The philosophy behind the SDGs is that the overarching objective of enhancing "development" can be broken down into a set of clearly defined goals: ending world poverty, minimising hunger, and so forth. The policy sciences, on the other hand, are an approach to understanding and solving problems, which focuses on identifying the policy mechanisms through which a given problem can be solved: for a full description, see http://www.policysciences.org.

I am not aware of studies explicitly linking policy sciences to the SDGs. However I would argue that the connection between the two is clear, as the SDGs set the targets for a world without poverty, and the policy sciences "map" the mechanisms through which this can be achieved. There are a few studies that have done so already, creating visual maps of the processes through which policy can be tailored to optimise development. Two papers that trace the mechanisms very clearly are the following:

- Avgerou, C. (2013). Explaining trust in IT-mediated elections: A case study of e-voting in Brazil. Journal of the Association for Information Systems, 14(8), 420.

- Heeks, R. (2005) ICTs and the MDGs: On the wrong track. Working paper, Institute for Development Policy and Management, University of Manchester. Available at http://www.seed.manchester.ac.uk/medialibrary/IDPM/working_papers/di/di_sp07.pdf

The first paper traces mechanisms between policy (of technology) and a more trustworthy government, leading to poverty reduction. The second looks at the panacea of technology for development, and looks at different reasons why this policy mechanism does not always work. Both papers make a great example of the link between public policy and the SDGs.

Best of luck with your research, and if you have any problems accessing any of the papers, please send me a private message!

Silvia

Dear Dr. Sandy:

The policy sciences is used as an umbrella term describing a broad-gauge intellectual approach applied to the examination of a societally critical problems (de Leon, n.d.). Lasswell and Lerner coined the term in 1951 to depict policies as an answer in solving societal problems (Ibid.). Allen (1978) as cited by Ongkiko & Flor (2006), emphasized the use of the plural form sciences to mark the interdisciplinary nature of this field. The Sustainable Development Goals on the other hand, were formed in 2015 to end poverty, protect the planet, and ensure prosperity for all (United Nations, 2016). The seventeen sustainable development goals has specific targets to be achieved over the next 15 years (Ibid.). Policy sciences creates the ways through which the SDGs may be served. It should however, have a “heart”.

The Philippine archipelago has a vast land area, and is divided by three islands; Luzon, Visayas, and Mindanao. In pursuing the Sustainable Development Goals, our innate reliance to government should be changed. More importantly, this one-sided worldview is a hindrance for cooperation, pro-activeness, and development to grow. Communities should mobilize, down to the micro level. Next, drafting a communications plan with a good foundation in research, will yield helpful information valuable for analysis. Some important factors to first consider:

a. What is the current needs pertaining to each of the SDGs in our community?

b. Do we need new policies to cover our Sustainable Development Goals?

c. What are our existing policies covering each of the 17 SDGs?

d. Are the existing policies still applicable?

e. If yes, why aren’t these policies followed?

f. If no, when are we submitting policies to cover each of the 17 SDGs?

The first goal is the eradication of all forms of poverty in all parts of the World. The United Nations (2016) website forwards, “Poverty is more than the lack of income and resources to ensure a sustainable livelihood. Its manifestations include hunger and malnutrition, limited access to education and other basic services, social discrimination and exclusion as well as the lack of participation in decision-making.” Decision-making in policy sciences involves all stakeholders, thus the voice clouded by age, gender, or even status may be heard. Fraser and Villet (1994) takes on a relevant point when they wrote, “A political and executive decision that development must reflect the true needs of people, and involve them every step of the way - this is the starting-point.”

Policy sciences is still a relevant tool in achieving the SDGs through the policies created in answering the call for the improvement of the quality of lives. However, I propose that policy sciences should be accompanied by a Heart specifically, that of Development Communication. The social conscience (Quebral, 1975) is needed alongside policies in addressing the SDGs per country, down to the sitio levels. Following the ADB Communication Policy (2016), the following may be useful in fulfilment of the SDGs through Policy Sciences and Development Communication work:

1. Partnership

     Involving everyone.

2. Grassroots

     Knowledge and awareness propagation.

3. Transparency

     The “What, Who, Why, When, Where, and How” are clear.

4. Establishing Ties

     How we can be of help.

5. Mitigating conflicts

     Resolving disputes, and misunderstanding NOT to alienate anyone.

6. Review Panels

     Evaluation for correcting mistakes, and propose improvements.

7. Availability of documents

     Information sharing, and look-up.

~aiks

Irene Abigail S. Guerrero

Sources:

Fabrizio, S. et al. (2015 September). From Ambition to Execution: Policies in Support of Sustainable Development Goals. Retrieved from https://www.imf.org/external/pubs/ft/sdn/2015/sdn1518.pdf on March 5, 2016.

Lerner, D. & Lasswell, H. (1951). The Policy Sciences. Stanford, CA: Stanford University Press

de Leon. (n.d.) Chapter 1. Advice and Consent: The Development of Policy Sciences. Retrieved from https://www.russellsage.org/sites/all/files/deLeon_Chap1.pdf on March 6, 2016.

United Nations. (2016). The Sustainable Development Goals. Retrieved from http://www.un.org/sustainabledevelopment/sustainable-development-goals/ on March 5, 2016.

Fraser, C. & Villet, J. (1994). A New Agenda for Communication in Development: Lessons from Past Experience. Communication: A Key to Human Development. Retrieved from http://www.fao.org/docrep/t1815e/t1815e03.htm on March 5, 2016.

Public Communications Policy. (2016). Asian Development Bank. Retrieved from http://www.adb.org/site/disclosure/public-communications-policy on February 25, 2016.

Quebral Nora C. (1975), Development Communication; Where Does it Stand Today, Media Asia, Vol. 2 (4), p. 198. Retrieved from https://books.google.com.ph/books?redir_esc=y&id=8esiAAAAMAAJ&focus=searchwithinvolume&q=development on March 6, 2016.

Hi Dr. Flor,

The Sustainable Development Goals, officially known as Transforming Our World: The 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development were launched on September 25, 2015 and covered a broad range of sustainable development issues. These issues include ending poverty and hunger, improving health and education, making cities more sustainable, combating climate change, and protecting oceans and forests.

The agenda is a plan of action for people, planet and prosperity. It seeks to strengthen universal peace in larger freedom. It aims to free the human race from the tyranny of poverty and heal and secure our planet. It’s a collective journey which is needed to shift the world on to a sustainable and resilient path. The SDGs are composed of 17 goals which seek to realize the human rights of all and to achieve gender equality and the empowerment of all women and girls. They balance the three dimensions of sustainable development: the economic, social and environmental.

Does the policy science narrative introduced more than half a century ago jive with today’s SDGs narrative which were launched only a year ago? Are the policy sciences still relevant tools in achieving the SDGs? The answer to these two questions is a resounding yes!

The SDGs can be met within the framework of global partnership supported by the concrete policies and actions of nations and stakeholders. Each country has to implement robust national policies and development strategies for its own economic and social development. Each nation has to develop its own policy space and leadership to implement policies for poverty eradication and sustainable development. All stakeholders have to commit to pursuing policy coherence and an enabling environment for sustainable development at all levels and by all actors, and to reinvigorating the global partnership for sustainable development.

Policy science, according to “policysciences.org” is defined as an approach to understanding and solving problems. Whether the problems are local, national, regional or planetary, the policy sciences provide an integrated and comprehensive set of procedures for addressing them in ways that help to clarify and secure the common interest. Its fundamental goal is to advance human dignity and freedom for all. National and international communities have to rely significantly on policy makers to make sustainable policies in order for SDGs to be effective. The stakeholders will be challenged to create systemic understandings with policy relevance at local, national, and international levels. Indeed, policy sciences are still relevant tools to achieving the SDGs.

Is there an existing literature to support the relevance of policy science to SDGs? Yes, there is. One of them is a report entitled: The Role of Science, Technology and Innovation Policies To Foster The Implementation of the SDGs.” The corporate authors are the European Commission and the Directorate-General for Research and Innovation. This expert group gives recommendations, both in terms of general policy orientations and areas of engagement, for STI (science, technology & innovation) policy to contribute to the implementation and success of its goals and targets.

References:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sustainable_Development_Goals

http://www.un.org/sustainabledevelopment/sustainable-development-goals/

https://sustainabledevelopment.un.org/?menu=1300

http://www.undp.org/content/undp/en/home/sdgoverview/post-2015-development-agenda.html

The Sustainable Development initiative and in fact any development initiative will depend upon the private sector and the financial markets to provide the capital to bring about this critical change.   It will be economic drivers in efficiency and value that will ultimately lead to real change.  Policy theory and political discussion precede technological change essential to progress.  Technological innovation is often a catalyst to this change.  The vehicle by which we communicate right at this moment is an excellent example of my point.  The internet is the latest in a series of essential technological milestones which enabled the discussion to proceed.  

It is not an east, west, north or south discussion any more, it is global.  It is a trend and it is driven by innovation.  This is also the core of the "City of the Future" discussion being put forth by the White House in Washington, DC.  The current state of evolution of our community "sustainability" is the aggregate of technological milestones that evolved over their own timelines.  Water, wastewater, energy, transportation, and now data.  Due to this fact the systems, which are in place grew is isolation rather than as a part of a larger system.  The "City of the Future" envisions a holistic integrated approach to sustainable infrastructure development reducing the subset costs proportionately driving the value proposition to bring about an evolution that is also driven by economic reality rather than theory or political will.   My current focus is in complex infrastructure systems integration dynamics.   There need to be forces in play to drive change, economic collapse, crisis states in environmental decline or global threats like resource depletion or global climate change drive policy  discussions,  financial resources  bring about physical progress.    

There is hope, there is a new venue on the financial market that is intended to address, at least in part, this is known as social impact investing.  In this developing scenario socially responsible investors target investments which provide additional social values in the finance decision matrix including such components of social benefit or climate change impact which captures value in the form of beneficial impacts from the investment such as sustainability rather than a pure return on equity and risk avoidance focus.    This is an important new venue that is influencing investments in technology and economic development investments globally.  It is gaining momentum with family funds and boutique investors, as well as a segment of the large portfolio companies learning how to add impact investing to their portfolio.  The idea is doing well by doing good.   This is actually a very exciting time.   

Social Impact investing with an interest rate of 27 per cent in most of the developing countries.

