During the process of policy development, it is only necessary for responsible parties to seek the input of as many individuals (within the population to be affected) as possible. This would be critical in ensuring that policies developed are intended to address the problems facing the population in question. As such therefore, public policy makers can incorporate scientific input in the development of strategy through a number of ways. This would ensure that the policies derived thereduring are a reflection of the best thinking available, and that such policies can truly address the real problems facing a population.
Vedung (2017) points out that scientific input can be sourced through several methods including surveys which would help policy makers access a large sample. Through this sample, a cross section of the views and opinions of the population concerned can be sourced and thus the resulting policies would be more likely to resolve problems addressed. Hallar and Gerrie (2007) in noting the importance of speedy decision making as regards policy formulation, note that absolute scientific consensus must not always be reached for decisions to be made. The application of survey as a method would go along way in ensuring this.
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Public policy makers can also apply the use of the descriptive research methods such as direct observation of the population to inform the process of policy development. This would result in representative policies that meet the needs of the majority of people within the targeted population (George, 2019). This observation may be carried out through focus groups made up of a highly representative cross-section of such population for which policies are intended thus increasing the probability of policy success. The use of focus groups, Mintrom and Luetjens (2017) observe, would greatly reduce the rigors of dealing with large groups, and thus make it easier to achieve consensus among populations for which policies are meant.
References
George, A. L. (2019). Case studies and theory development: The method of structured, focused comparison. In Alexander L. George: A Pioneer in Political and Social Sciences (pp. 191-214). Springer, Cham.
Haller, S. F. & Gerrie, J. (2007). The Role of Science in Public Policy: Higher Reason, or Reason for Hire? Journal of Agricultural and Environmental Ethics, 20 (2), 139-165.
Mintrom, M., & Luetjens, J. (2017). Creating public value: Tightening connections between policy design and public management. Policy Studies Journal , 45 (1), 170-190.
Vedung, E. (2017). Public Policy and Program Evaluation . Abingdon, UK: Routledge.
