. A good policy is the one that solves problems without causing political disagreements between parties and encourages active citizenry. However since birth, Pakistan has failed to present a sustainable mechanism or the commitment to implement and formulate effective public policies. This has resulted from a lack of vision and leadership, wide spread corruption, weak relationship between the community and institutions, and above all neglecting academia in policy making.

Currently, after the 18th Amendment, the responsibility of public policy making has been transferred to the provincial governments and they further can delegate authority, powers and resource to the local governments. These elected bodies are responsible for developing viable policies to address the public issues. But unfortunately, policy process is not really institutionalized in Pakistan. Decision-making is highly personal whether we’re transitioning to democracy or there is a dictatorial regime in place. In both cases it is the person who becomes more important but that does not mean that institutions do not exist. They do exist but are constrained to play an optimal role.

Though, Pakistan is now struggling under the  leadership of Prime Minister Imran Khan and institutions are regaining strength, still the policy making process lacks proper planning and management as is evident from the Peshawar Bus Rapid Transit Project. This is because of lack of evidence or informed decision making due to increasing lacuna among policy makers and public/ academic researchers. In order to develop a policy which will be owned and accepted by the people, it should be supported by sound professional intake and credible research. But unfortunately in Pakistan, there is a serious gap between policy-making and evidence collection. In a culture where research is not valued, whimsical, personalized and interest-driven decision-making becomes a way of life, uncertainty looms large on the continuity of policies as decisions without sound baseline information prove nothing but a disaster.

We must learn the fact that our universities are powerhouses of research. Academic knowledge, evidence and expertise can help inform, design, improve and test policies – ultimately make government decisions better, sustainable and more practical. Research and development plays strategic role in formulating and implementing the policies. Like one cannot simple formulate a policy or National Action Plan on cancer awareness and prevention without knowing the type of cancer prevailing most in a certain region, it’s symptoms, preventive measures and biological effects which basically are findings of academic research. But unfortunately, by many accounts, policy makers do not use academic research to its fullest potential in Pakistan which is due to sheer lack of coordination and communication. This is proving disastrous for us as Pakistan is today facing numerous national and health security threats; hence balanced policies are needed which can be formulated only through a judicious blend of academic and executive authorities. Such a coordination would fill the public-input vacuum in policy making, which otherwise is almost always filled by lobbyists working for personal gains or other vested interests.

This can be achieved via a spectrum of interactions, with government public servants/ executives engaging more closely with academic research institutes and utilizing their research findings in respective fields. Because I believe, both evidence and ideology are valid components of the policy process, so it would be more appropriate to rely on “evidence-informed” policies rather assumption-based decisions.