Hi, Dr. Flor,

For me, in general, the principles and processes of Policy Sciences, despite the fact that these were introduced more than half a century ago, are still highly relevant to the pursuit of the current Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), but their impact to the achievement of the goals depends on the type of decision-making approaches and their implementation in which the various stakeholders would play great roles. As a field, the very aim of policy sciences is to help understand and solve problems (Policysciences.org, n. d.) by improving policymaking processes to help people make better decisions and to provide “lead time” as necessary in the solution of societal problems (Flor, 1991; Policysciences.org, n. d.). Policy Sciences are concerned with knowledge of and in the decision processes of the public and civic order. Knowledge of the decision process implies systematic, empirical studies of how policies are made and put into effect (Lasswell, 1971). If the principles are properly employed, the policy sciences provide an integrated and comprehensive set of procedures for addressing the problems in ways that help to clarify and secure the common interest. These integrated and comprehensive set of procedures, or policies, as long as they are systematically crafted and implemented, can be used to achieve the SDGs.

The new Goals, according to the United Nations (2016), are unique as they call for action by all countries (poor, rich, and middle-income) to promote prosperity while protecting the planet. They recognize that ending poverty must go hand-in-hand with strategies that build economic growth and addresses a range of social needs including education, health, social protection, and job opportunities, while tackling climate change and environmental protection (UN, 2016). At a first glance, the SDGs appear to be very “ambitious visions” in a sense that they literally aim for “perfection” which, in my opinion, is very difficult to achieve given the diverse and pluralistic nature of the world, but they can be achieved little by little with proper decision-making and willpower of the various policymakers and leaders and the cooperation of the different stakeholders. The implementation and success of the SDGs highly rely on the various countries’ own sustainable development policies, plans and programs (UN, 2016), hence, the cooperation and active participation of the stakeholders in the different countries is sought for the realization of this common goal. In the achievement of this goal, the role of the policymakers (or policy scientists) and the leaders is very crucial as they are expected to be committed (Lasswell, 1971) and be capable of scientifically designing, formulating, analyzing, and evaluating policies, and studying the policy making process itself (Flor, 1991).

While there may be limited number of studies that directly linked the relevance of policy sciences in the achievement of the SDGs, several conference and workshop outcomes and reports looked into the contribution of science and policy process in the attainment of the SDGs. For instance, the conference held in Sweden in November 2015 entitled “Scientific Support for Policy Making in Sustainable Development: Joining Forces” gathered young academicians, renowned researchers and policy experts to discuss on the role of science on the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and more particularly how science can support policy making in sustainable development. Underlined here was the “need for strong integration of the natural sciences with social and human sciences policy making in order to evaluate the 'implementability' of policy options and to form well-rounded policy decisions that take into account the local cultural context” (European Commission, 2015, p.5). Meanwhile, a workshop on the Institutional Architecture for the Science-Policy Interface on the Sustainable Development Goals held in New York in June 2015 discussed and addressed questions on the role of scientific knowledge for SDG implementation. Agreed herein was the role of science to inform policymakers to ensure evidence-based decision making. The participants acknowledged the need of curricula to include complex systems thinking (which, I argue, is essential in Policy Sciences). The workshop, however, disclosed the problem of providing policy-relevant advice that is not policy prescriptive, given that both scientists and policy makers continuously develop new meanings and interpretations of language that lead to confusion and misunderstanding (Earth System Governance, 2015). Other systematic inquiries looked into the significance of science and scientific technologies in supporting the attainment of the Goals.

The 17th Goal, “Partnerships for the Goals” which highlights the need to strengthen the means of implementation and revitalize the global partnership for sustainable development (UN, 2016), calls for a holistic approach in viewing the specific societal issues contained in the goals and come up with sound policies. In the Philippine context, in my opinion, the achievement of the goals depends on the kind of policies and actions/strategies on sustainable development that our policy scientists and the future administration will have in the coming years and the level of support of the various stakeholders to the implementation of these policies. In order to achieve such goals, everyone must act!

References:

Earth System Governance. (2015). Briefing note on the Workshop on the Institutional Architecture for the Science-Policy Interface on the Sustainable Development Goals. Retrieved online from http://www.iisd.ca/sdgs/science-policy-interface-workshop/brief/brief_sdg_spi.html

European Commission. (2015). Scientific Support for Policy Making in Sustainable Development: Joining Forces. Retrieved online from https://ec.europa.eu/jrc/sites/default/files/20151116-17-gya-background_en.pdf

Flor, A. G. (1991). Development Communication and the Policy Sciences. Journal of Development Communication. Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia: Asian Institute of Development Communication. Retrieved as PDF.

Lasswell, H. D. (1971). A Pre-view of Policy Sciences. Elsevier. Retrieved online from http://www.policysciences.org/classics/preview.pdf

Policyscience.org. (n. d.). Policy Sciences. Retrieved online from http://www.policysciences.org/

United Nations. (2016). The Sustainable Development Agenda. Retrieved online from http://www.un.org/sustainabledevelopment/development-agenda/

Colleagues of me joined the 2015 Workshop in New York and in a paper presented there even my work on measuring a National Commons Product by using aggregated data has been mentioned.

Don't forget that the SDG are a product based on a wrong estimate of the majority of countries. This wrong estimate (redundancy, unilateral bias) is produced by political scientists of Harvard, MIT, Columbia, LSE and you can proof it in the Global Index Benchmark that I include.

So Political Sciences had an Impact on providing SDG by making them a unilateral biased statement on the agenda of a few Western countries.

By chance there are some scientists remarking this.

Does the policy sciences narrative jive with today's Social Development Goal (SDG) narrative? Regardless of the degree of relevance, and regardless of the criticisms on policy sciences, the answer should be a resounding, YES! At least, in most written text and social development initiatives. This is not to say that all SDGs have been completely successful in alleviating social problems. Some success should be good enough rather than having no success at all. Most SDGs hope to elevate and support the improvements of human conditions such as working on education, livelihood, water, safe environment, and aiming to address other societal evils such as human trafficking, domestic violence, sexual abuse, addressing poverty, etc.   

When there is a talk about policy sciences, there would always be a reference to Lasswell. Thus, some scholar will tend to analyze Lasswell’s work and ideas, in relation to policy sciences. For instance, Nick Turnbull (2008, p. 9) wrote:

“What has been the experience in practice? Over the last few decades many scholars have examined the use of scientific knowledge in policymaking (see Brooks and Gagnon, 1990; Wagner et al., 1991a; Weiss, 1977). Despite the great volume of social science developed for policymaking many researchers have concluded that social science has had mixed or even little success in influencing policy solutions (Jenkins-Smith, 1990: p. 47; Rein and Schön, 1977: p. 235).”

Turbull provided supported to his analysis by arguing further that:

“The idea that analysis is used to solve problems has been debunked as a ‘problem solving myth’ (Rein and White, 1977: p. 262). Weiss, for example, outlines the many disappointments of social scientists: research findings were not as influential on policy as scholars had hoped; scientists naïvely failed to appreciate how important ideology and interests are in politics; research was more likely to influence how policy makers conceptualized problems than provide solutions, or it was used to move issues higher or lower on the public agenda; and policy makers often used research as an argument to advocate for a favoured position (1991: pp. 311–14). The ways science and the state interact continue to be an important research area, and the sociology of knowledge is now an established theme of policy studies.”

It may be true that SDG efforts are failing as Heeks (2005) may have critiqued in view of the Millennium Development Goals experience, however, there is always hope. Heek’s (2005, p. 3) proposes that development approaches should:

"Strip away all the hype about rural telecentres and e-government for the masses and telemedicine for remote regions and e-commerce for microenterprises and what you've got – when you apply ICTs to the MDG agenda – are the rusting tractors for the 21st century. Most of these projects never properly work, and for those that might just get off the ground, go back two years later, and it's all crumbled to dust. Yes, there might be exceptions but they are just that – exceptions; occasional minnows swimming against a rip tide of failure. Our evidence base on this does need strengthening but a recent survey suggests at least one-third of such projects are total failures and one-half are partial failures, leaving little room for success. We are often blinded from this reality by the blizzard of e-development pilots, prototypes, plans and possibilities where "would" and "could" replace "does" and "has". "

Failures to bring equality of economic and social conditions among nations in the world may not necessarily mean that the policy sciences narrative is not reflected in the social development goals (SDGs). In fact, most of social development endeavors are based on the social policy sciences which all dates back to the ideals of Harold Lasswell. The answers to the next two questions that follow will support the stance made in this first question.

Another point where Policy Sciences tend to present vagueness and sort of irrelevance could have been pointed out from the work of Interdisciplinary studies (IDS) and the policy sciences are two areas of inquiry and practice that have a great deal in common, but have seldom crossed intellectual paths, either in the literature or in the self-identification of their respective practitioners.

Thus, in their article, CONVERGENT EVOLUTION IN THE INTEREST OF INTEGRATIVE PROBLEM SOLVING: Connecting the Policy Sciences and Interdisciplinary Studies,” Wallace, Richard Wallace, Susan Clark, Joseph Cullman, attempted to illuminate the readers with “their common heritage and standpoint and their convergent evolution” (Wallace, et. al., 2014). Their attempt was to “create linkages between IDS and policy sciences upon which future intellectual and practical relationships may be built.”  For them, this could help build the “relationships” as a way to develop “greater intellectual and professional capacity—in essence, strength in numbers—represented by the alliance of two separate but similarly-oriented professional communities” (p. 2).

This effort alone is a manifestation of hope. At a personal standpoint backed up by experience and observations, the problem always lies in the abundance of ideas with such lack of “doing” and implementing these ideas. There are always robust talks and discussions about ideas, and the bid necessity to exchange words about ideas or information, framework, approaches and strategic methods. However, the doing part has always fallen short.

If relevance must be found, it is now time to really make efforts to bring ideas to realities: TO KNOW should mean to be able TO DO what must be done!

Are the policy sciences still relevant as tools in achieving the SDG's? The answer should be a: YES! Does existing literature or current research support this? YES. And perhaps, with a need to make social policy sciences and interdisciplinary field or to complement it with Communication Development expertise.

It is almost impossible to jump off the cliff and ignore the Policy Science theory, guidelines, model, and framework initially put forth by Harold Lasswell and his cohorts. The best way to answer this question would be to do a contextual scanning of various literature. However, given the time constraint, a quick look at how much citations or references are made on Lasswell’s work could reveal a proof. If one searches for Policy Sciences in scholar.google.com, current endeavors and writings on policy sciences give reference and citation to the pioneer ideas of the past.

This is a quick video to show this: https://youtu.be/ji0MYyqHYqM  but if one prefers to review the numbers below, simply look at the tab “Cite By” followed by the number of citations or references made on corresponding work listed.

As also mentioned in the video is the fact that as one browses the web, social development endeavors give reference back to Lasswell’s policy science ideals. Just one example in addition to the quick statistical proof: Here in the United States, policysciences.org (http://www.policysciences.org/institute.php), has on its front cover:

Lasswell understood human dignity as an ordering goal in institutional and political change, and this informed his stance on development as a change process in support of human dignity. Lasswell and MacDougal described political development in this context as a “process of decision whose structures—both formal and informal, organized and unorganized—constitute a system of public order capable of creative, realistic problem-solving in pursuit of a rising level of participation in all values” (Jurisprudence for a Free Society). In The Policy Sciences of Development, Lasswell articulated a theory of value flows and institutional change that provides an inclusive and comprehensive frame for decision-makers aspiring to goal-directed inquiry or action for integrated and self-sustaining development.”

As an active organization, the policysciences.org has a Policy Sciences Center that “engages in research, teaching, and consultation with an aim to improve the strategies and procedures of decision making and policy formation within public and private organizations. The Center also performs various services for those who are interested in education, research, and professional training in the policy sciences. To help in achieving these objectives, the Center maintains a network of over 100 associates. The range of expertise represented in the network is vast. Areas of specialty include:

·         Policy Sciences

·         Management and Decision Making

·         All of the Social Sciences

·         Law

·         Economic Development

·         Ecology and Conservation Biology

·         Psychiatry”

Finally, how relevant are the policy sciences to the pursuit of the Sustainable Development Goals? Highly relevant. Areas for failures can be thoroughly reviewed and perhaps with certain changes and modifications, and with the addition of expertise in “development communication” the quest to make policy sciences more fitting and relevant to to suit the needs of the current times can be achieved.

                                                   Cited Sources

“Development and Nation-Building: A Framework for Policy-Oriented Inquiry,” (2008). Faculty Scholarship Series, Paper 61, p. 310.

Heeks, R. (2005). ICTs and the MDGs: On the Wrong Track? Seed.manchester.ac.uk. Retrieved 12 March 2016, from http://www.seed.manchester.ac.uk/medialibrary/IDPM/working_papers/di/di_sp07.pdf

Policy Sciences. (2015). Policysciences.org. Retrieved 12 March 2016, from http://www.policysciences.org/institute.php

Policy Sciences. (2016). Policysciences.org. Retrieved 12 March 2016, from http://www.policysciences.org/

Nick Turnbull, School of Social Science and Policy, University of New South Wales and Politics, The University of Manchester. Tel: 0161 275 4833; Fax: 0161 275 4925; Email: [email protected].

Professor Flor,

Harold Lasswell described human dignity as the primary goal of “institutional and political change.” He also espoused an inclusive and comprehensive perspective of policy for development. In this point of view, Michael Reisman called for, as I would say, a policy-driven change towards development, i.e., policy to evoke societal change to promote human dignity.

In “The Pre-View of Policy Sciences,” Lasswell described the decision-making as a series of 7 phases, each with a specific power outcome: intelligence, promotion, prescription, invocation, application, termination and appraisal. I will not go into detail, but suffice to say, moves from fact-finding to evaluation. Lasswell described these phases in the context of societal or governmental institutions, or halls of power (e.g., courts, congress, etc). This is to demonstrate that decision-making can and should lead to institutional and societal change.

Despite the number of years behind these concepts, they remain relevant in achieving the SDGs. I will not discuss the criticisms on the SDGs with regard to it scope or depth. Thus, taking the SDGs in toto, the task set before policymakers is gargantuan. However, these comprehensive and inclusive development goals need to adapt the multiphased decision-making process of the policy sciences to ensure that the small steps taken do not deviate from the primary goals, and to ensure that these SDGs are achieved through sustainable/durable institutional and societal changes that indeed promote development while minimizing those at a losing end, if any.

References: 

Lasswell, H. D. (1971). The Pre-View of Policy Sciences. New York, NY: American Elsevier.

Reismann WM. (2008). Development and Nation-Building: A Framework for Policy-Oriented Inquiry. Faculty Scholarship Series, Paper 961.

Thank you for sharing that, Christine.

The development of policy science as a discipline has taken root as a result of developing and merging the approaches taught by other social science disciplines (Brewer, 1974).  This policy orientation taught by Lerner and Lasswell (1951) carries a two-fold task: 1) the development of a science of policy forming and execution and 2) enhancing the contents of the information and making it understandable to policy makers.  It is for these reasons that make policy science especially daunting task, but one which must be pursued in order to ensure the sustainability of policy decisions.

Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) can never be attained unless countries share a common vision of progress "towards a safe, just and sustainable space for all human beings to thrive on the planet" (Osborn, Cutter, and Ullah, 2015).  Imperative in having this vision is the idea of universality which implies that all countries will need to change according to its own peculiar needs and approach while maintaining a "global sense of the common good" (UN Secretary General, 2014).  It is for this reason that makes the study of policy science crucial.

The challenge in all of this is that CHANGES HAPPEN ALL THE TIME, and these changes may or may not have an impact on society.  When it does, it puts policy science (i.e. policy making) on hyperdrive and may put SDG on an unequal balance--meaning a common idea is threatened with a new idea.  And this is what makes policy science so relevant: it puts policy makers on the right perspective and with the common frame of mind.  This is when policies are either changed or merely enhanced to address the problems.

Sources:

Brewer, G. (1974). The Policy Sciences Emerge: To Nurture and Structure a Discpline. Santa Monica: The Rand Corporation.

Lerner, D. and Lasswell, H. (1951). The Policy Sciences. Stanford: Stanford University Press.

Osborn, D., Cutter, A., Ullah, F. (2015). Universal Sustainable Development Goals: Understanding the Transformational Challenge for Developed Countries. A report of a Study by Stakeholder Forum.  Retrieved from https://sustainabledevelopment.un.org/content/documents/1684SF_-_SDG_Universality_Report_-_May_2015.pdf 

Policy sciences are relevant in the pursuit of sustainable development goals (SDGs) because it is very necessary in the creation and decision making processes. Policy sciences as defined by Laswell, are “concerned with the knowledge of and in the decision process of the public and civic order”. Thus, policy sciences help the decision makers know what specific SDGs are needed, who the recipients are, why do we need them, and who benefits and acts for the attainment of SDGs, etc. In short, policy sciences help decision makers , for example,  the government by providing a systemic approach in coming up with SDGs. With the right knowledge, the government will know how to properly decide on certain issues. It also helps them prioritize the different initiatives related to SDGs.

It is important to note that level of initiatives needed for each SDG differs from every country. I think the literature that best supports the relationship with SDG and policy sciences are those development communication-related literature. Development communication together with policy sciences makes a good tandem because it is important to consider the audience before coming up with materials. The element of being people-oriented or people-centred is important because such SDGs do not only cater to the government but to other non-state actors like the private sectors, the civil society and the people themselves. They should all know the current endeavours and at the same time, support these in any way they can. 

REFERENCES:

Flor, A. G. (1991). Development Communication and the Policy Sciences. Journal of Development Communication. Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia: Asian Institute of Development Communication. Retrieved from https://www.academia.edu/578845/Development_Communication_and_the_Policy_Sciences

Laswell, Harold. 1971. A Pre-View of Policy Sciences. Retrieved from http://www.policysciences.org/classics/preview.pdf

Analysis of Long (2015) in providing recommendations for the SDG targets and indictors prior officially decided in September 2015, stated that the SDGs indicators were not only “technical” or “scientific”, but also “political”.  That is, it is fundamentally about “who gets what, when and how” (adapting Harold Lasswell’s phrase from his book about Politics in 1936).  That the United Nations Statistical Commission (UNSC) stated that it expected “broad political guidance” from states on questions of indicators. (globalpolicyjournal.com)

Ideally the concept of Laswell’s communication model (wikipedia.org) with each of its elements (who? says what? in which channel? to whom? with what effect?) is being referred on how each global goal can be communicated.  For instance, the official website of SDG or the global goals – www.globalgoals.org  (as the communicator – who?) giving message on the tab “what can I do?” to take action (message – says what?), by selecting any of the organization channels available eg. UNICEF, Global Citizen, One, Save the Children, World Vision, etc. (medium – in which channel?) to every website visitor (audience – to whom?) with the effect of possibly contributing in achieving the selected one of the 17 goals of SDGs (effect – with what effect?).  The same process can be done in “Social Media action” by sharing facts about the global goals or SDGs as people need to know about it, hence for the goals to work. 

Turnbull, N. (2008) stated in his study that Harold Lasswell’s ‘problem orientation’ is the keystone in his concept of the ‘policy sciences’. Koch, F. et. al. (2015) in their article “How can science policy help to deliver the global goals?” identified the contribution of policy science in realizing the challenging SDGs.  The scientists’ workshop held in Italy has the main message of the need for more effective linking of science to policy in the unfolding debate around the global goals.  This includes the involvement of scientist in collaborating with policymakers and other stakeholders to jointly frame problems, generate new knowledge, and make the knowledge relevant to specific contexts.  The three (3) crucial elements identified were translation, trade-offs and transparency.  Translation in the sense that new science is required to translate goals from the abstract global level, to the national level, and to practical local levels.  Here, in translating SDGs into actionable agendas, scientific community’s strong participation is required.   In terms of trade-offs, the science community can play as the central role in identifying mutual benefits that can accelerate progress and potential trade-offs.  As for transparency, science community can play the role of providing advice to policymakers regarding SDG implementation.

Hence, regardless of the time difference, the policy sciences introduced by Laswell are still relevant to the ways Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) can be achieved.

References:

The Global Goals for Sustainable Development. Retrieved from http://www.globalgoals.org/

Koch, F. and Patterson, J. (2015, Oct. 9).  How can science policy help to deliver the global goals?  The Guardian. Retrieved from www.theguardian.com

Laswell’s model of communication.  Retrieved from https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lasswell%27s_model_of_communication

Long, G. (2015, May 14). Sustainable Development Goal Indicators are Technical, but also Political. Global Policy Journal. Retrieved from http://www.globalpolicyjournal.com/blog/14/05/2015/sustainable-development-goal-indicators-are-technical-also-political

Turnbull, N. (2008).  Harold Lasswell’s ‘problem orientation’ for policy sciences.  Retrieved from https://www.academia.edu

‘Policy sciences’ is the “scientific study of policies and policy making” (Allen, 1978 as cited in Flor, 1991). Its goal is to improve policy making to counter the problems in our society. The policy sciences’ approach is anticipatory (Flor, 1991). On the other hand, the Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) came into force last 01 January 2016 which are intended to “mobilize efforts to end all forms of poverty, fight inequalities, and tackle climate change, while ensuring that no one is left behind” (United Nations, 2016).

There is a link between the two subjects; however, I think that the effectiveness of policy sciences could not be utilized absolutely because the SDGs are not legally binding. Still, in achieving the targets of SDGs in each country, the policy sciences remain crucial. To note, Lasswell identified “five intellectual tasks” which are essential to the policy process: (1) goals clarification, (2) measurement, retrieval and display of data, (3) causal modeling, (4) forecasting, and (5) devising alternatives (Hale, 2011). These intellectual tasks could be effectively used when the goals are more specific and binding, putting it on top priorities and eliminating the chance for the countries to deviate from the objectives.

Finding a literature that discusses SDGs per se and the policy sciences as a tool to achieve it is difficult. I think this could be due to the fact the SDGs are too broad that even the policymakers and the academe tend to ignore it. I think UN National Assembly should formulate a more focused development goals so that the policy sciences could be used more effectively.

Sources:

Flor, A. G. (1991). Development Communication and the Policy Sciences. Retrieved from https://www.academia.edu/578845/Development_Communication_and_the_Policy_Sciences

Hale, B. (2011). The Methods of Applied Philosophy and the Tools of the Policy Sciences. International Journal of Applied Philosophy. 25 (2), pp. 215-232. Retrieved from http://sciencepolicy.colorado.edu/admin/publication_files/2011.37.pdf

United Nations. (2016). The Sustainable Development Agenda. Retrieved from http://www.un.org/sustainabledevelopment/development-agenda/

Hello Dr. Flor

Like what others have already emphasized, the SDGs are vital for the global world since they aim to end poverty, protect the planet and ensure growth and prosperity for all.  These are world-changing objectives or planned change that require purposive measures and actions within countries and across countries.  The SDGs'  vision of development reflects in some ways that of Laswell, who contended that human dignity is a foremost goal in institutional and political change and, as such, change processes should be in support of human dignity (cited in Integrating Knowledge…, 2015).  However, change is a dynamic process difficult to deal with.  This is because in this process,  a wide range of forces interact and collide with one another, bringing in both positive and negative consequences.  It is in this context that the policy sciences come in.

I would like to think that the policy sciences jibe (and should always jibe) in planned social changes within and across societies, because there is an utmost need to  anticipate the negative consequences arising from social changes and find appropriate solutions to them.  It was, in fact, the same Laswell, who first observed that the analysis and resolution of policy issues would require a new scientific discipline which main objectives are to anticipate societal problems,  to evaluate and modify existing policies and to make them be in tune with the times: an integrated , multi-disciplinary approach to understanding and solving problems to clarify and secure the common interest. 

In essence, from the policy sciences point of view, societal changes should be constantly monitored and evaluated because changes unsuited with human dignity is not development at all. 

References: 

. Integrating Knowledge And Practice to Advance Human Dignity for All. (2015). In Policy Sciences.org. Retrieved from http://www.policysciences.org/institute.php

. Ongkiko, I.V.C. and Flor, A. (2003). Introduction to Development Communication. SEAMEO Regional Center for Graduate Study and Research in Agriculture and the UPOU.

 . United Nations. (2015) Sustainable Development Goals. Retrieved from  http://www.un.org/sustainabledevelopment/sustainable-development-goals/

Hello Dr. Flor,

Although Policy Sciences have been developed and introduced by Laswell more than fifty years ago, the philosophy and idea behind Policy Science is still relevant today even in the 21st century, specifically to the Sustainable Development Goals (SDG). The SDG or Global Goals were anchored on the Millennium Development Goals and are more of a continuous improvement plan.

Private and public organizations will align their goals to help achieve the SDG. This will lead to innovations in science, technology and communication. Result of these innovations and advancement in science and technology and other allied fields, will come to a point that human culture, values and other ideals will complicate the perceived norms the society and other communities.

For example, SDG goal number 8 “decent work and economic growth” and number 9 “industry innovation and infrastructure.” With the efforts to improve these areas will emerge development of an idea, a product or technology for example Artificial Intelligence (AI) which may be a result of our aspiration to improve industry. The big question is “With all these innovations and development, who will determine the limitations and rights of AIs?”

Another good example we can cite in the Philippines, with the use and relevance of Policy Sciences relative to SDG, is the controversial BT (Bacillus thuringiensis) eggplant and use of GMOs. The application of genetics to improve food production as a means of eradicating hunger (SDG#2) has led scientists and researcher to develop and use BT in crops. However not everyone is happy of the use and propagation of BT eggplant and GMOs. Recently the Supreme Court stops field testing of BT eggplant and other GMOs. The high court have noted that there is lack of scientific consensus regarding the safety of BT eggplant and GMOs.

This is where Policy Sciences will come into picture. It will be the responsibility of those involved in Policy Sciences to make use of their expertise to help other institutions or even the government to reflect and improve the attitude of the people that will be acceptable by the community through the use of psychological and social-scientific investigations.

“The Policy Sciences can serve the need for clarification. They offer rapidly developing techniques for making assumptions explicit and for testing their validity in terms of both the basic values which policy seeks to realize and the actualities of human relations to which policy must be applied. By method of converting general principles into specific indices of action, the policy sciences provides criteria by which to test the applicability of general principles in specific situations. They also equip the policy-maker with a sufficiently sharp image of the full implications of given postulates to enable him to avoid conflicts of principles within the program of action.”( C.Easton Rothewell, as cited by Andrew Rich, 2004)

Policy Sciences will help with problem identification by encouraging the use of different possibilities of approach method and eventually introduce a more scientific technique of determining the advantages and disadvantages on the impact of the development brought about by the SDG. Those who are involved with Policy Sciences will serve as a pool of data to help stakeholders, private, public government and other policy makers make an informed decision

References:

Brewer, G. D. (1974). The Policy Sciences Emerge: To Nurture and Structure Discipline. Policy Sciences Santa Monica, CA: RAND Corporation. Retrieved from https://www.rand.org/content/dam/rand/pubs/papers/2008/P5206.pdf

Policy Sciences Center, Inc. (2016). Policy Sciences. Retrieved from http://www.policysciences.org/

Rappler.com. (2015, December 8). SC stops field testing of Bt talong, GMOs. Rappler [Manila]. Retrieved from http://www.rappler.com/business/industries/247-agriculture/115327-supreme-court-stops-field-testing-bt-talong-gmo

Rich, A. (2004). Think Tanks, Public Policy, and the Politics of Expertise. Retrieved from http://catdir.loc.gov/catdir/samples/cam041/2003065392.pdf

United Nations. (2016). United Nations Development Programme. Retrieved from http://www.undp.org/content/undp/en/home/sdgoverview/post-2015-development-agenda.html

The sustainable development goals (SDGs) are a new, universal set of goals, targets and indicators that the 193 countries of the UN General Assembly are expected to use to frame their agendas and political policies over the next 15 years. They cover a broad range of sustainable development issues, which include ending poverty and hunger, improving health and education, making cities more sustainable, combating climate change, and protecting oceans and forests.

Expanding on the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) which were agreed by governments in 2001 and which expired at the end of 2015, the 17 SDGs provide a framework for governments around which they could develop policies designed to improve the lives of poor people.

Considering the immensity of the tasks to make the 17 SDGs operational, cooperation and commitment of various stakeholders are needed to integrate thinking and practice and convert these into sound policies that will serve in crafting national development and governance plans. This is where the policy sciences come in.

Policy sciences, being the scientific study of policies and policy making, assist in converting general principles into specific indices of action, and provide criteria by which to test the applicability of general principles in specific actions (Rich, 2004). The policy scientists, according to Lasswell and McDougal (as cited in wikipedia, org), will aid decision makers in clarifying goals, identifying trends relative to goals, analyzing the factors causing or contributing to specific trends, projecting the future, and inventing and evaluating policy proposals--alternative actions that may be taken related to the desired results." These general principles or framework, in the context of the SDGs, are the 17 Goals and the desired results, are policies and practices leading towards their fulfillment.

Policy sciences will provide an integrated and comprehensive approach for addressing issues and problems at all levels in ways that help clarify and secure the common interest. The emphasis is on comprehending problems in context in order to develop recommendations that are both realistic and desirable (www.policysciences.org). It is, according to Flor (1991), forward looking, interdisciplinary and holistic in nature. It considers several variables (education, communication, money, culture) ware important factors which are important in coming up with a policy. With regard to the fulfillment of the 17 SDGs, not all UN member states will adopt similar targets because although we share some common problems, each country has problems of its own. The Philippines, for example, grapples with problems of poverty and insurgency but not much on gender inequality. Of course, we all face the consequences of climate change. What I am trying to derive at is that we need sound and socially beneficial policies to support the crafting of plans and programs to target these problems. It is why carefully studied comprehensive approach, coupled with the application of scientific rigors, is needed and that is the role of the policy sciences, Thus, technical experts, social scientists, the education sector, the development communication specialists will have to come together and conduct policy researches making use of appropriate data gathering tools to find out the real and actual causes of problems besetting a country, or particular sectors. It is here that participatory approach, involving all the stakeholders, will come into play. Quebral (1986 as cited in wikipedia.org) stressed the importance of recognizing systematic practice along with formal research as a legitimate basis for decisions. According to her, research must precede and become the foundation of policy (cited in wikipedia.org). As such, the emphasis of policy sciences is on applying scientific or empirical evidences in understanding problems so that more realistic, responsive and effective interventions are identified and implemented. Since a problem is multidimensional, various scientific disciplines are needed to form a comprehensive analysis of society’s problems and issues. Thus, in the Philippines, meticulously conducted researches must first be conducted to understand our real problems, would should form as bases for sound policy formulation.

To conclude, in order for the 17 SDGs to be put in motion, concrete and firm actions have to be undertaken by all governments. This is where policies come in, for with policies anchored on the framework of SDGs, these goals will have their realization. And through the multidisciplinary approach of policy sciences, continuous review of policies which should summon the support of all stakeholders –the government, the private sector, the media, the education, the technical and social scientists, the citizens, the fulfillment of the 17 SDGs will find light.

References:

Flor, A (1991). Development Communication and the Policy Sciences.Journal of Development Communication. Asian Development Bank: Kuala Lumpur.

Rich, A. (2004). Think Tanks, Public Policy, and the Politics of Expertise. Retrieved from http://catdir.loc.gov/catdir/samples/cam041/2003065392.pdf

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Development_communication#cite_note-Policy_Sciences_in_Action-79

http://www.policysciences.org

Do the policy sciences narrative jive with today's Social Development Goal (SDG) narrative?

Yes. The policy sciences from over 50 yrs. ago still jives with today's Social Development Goals (SDG) and I believe this will be so until 2030 or even beyond when a new set of goals are drafted by the UN. Since this is the first year for nations to work on achieving the SDGs (as its timetable spans from 2016 to 2030), the policy sciences should be able to directly impact its outcome in a positive way if policymaking is done in an effective way. There are 17 SDGs and under these 17 SDGs are more specific goals that stakeholders can, for lack of a better term, target. Failure to achieve these goals may be caused by failure in the implementation of the policies created to achieve them. Of course we cannot discount the fact that failure could also be a resource issue or even a comunication issue altogether.

Are the policy sciences still relevant as tools in achieving the SDG's?

Before the SDGs came to be, we had the 8 Millenium Development Goals (MDGs). Both the MDG and SDG comprised of goals that if achieved, will make our world a better place to live in. Unfortunately, as far as the MDGs go, extreme hunger and poverty are still present. There are still children who can't attend school. Clearly the MDGs first 2 goals were not achieved. However, according to the UNs report, the situation did improve a lot. As for the other 6 MDG goals, all data suggests that things have improved compared to how they were during the early 2000s. The UN admits that as of 2015, much still had to be done. They were able to pinpoint certain reasons why 'progress was uneven across countries'. One of the reasons mentioned was that policymaking was still lacking. If we could apply what we learned from working towards the MDGs, we could perhaps improve on policymaking ang get better results for the SDGs. So yes, the policy sciences are still relevant as tools in achieving the SDGs just as they were during the time of the MDGs.

Does existing literature or current research support this?

Yes. There is much scholarly material on the policy sciences and development communication to support this. There is plenty of material from Laswell, Lerner, Springer, Parsons, De Leon, Brewer (and many others) about the policy sciences as well as material from Schramm, Rogers, Quebral, Flor (and many others) about development communication. Books, journals and papers may be found in both offline (libraries) and online sources. Generally the policy sciences and development communication both aim to improve society through policymaking and communication. Existing material about these topics support that the p[olicy sciences are relevant tools in achieving the SDGs.  

How relevant are the policy sciences to the pursuit of the Sustainable Development Goals?

The policy sciences are very relevant to the fruition of the SGDs. Since policy science in general is an approach to understanding and solving problems, for as long as there are things that need to be fixed, I think they will always be relevant. Perhaps the policy sciences will only cease to be relevant if we lived in a utopian society and all people have reached the point of self-actualization having all their basic needs met (based on Maslow's Heirarchy of Needs)

References:

Sustainable Development Goals retrieved at https://sustainabledevelopment.un.org/?menu=1300

Millenium Development Goals retrieved at http://www.un.org/millenniumgoals/2015_MDG_Report/pdf/MDG%202015%20rev%20(July%201).pdf

The Policy Sciences retrieved at http://www.policysciences.org/

Maslows heirarchy of Needs retrieved at http://www.simplypsychology.org/maslow.html

@Alexander: I agree with Brian. ICT will also play a crucial role in sustainable development. MDGs should seriously consider, deploy, integrate and prioritize ICT.  It's not just about economics now, it about opening countries to opportunities offered by the Internet. And countries that do not realize this will be left out.

Policy analysis is defined as an applied social science discipline which uses multiple methods of inquiry and argument to produce and transform policy-relevant information that may be utilized in political settings to resolve policy problems (Dr. William Dunn , 1981). This definition builds up on the Lasswellian commitment for policy analysis to be multi-method and problem-oriented (Lasswell, 1971). Lasswell (1971) defines the policy sciences as concerned with the knowledge of and in the decision process. He contends that the policy scientist is concerned with mastering the skills appropriate to enlightened decision in the context of public and civic order. Based on this understanding, the policy sciences definitely jive with the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). No matter if the policy sciences narrative was introduced by Lasswell more than half a century ago and the SDG narrative was conceptualized only on Septemeber 2015, it really does not lose its relevance as a social and scientific tool in the decision-making process necessary in the pursuit of the SDGs. It is not how old the theory or concept is that matters but the encompassing character of the discipline that enables it to be relevant and useful beyond its time.

Existing literature published by UN on the Policy Integration in Government in Pursuit of the Sustainable Development Goals, a report of the Expert Group Meeting held on January 28-29, 2015 at United Nations Headquarters, New York, supports the link between the policy sciences and the SDGs. The report acknowledges that the political, economic, scientific and governance dimensions of policy integration may have been downplayed during the MDG period, yet will be critical to the success of policy integration as a target of the SDGs. In addition, the report recognizes that by its nature, the SDG framework is both sectoral and inter-sectoral. In connection with policy integration, it asserts that sectoral and inter-sectoral policymaking should support one another. If integrated policymaking is to work, it should incorporate adequate understanding of the sectoral building blocks and sectoral incentives to participate.

Furthermore, the report says, “Policy integration in government is central to the sustainable development paradigm and presents a key governance challenge in pursuit of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). This is particularly the case in view of the rising complexity of social problems and global issues with important national and local impacts such as climate change. Effective policy integration is all the more important given the range of expertise from different institutions and sectors required to tackle the SDGs, as well as demands for more innovative, responsive and equitable service delivery, which transcend the competencies of individual ministries. While policy integration is central to the sustainable development paradigm, bringing about the delivery of integrated policies is a daunting challenge, especially in developing countries where, for example, administrative silos are prevalent.”

References:

Dunn, William N.. Public Policy Analysis: An Introduction. Englewood Cliffs, N.J.: Prentice-Hall,1981.

Dunn, William N.. Public Policy Analysis: An Introduction. Retrieved from: http://www.slideshare.net/nida19/public-policy-analysisdunn

Haje, Maarten, Policy without Polity? Policy Analysis and the Institutional Void. Retrieved from: http://www.maartenhajer.nl/upload/HAJER%20Policy%20without%20Polity.pdf

Lasswell, Harold D. A Preview of Policy Sciences. Retrieved from: file:///F:/RESEARCHGATE/Lasswell%201971.pdf

Policy Integration in Government in Pursuit of the Sustainable Development Goals. Report of the Expert Group Meeting held on January 28-29, 2015 at United Nations Headquarters, New York. Retrieved from: http://www.un.org/esa/socdev/csocd/2016/egmreport-policyintegrationjan2015.pdf

Hello Dr. Flor,

As we ponder the development goals needed to reach a sustainable future for our nation, I think the potential role of science should not be taken for granted, but should be an integral part of what will be needed to achieve in the SDGs.

In an editorial published in Science, Dr. William Colglazier, science and technology adviser to the US Secretary of State provides some insights into how science, technology, and innovation could help make these a reality. Colglazier writes that the 2015 UN Global Sustainable Development Report should act as a platform for continued interaction between scientists and policy makers. Doing so could help the policy officials develop a “science advisory ecosystem,” one that could encourage the use of science to inform sustainable development. Colglazier writes that science’s contributions to these new development goals could be fourfold.

• Science could inform our understanding of the challenges that these goals may come up against.

• Science could help policy makers to select those actions that will actually make a difference towards achieving their goals.

• Science could be a critical tool in monitoring the progress made towards these goals.

• Science could provide insight into innovative solutions needed for these goals.

The author makes practical recommendations regarding how science and policy could successfully interact. I believe that these recommendations would allow countries to share the knowledge gained from their development progress, and ensure planners continue to engage with the scientific community.

Thus, we need to understand that SCIENCE IS one of the most important BASE OF SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT. And, research science has a lot to offer to the SDGs, but it needs to be translated into practical, actionable activities, bridging between research, policymaking and practice that is so important at this this present time. I think, without scientific knowledge of various issues no one can act on sustainable development very well.

References:

Ockwell, D. & Mallett, A. (2012). Introduction. In D. Ockwell and A. Mallett (Eds.) Low-carbon technology transfer: From rhetoric to reality (pp. 3–19). Abingdon: Routledge.

United Nations. (n.d.). The future we want. Retrieved from http://www.un.org/en/sustainablefuture/

http://www.unesco.org/new/en/member-states/single-view/news/how_science_can_help_to_create_a_sustainable_world/#.Vw6E0lKHfdk

On one hand, the policy sciences study the process of deciding or choosing and evaluating the relevance of available knowledge for the solution of particular problems.  As such, it is the study of problem-solving activities involving five intellectual tasks performed at varying levels of insight and understanding, which require official decisions or private choices, as follows: clarification of goals; description of trends; analysis of conditions; projection of future developments; and invention, evaluation, and selection of alternatives (IESS, 1968; Lasswell, 1951). The policy sciences, whose ultimate goal is to integrate knowledge and practice to advance human dignity for all, is an approach to or a tool for understanding and solving problems (Lasswell, 1971; PolicySciences.org, 2016).  On the other hand, the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), officially known as “Transforming our world: the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development”, are an intergovernmental set of aspiration or proposals initiated by the international development community that contains 17 goals with 169 targets. The SDGs cover a broad range of sustainable development issues including ending poverty and hunger, improving health and education, making cities more sustainable, combating climate change, and protecting oceans and forests (UNGA, 2015).  While the policy sciences is a tool for policy development and the sustainable development goals is a set of desired outcomes, both share the same noble ultimate purpose of advancing sustainable human development. 

I believe, this common purpose makes the more than half a century old policy sciences narrative jive with the more recent sustainable development narrative.  Its taxonomy may have evolved over the years, but the primary purpose of the policy sciences as a discipline for clarifying and informing [public] policy choices and assessing their impact remains the same and thus still relevant in contemporary times (Smith & Larimer, 2009) particularly its application in social, economic and environmental development. As a tool, the policy sciences is relevant to the pursuit and the achievement of the Sustainable development Goals. First, the SDGs, as an international agreement or consensus, do not have the strength of law, but only recommendatory in the various national jurisdictions under the United Nations.  Thus, it will require at the very least development of aligned national or macro-level policies, such as passing new laws, revising existing laws or even constitutional amendments, to be enforceable or implementable in a country. Such macro-level policy-making activities will benefit much from the application of the policy sciences. Second, all stages the sustainable development process will benefit from policy sciences body of knowledge from policy formulation, implementation, monitoring, review, evaluation and most importantly evolution (i.e., policies should change too). Third, the achievement of sustainable development goals at the national level requires a participatory process that would benefit much from the public awareness and promotion value of the communication orientation of the policy sciences. As such, public policy has a central role in promoting or marketing sustainable development thus would also require communication policy and planning.  Finally, a quick search of various sources showed that the policy sciences and sustainable development goals are not yet well represented in the academic or scholarly publications (i.e., ISI Web of Science, Scopus and EBSCO index searches).  On the other hand, the link between sustainable development goals and public policy is quite well established in various publications of the international development community (i.e., Google search),for example, OECD (2001) is representative of such literature.

References:

IESS (1968). "Policy Sciences." International Encyclopedia of the Social Sciences. Encyclopedia.com. (March 11, 2016). http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1G2-3045000954.html.

Lasswell, H.D. (1951). “The Policy Orientation.” In The Policy Sciences: Recent Developments in Scope and Method, ed. Daniel Lerner and Harold Lasswell, 3–15. Stanford: Stanford University Press.

Lasswell, H.D. (1971). A Pre-View of Policy Sciences, American Elsevier Publishing Co. .

OECD (2001). Policies to Enhance Sustainable Development, Report of the Meeting of the OECD Council at Ministerial Level, Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), Paris, France.

PolicySciences.org (2016). Policy Sciences: Society of Policy Scientists Website

Smith, K.B. and Larimer, C.W. (2009). The Public Policy Theory Primer, Westview Press: Boulder, Colorado.

UNGA (2015). Transforming our world: the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, Resolution A/RES/70/1, United Nations General Assembly, October 21, 2015 .

Decades have already passed yet Harold Lasswell and Daniel Lerner's pioneering ideas behind policy sciences still endure, but even more so in the context of the United Nations' Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).

Analyzing the answer for this question, I can't help but use Yehezkel Dror's "river" analogy. To put it bluntly, he stated that to cross a river with policy sciences in mind is to analyze each and every possibility, survey the territory for risks, and also study the ways on how to cross it. On top of that, what should be done on the other side once the river is crossed should have already been decided in advance as well, as policy sciences, by nature, is "anticipatory".

With different social issues changing and even worsening due to the "turbulent field" environment we currently live in (so much so that even the MDGs were altered to fit even more specific universal needs), it is important to approach each and every aspect of a problem with empirical soundness and a calculated sense of foresight. Obviously, it is not advisable to let a problem swell up and reach alarming levels before efforts are done to try to remedy it. Policy sciences, with its distinct, "forward-looking" approach in addressing issues, infuses urgency with rationalism for purposeful decision-making. In short, "analysis with lead time".

With the SDGs now firmly set for the entire world to aspire for, policy sciences are as important as ever, at least in the acts and measures that follow.

Compared to other schools of policy analysis (such as economic policy analyses), policy sciences are all-encompassing, multi-layered, and holistic. If other policy analyses focus only on specific variables and arrive only at a facet of a conclusion, the policy sciences reach out to various disciplines to further shape a scientific decision piece on a certain issue, from the role of communication down to the constancy of a particular value system.

The 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, in partnership with the Addis Ababa Action Agenda, has put premium on the enhancement of "Policy Coherence for Sustainable Development" (PCSD). In simple terms, what this policy sciences movement pushes for is coherence and efficiency, as it wants to be precise that the "progress achieved in one SDG contributes to progress in other SDGs, and to avoid the risk of progress in one goal at the expense of another". For this to be achieved, both horizontal and vertical policy coherence should be implemented. In its analytical framework, some of the policy design considerations are as follows:

1.) The policy inter-linkages across economic, social and environmental areas, including the identification of synergies, contradictions and trade-offs, as well as the interactions between domestic and international policies.

2.) The policy effects “here and now”, “elsewhere”, and “later”. This captures ways in which the pursuit of well-being today in one particular country may affect the well-being in other countries or of future generations (the long-term impact of policies at national and global levels).

With these given, it's a valid argument that policy sciences, with the advent of the SDGs, are even more important now than they were some odd decades ago. It persists to this day because necessity calls for it. These SDGs cannot be achieved, not if the policy sciences aren't around. Policy sciences are here to anticipate, to rationalize, and to formulate informed decisions out of very pressing issues at hand.

SOURCES:

http://oecdinsights.org/2016/01/15/the-importance-of-a-policy-coherence-lens-for-implementing-the-sustainable-development-goals/

http://www.un.org/esa/socdev/csocd/2016/egmreport-policyintegrationjan2015.pdf

Because of the complexity of today’s societal problems, traditional social science methodology seemed  to be inadequate to solve the ills of society. Policy sciences turned out to have emerged out of this need and to reorient actively the social sciences to the resolution of policy issues (Ocampo, 1978 as cited in Flor, 1991).  The meeting of the international development assistance community that gave birth to SDGs on the other hand, recognizes that eradicating poverty in all its forms and dimensions, including extreme poverty, is the greatest global challenge and an indispensable requirement for sustainable development.

According to the UN Department of Economic and social Affairs, the establishing of the SDGs seeks to strengthen universal peace in larger freedom and to eradicate poverty in all its forms and dimensions, and to ensure that all human beings can fulfill their potential in dignity and equality in a healthy environment. Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) were launched by the international development assistance community in a meeting at the UN Headquarters in New York on 25-27 September 2015. The meeting was composed of heads of state and high-level representatives from the different parts of the world.

The Policy sciences, though introduced by Lasswell and Lerner more than 50 years ago, I believe that they remain an approach to understanding and solving the problems up to this date. Policy sciences provide an integrated and comprehensive set of procedures for addressing societal problems in ways that help to clarify and secure the common interest, whether the problems are local, regional, international or planetary (PSC, Inc).

With policy sciences’ central objective concerns on helping people make better decisions, I believe SDGs can use them as relevant tools in its pursuit to sustainable developments. The variety of problems and issues to which the policy sciences have been applied is vast. These include local, national, and international questions of governance and development; the achievement of human rights in all contexts; natural resources policy and management; issues of scientific leadership and science policy in general; the impact of intellectuals on public order; the processes of selecting policymakers and decision makers; improving communication, health, and education at all levels; and so on (PSC, Inc).

How  Policy Sciences should feed into SDGs’ agenda?

Måns Nilsson of the Stockholm Environment Institute believes that Scientific research can help to identify precisely what the sustainability challenges are in different contexts. He argued that the agenda also needs to be interpreted saying the SDGs may be numerous, but they are also notoriously vague. This allows — in fact, requires  — countries to interpret them, work out where to focus their energies and decide what targets to set. For him, this applies beyond governments too, to the different groups and institutions working to advance sustainable development. “This interpretation is largely a social and political process, but science has a key role to play, for example to provide data and models exploring how different targets interact. This is one role policymakers don’t normally consider”, he concluded.

References

Flor, A. (1991). Development Communication and the Policy Sciences. Published in the Journal of Development Communication. Asian Institute of Development Communication: Kuala Lumpur

Policy Sciences Center, Inc. Retrieved from http://www.policysciences.org/index.html

SciDevNet. Bringing Science and Development together through original news and analysis. Retrieved from http://www.scidev.net/global/sdgs/opinion/science-sdg-2030-agenda-sustainability.html

UN Department of Economic and Social Affairs. Sustainable Knowledge Platform.  Retrieved from https://sustainabledevelopment.un.org/post2015/transformingourworld

The 3 pillars of sustainable development are: social progress, economic growth and environmental progress. Social Science is the study of society and of the relationship of individual members within society, including economics, history, political science, psychology, anthropology, and sociology. Thus social science policy is people centered and environment; it understands the movement of its people. Policy sciences help to formulate regional and national policy that would help to achieve Sustainable Development Goals, like eradicate hunger, achieve gender equality, combat climate change.

The policy sciences also provide statistical data of economics, social background or ICT divide to name a few, with this, State leader can identify focus area and devise a plan on how to achieve gender equality and empower all women . Example is the Women’s ICT Development Index indicator, this measures ICT divide in gender. Knowing this number, Government can create ICT project that will be inclusive of all genders in the society.

Social policy also tackles environmental changes; Leaders used forums and conferences to discuss issue action plan that will limit the adverse impact of Global warming, like super typhoon, prolonged dry spell that is affecting the livelihood of every people. Super typhoon and prolonged dry spell bring damage to crops and livelihood at most mortality of the living. Climate change is directly impacting economy.  Leaders can take urgent action to combat climate change and its impacts.

http://www.undp.org/content/undp/en/home/sdgoverview/post-2015-development-agenda.html

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZfmfVE0zGlU

http://www.dictionary.com/browse/social-science

Yes, policy sciences are still relevant in achieving the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).

More than piecemeal solutions to our problems, we all aim for sustainable growth and development. We cannot afford to risk the future generation’s ability to survive. Thus, it is our responsibility to lay the foundations for a secured future for the generations to come.

SDGs aim to end all forms of poverty, fight inequality and mitigate climate change. At the same time, these aim to secure inclusive growth. World leaders adopted the Sustainable Development Agenda starting this year. Everyone is expected to own it and do whatever it takes to address the 17 issues we still face in this modern times within the next 15 years. However, the SDGs are not legally binding. This means that there is no international law that will penalize non-compliant countries. Thus, the implementation and success of this agenda is fully dependent on the country’s programs and policies for sustainable development (United Nations, 2016).

Knowing this, I think that policy sciences can still be effective tools in achieving SDGs. By definition, “policy sciences are approaches to understanding and solving problems”. These aim to provide detailed sets of procedures to tackle down problems no matter how vast the scope is. Most importantly, policy sciences has a vision of attaining the common good of everyone. Over the years, policy sciences were applied to help solve issues either on local or global scale with a holistic approach (Policy Sciences Center, Inc., 2016).

Thus, I think policy sciences can be used in strengthening a country’s development programs and policies so that SDGs will be implemented and achieved accordingly. Policy sciences may be old and SDGs are new. But then again, age is just a number. 

References:

Policy Sciences Center, Inc. (2016). Policy sciences. Retrieved from http://www.policysciences.org/index.html

United Nations. (2016). The sustainable development agenda. Retrieved from http://www.un.org/sustainabledevelopment/development-agenda/

Fabrizio, S. et al. (2015 September). From Ambition to Execution: Policies in Support of Sustainable Development Goals. Retrieved from https://www.imf.org/external/pubs/ft/sdn/2015/sdn1518.pdf

I think yes, policy sciences are still relevant in achieving the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).

Policy integration in government is central to the sustainable development paradigm and presents a key governance challenge in pursuit of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). This is particularly the case in view of the rising complexity of social problems and global issues with important national and local impacts such as climate change. Effective policy integration is all the more important given the range of expertise from different institutions and sectors required to tackle the SDGs, as well as demands for more innovative, responsive and equitable service delivery, which transcend the competencies of individual ministries. While policy integration is central to the sustainable development paradigm, bringing about the delivery of integrated policies is a daunting challenge, especially in developing countries where, for example, administrative silos are prevalent. 

A process approach to policy integration is also needed, because integration must take place across the stages of the process: problem definition and agenda setting, policy formulation, decision-making, implementation and evaluation/learning. If we focus, conceptually or practically, on integration in one part (typically, design) to the exclusion of others, we are not likely to see real change happen on the ground. 

The key challenges we face in policy integration for sustainable development are to develop the capability and legitimacy of governments to engage in policy development, grounded in citizen and stakeholder engagement; to develop better models and tools for understanding complexity by citizens, not just expert modelers; and, to better connect research and practice through rich connectivity among expert communities and the public.

Policy integration concerns “the management of cross-cutting issues in policymaking that transcend the boundaries of established policy fields, which often do not correspond to the institutional responsibilities of individual departments.” (presentation by Adegboyega Ojo)

“Policy coherence” implies that various components of policies correspond because they share a set of ideas or objectives. It is a relative term relating to the degree of interaction of relevant components. These policy components can cohere if they are linked by a “policy glue”, i.e., common objectives or ideas, and if they serve overlapping constituencies. As such, coherent policies do not need to be comprehensive all-in-one omnibus solutions to problems. But they do need to be responsive either to a commonly shared policy glue in the ideas and objectives that people bring, or to overlapping constituencies. (Peter J. May, Joshua Sapotichne and Samuel Workman, in: Policy Coherence and Policy Domains, 2006) 

Research has a lot to offer the SDGs, but it needs to be translated into practical, actionable activities and it is this bridging between research, policymaking and practice that is so critical. 

The real hurdle for research is to go beyond communication in journals to make a difference to the ultimate beneficiaries: the citizens of each country. Meeting the challenges of uptake requires packaging and communicating research findings so that they are accessible to a lay audience, including policymakers. 

The route from research to application is a very long and convoluted one, and it can be very difficult for researchers to attribute a result directly to their research findings. This attribution problem is tremendous. Not only is there a complex relationship between research and policymaking, there is also a very long gestation period before a result can be attributed to research. Although many researchers are unable to say what activities and inputs their projects will lead to down the line, they should at least be able to have a dialogue with policymakers and practitioners about their research. That way we can create arenas or forums for discussion between researchers, policymakers, stakeholders and grass-roots practitioners. 

References:

Bringing science and development together through original news and analysis. Retrieved online from:https://www.researchgate.net/post/How_relevant_are_the_policy_sciences_to_the_pursuit_of_the_Sustainable_Development_Goals

Ojo, Adegboyega, Janowski, Tomasz and Estevez, Elsa (2011). Whole-of-government approach to information technology strategy management: building a sustainable collaborative technology environment in government in: Information Polity 16 (2011) 243–260.

Policy integration in government in pursuit of the sustainable development goals. Department of Economic and Social Affairs Division for Public Administration and Development Management. United Nations. Retrieved online from: http://www.un.org/esa/socdev/csocd/2016/egmreport-policyintegrationjan2015.pdf

Role of ICT and e-government in policy integration to support SDGs. Presentation by Mr. Adegboyega Ojo, Research Fellow, Insight Centre for Data Analytics, National University of Ireland, Galway

Relevance of Policy Sciences to the Pursuit of the Sustainable Development Goals

The purpose of this paper is to answer the question posted by Dr. Flor  for the Comm 330 class for the second semester of the AY 2015-2016:  "How relevant are the policy sciences to the pursuit of the Sustainable Development Goals?” To be able to answer that question, a policy enacted in the Philippines in 2012 to reduce tobacco was analyzed using the parameters in policy sciences as highlighted by Flor (1991).

 The two branches of social sciences namely  development communication and policy sciences are distinct yet they are very much tangled and inseparable. (Flor, 1991) The article was written in 1991 but the points enumerated are still very much in relevant. In fact it was aligned with how the anti-smoking policy was enacted in 2012.

The Philippine government has to intervene and come up with a policy despite belief that smoking is a choice:

“The notion of consumer sovereignty — the principle that an individual makes the best choices for himself or herself – depends on two key assumptions: that an individual fully understands the costs and benefits of these decisions and that an individual bears all of the costs and receives all of the benefits of his or her decisions. Tobacco use clearly violates both of these assumptions, resulting in market failures that justify government intervention.” (Quimbo, Casorla, Miguel-Baquilod, Medalla, Xu, & Chaloupka, 2012)

 It was cited by WHO (2014) that increasing taxes of tobacco products was the most effective policy to reduce tobacco.  Moreover, according to WHO (2014), through powerful communication strategy of two major departments in the Philippines, the Department of Health and Finance,  was able to successfully convey that increasing the tax of tobacco products will ultimately give health benefits and provide the government an opportunity to earn more. The Department of Health Undersecretary said that the tax reform bill is more than a ‘sin tax’ , rather it is an anticancer tax. Moreover, DOH believed that it  was just right and  logical that the tobaco industry shoulders the burden tax to compensate for the health encumbrances brought about by smoking .

The passing of the burden to the tobacco industry and the chanelling of the benfits to the affected sector  is again a very good example of what was highlighted by Flor (1991) where the following were considered:

·         Cluster of decisions were directed to particular audience and purpose

·         Decisions were based on emperical data gathered from quantitative and qualitative study

·         It took into considation interdisciplinary issues and concerns

·         It aimed to solve societal problem

Likewise, it was argued by Flor, (1991) that coming up with policy/ies,rationality does not always prevail. Rather, policymaking becomes a function of power. The case of anti-smoking policy was more challenging as the tobacco indutry is a thriving industry and supports the livelihood of many Filipinos. According to Ladhani & Sinclair, (2013) as tobacco restrictions in other countries grew in developed countries, the tobacco companies targeted emerging markets like the Philippines were tobacco control was not yet in place.

“The Philippines has a longstanding reputation as a country in which the tobacco industry has thrived. For over four decades, former President Ferdinand Marcos granted tax and import incentives to Fortune Tobacco (a Philippine company) to create a near monopoly in the cigarette market, particularly among low-priced brands. Smaller players such as US-based Marlboro and Philip Morris International (PMI) entered the market via licensing agreements with local cigarette makers such as La Suerte Cigar & Cigarette Factory in the 1950s and maintained these agreements for almost 50 years. As tobacco restrictions tightened and anti-tobacco sentiment grew in the developed world, tobacco companies turned even greater attention to emerging markets like the Philippines to maintain profitability.” (Ladhani & Sinclair, 2013)

The point that Flor, (1991) highlighted on lobbying of different sectors in certain policies were again very evident. In the case of the tobacco control, Ladhani & Sinclair (2013) outlined how the different departments forged forces as spearheaded by the Department of Health and Department of Finance. Smoking was banned in healthcare, educational, indoor government facilities and public land transportation. However, the tobacco industry has been equally relentless in challenging government efforts to regulate tobacco sales. The cigarette companies were able to circumvent the the prohibition of television, radio and other advertising by promoting through the point of sales and by distributing free samples.

These challenges reinforced the foresight and the arguments of Flor(1991) for a strong need for Communication Policy Specialist/s who will do the following:

·         Initiate and facilitate nationwide media consumer organization oe federation

·         Initiate formal and non-formal media education

·         Conduct policy research and studies

·         Establish nationwide network

·         Serve as staff for legislators or government agencies  and serve as “think tanks”

It can be concluded tha the framework of Policy Sciences (PS) is relevant in pursuit of sustainable development goals. Through PS,  the  government or organizations can come up with strong plocies with less loopholes that are easily communicated to the stakeholders. Moreso, through effective research and communication, the policy can be enacted faster as this will to gain more support and neutralize the lobbyist who are agaisnt the said policy. The template used in tobacco control can also be used in other policies that are awaiting to be enacted.

Next to the anti-smoking (anti- cancer) policy, the tough issue that I think must be prioritized  is the reproductive health law which  for me is anti-poverty law.

References

Flor, A. G. (1991, December). Development Communication and the Policy Sciences. Retrieved January 2016, from https://www.academia.edu/578845/Development_Communication_and_the_Policy_Sciences.

Ladhani, K., & Sinclair, M. (2013). Reflections on Ministerial Leadership: Tobacco Control in the Philippines. Ministerial Leadership in Health . Harvard School of Public Health.

Quimbo, S. L., Casorla, A. A., Miguel-Baquilod, M., Medalla, f. M., Xu, X., & Chaloupka, F. J. (2012). The Economics of Tobacco and Tobacco Taxation in the Philippines. Paris: International Union Against Tuberculosis and Lung Disease.

WHO. (2014). Raising Tax on Tobacco- What you need to know. Retrieved from http://apps.who.int/iris/bitstream/10665/112841/1/WHO_NMH_PND_14.2_eng.pdf.

The policy sciences introduced by Harold D. Lasswell are relevant to the pursuit of the Sustainable Development Goals as these utilize the scientific process in addressing problems in the society. The policy sciences are important to be able to have a specific plan in attaining each SDG instead of having a one-size-fits-all approach.  This multi-disciplinary approach is needed to be able to work within and around the context of a societal problem. “The emphasis is on comprehending problems in context in order to develop recommendations that are both realistic and desirable (Policy Sciences, 2016).”

I believe that each SDG would be attained as long as we continue contributing to the efforts of policy scientists and our leaders to be able to achieve a higher quality of living. There is no clear-cut plan in achieving success. In most cases, it would be trial and error but with constant research, we might lessen the need to have contingency plans.

Reference:

Policy sciences. (2016). Retrieved from http://www.policysciences.org/

Harrell T. Allen’s (1973 as cited by Flor, 1991) idea of a "turbulent field" environment which renders traditional social science methodology inadequate to solve many of societal problems not just remains true today but has undoubtedly worsened. Responding to this reality, the 193 member states of the United Nations adopted a set of goals on September 25, 2015. As part of a new sustainable development agenda to be worked on in the next 15 years, the 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) generally aim to end poverty, protect the planet, and ensure prosperity for all. Seeking to build on the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) that have not been fully achieved, the SDGs which cover 169 targets are believed to be well-packaged: integrated, indivisible and balanced in terms of the economic, social and environmental dimensions of sustainable development (‘Sustainable Development Goals, 2015).

In the United Nations’ formulation of the SDGs and in its articulations on how such goals will be worked on and evaluated, we see the application of the policy sciences principles. Conceptualized and articulated in 1951 by Harold Lasswell and Daniel Lerner, the policy sciences as a discipline is characterized as anticipatory, interdisciplinary and holistic in its approach. Aimed at providing the needed “lead time” in solving a lot of urgent or pressing problems, it works by applying scientific knowledge from social and behavioral sciences and adherence to structured rationality (Allen, 1978 as cited by Flor, 1991).

The SGD narrative reflects  the application of the scientific method in terms of   the formulation, implementation and evaluation of the goals:  targets being the result of over two years of intensive public consultation and engagement with civil society and other stakeholders around the world; articulation on the need to strengthen statistical capacities in developing countries, particularly African countries, least developed countries, landlocked developing countries, small island developing States and middle-income countries; decision-making based on quality, accessible, timely and reliable disaggregated data; implementing the agenda within the respective countries and at the regional and global levels, taking into account different national realities, capacities and levels of development and respecting national policies and priorities, etc.).

REFERENCES:

Flor, Alexander. 1997. Development communication and the policy sciences. Retrieved on January 29, 2016 from https://www.academia.edu.

Sustainable Development Goals - United Nations.2015. Retrieved on April 19, 2016 from http://www.un.org/ga/search/view_doc.asp?symbol=A/RES/70/1&Lang=E

The discipline of sustainability, as it is practiced and taught in schools today, delves into business, technology, the environment and many other real-world concerns, while drawing on both the hard sciences and the social sciences which include politics, history, anthropology, economics and philosophy (John Hopkins University, 2016). Sustainability focuses on the way natural systems work amidst diversity to produce what society needs to live in harmony, while keeping the ecology in balance and undamaged (Mason, 2016)  so that the ability of future generations to satisfy their needs will not be compromised (UNESCO, 2002). More and more reputable educational institutions such as John Hopkins University and the University of the Philippines system are offering sustainability degrees which equip their students – future educators, researches, policymakers, civic planners, non-government workers and development communicators -- with the knowledge to explore solutions to real-world sustainability challenges (John Hopkins University, 2016), particularly in achieving the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).

According to the United Nations Development Programme website (2016), the SDGs, also known as the Global Goals, were launched in September 2016 to succeed the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) which were adopted by the United Nations in 2000. The MDGs were crafted to address extreme poverty, hunger, disease, gender inequality, and lack of access to education, water and shelter in the world by 2015. Although much headway was made by the MDGs, however, worldwide poverty has not been totally eliminated.  This is why the SDGs were built on the MDGs with a more comprehensive sustainability scheme to tackle the root causes of poverty, and promote all-encompassing prosperity, peace and security, especially in underdeveloped and developing countries around the world.  The 2002 Johannesburg Plan of Implementation (JPOI) contained the Institutional Framework for Sustainable Development (IFSD) which espoused that the mutually reinforcing relationship among three pillars -- social development, economic progress and environmental protection – to combat poverty, promote equity, ensure sustainability,  and address climate change at the national, regional and international levels (see attached image of the Sustainability Development Triangle from Google.com).

Appropriate action on issues involving sustainable development cannot be done without science, specifically scientific knowledge about such issues as the proper use of natural resources for food, medicine, energy, etc.; the impact of pollution on the environment and society, and how to reduce it; the promotion of biodiversity to achieve food security; the eradication of gender inequality; and access to clean drinking water, among other concerns (Mundy, 2014).

The interdisciplinary nature of the policy sciences will provide the knowledge and skills needed to end poverty and hunger; achieve gender equality; promote jobs and stronger economies, and address climate change, pollution and other environmental problems, and foster ecological health. In helping advance the SDGs, the relevance of the policy sciences is indubitable.

References:

Google.com.ph. (2016). Sustainable Development Triangle [Image]. Retrieved on May 7, 2016, from http://b.static.trunity.net/files/111501_111600/111577/300px-Sustainable_development_triangle.gif

John Hopkins University. (2016). Sustainability Degrees. Retrieved on May 6, 2016, from http://www.sustainabilitydegrees.com/degrees/

Mason, M. (2016).  What Is Sustainability and Why Is It Important?. Retrieved from http://www.environmentalscience.org/sustainability

Mundy, R. (2014, April 9). What can it do for the Sustainable Development goals? Retrieved on May 8, 2016, from http://www.scidev.net/global/mdgs/feature/what-can-science-do-for-the-sustainable-development-goals.html

UNESCO. (2002). Education for Sustainability / From Rio to Johannesburg: Lessons learnt from a decade of commitment. Report presented during the World Summit on Sustainable Development in Johannesburg, 26 August – 4 September 2002.                                                                 

United Nation Conference of Sustainable Development.  (2011). Institutional framework for sustainable development.  Retrieved on May 7, 2016, from http://www.uncsd2012.org/index.php?page=view&type=12&nr=228&menu=63#sthash.0NdCfpyD.dpuf

I did study recently that might be relevant.

Article Achieving sustainability through Schumpeterian social entrep...

Hello sir Sandy:

Policy Sciences are scientific approaches to issues and problems developed by Harold Lasswell and his colleagues. As defined, Policy Sciences can provide an integrated and comprehensive approach to solving problems and help with decision and, subsequently, policy making. From this definition I believe that policy sciences could be used to achieve our set SDGs.

But while it can be of use to achieve our SDGs, I do not think that reliance to the policy sciences alone can solve the problems that impede the attainment of our SDGs mainly because the treatment of such approach is scientific. As we move towards ASEAN Integration, challenges such as the culture and economic diversity do not seem to be problems that can only be approached scientifically. These are interconnected issues that vary depending on a nation’s traditional and political practices in national, regional and international level. Therefore, I believe that it is best to analyze each problem with consideration of the diverse backgrounds of each member country.

REFERENCE

1. Lasswell, Harold D. A Preview of Policy Sciences. American Elsevier Publishing, 1971.

2. http://www.policysciences.org/

Policies are meant to keep public and civic order. They exist to ensure citizens' refuge from harm and distress; thus the need to advocate reflective policies.

The Sustainable Development Goals from the United Nations are epitome of advocacies promoting social good. The only way to fulfill all these objectives is to create concrete policies and programs which will enable them to move forward.

The 17 goals covering broad range of sustainable development projects like ending poverty and hunger, improving health and education, sustainable cities and combating climate change are dreams to be fulfilled not only by UN but by every single individual living on earth.

The lack of public policies led us to facing these similar problems eventually becoming a recurring dilemma.

United Nations President, Mogens Lykketoft acknowledged on his speech during the 70th UN General Assembly the significance of information dissemination of the SDG’s to the people. Once, informed people can demand for actions from their leaders and hold them responsible to their promises of providing them with a better and secure life.

The leaders will be held accountable to their constituents by ensuring laws and relevant programs be implemented in fighting societal problems. Take for example, the problem with climate change will be addressed if local government units ensure proper segregation of waste and recycling of every household. If properly monitored and implemented, no matter how small the act is will transcend in saving and protecting the environment.

SDG's dwell as dreams if not transformed into actions through the aid of policy sciences. We can only hope that citizens will work together to notch a world of enlightened public policies. Lasswell sees it as the very core of policy- contextuality. 

References:

Flor, A. G. (1991). Development Communication and the Policy Sciences. Retrieved from www.academia.edu

Laswell, H. ( n.d.). A Pre-View of Policy Sciences. Retrieved from 

http://www.policysciences.org/classics/preview.pdf

Sustainable Development Goals. Retrieved from http://www.un.org/sustainabledevelopment/sustainable-development-goals/

Dear colleagues from the Open University of the Philippines!

In my last posting here I attached an Excel with the assumption that measuring the countries' progress in the 17 SDG will create redundant results which can be measured in a Global Index Benchmark.

In the meanwhile I had the opportunity to personally participate in the UN Interagency Expert Group for the SDG (IAEG-SDG) and I attach the last protocol with my and other contributions.

The UNSDNS and the German Bertelsmann Foundation have published an SDG-Index, that measures and ranks the progress of countries to reaching the 17 SDG.

We included this new index in our Global Index Benchmark (attached).

So, dear colleagues from Open University,

as one of the only political scientist that contributes to the IAEG-SDG and publishing results on measuring the SDG, I can only kindly offering you the results for your own work.

If you still think that the SDG will being achieved by reading and spreading them, you have to ignore the issues of measurement, because the current standards of measurement do not allow developing countries - e.g. the Philippines - to influence their scores due to the dependency on GDP and due the unilateral bias of defining the Sub-Indicators of the SDG.

I kindly invite you to try to become members of the SDG discussion and to experience personally what it means to directly comment on the current measurement of SDG and to help to finding ways to influence the SDG locally, e.g. SDG 16 in the Philippines, that has been entirely ignored at the moment.

Mentioning SDG 16 is very difficult in the Philippines but as well in the US and the EU.

But we can't leave SDG 16 unconsidered because the transaction costs for war and violence reach $ 2 tn per year, two thirds of it caused only by one country, the United States of America.

So there will be something to do for political scientists to developing strategies that allow to lower these transaction costs without letting the US destroy more countries and helping the citizens of the US to find peace and reconciliation.

So what do you think can be done?

Credits:

Globalpolicywatch: https://www.globalpolicywatch.org/blog/2017/03/10/the-wrong-message-redundancy-and-unilateralism-in-measuring-the-sdgs/

SDG Index : http://www.sdgindex.org/

Hi Dr. Sandy,

To a certain extent, though this is always debatable, policy sciences narrative jive with today’s SDG.  Hence, members of the United Nations are reminded by Ban Kin-moon  in a 2016 UN Report on Sustainable Development Goals for the “need to build SDG Development Goals into their national policies and plans if we are to achieve them.” The report moreover presents a substantial information and analyses about selected indicators from the global indicator framework culled from various data from nation members. Such data suggest critical gaps and challenges that need to be addressed by different countries clustered in particular regions. Thus, member country has to keep up with the challenge of addressing particular areas of concerns (e.g. ending poverty, eliminating hunger, etc.) through policy building and proactive actions primarily led by its respective government.

Moreover, policy science is very much relevant in formulating program and strategy that would generate measurable results in achieving the gap for the 2030 agenda. The 2030 goals will have to be applied to all and integrated in policy and translated into actions. But this is not straightforward. As to policy making, Servaes (1999) noted that “policy makers and planners have to solve problems at distinct levels. Policy scholars argue that “it is necessary to combine and integrate local, national, regional, international and intermediate levels if one really wants to acquire a strategy based upon the above multiplicity paradigm. In achieving this, the need for more data, standardization and resource managements have to be institutionalized first for better comparability and understanding of other indicators that remained unseen. The UN report also tells us that “many national statistical systems across the globe face serious challenges in this regard. As a result, accurate and timely information about certain aspects of people’s lives are unknown, numerous groups and individuals remain “invisible”, and many development challenges are still poorly understood.” This answers the last question for a need for more literature or research concerning monitoring and evaluation of countries’ contribution to the agenda from policy making to concrete actions and impact most particularly to the communities being engaged.  

More on:

Reports on SDG by 2016 for 2030 AGENDA  (UN, 2016) https://unstats.un.org/sdgs/report/2016/The%20Sustainable%20Development%20Goals%20Report%202016.pdf

https://www.researchgate.net/publication/274210918_Chapter_5_COMMUNICATION_POLICY_AND_PLANNING_FOR_SOCIAL_CHANGE 

Book Chapter 5 COMMUNICATION POLICY AND PLANNING FOR SOCIAL CHANGE

The policy sciences and Sustainable Development Goals (SGDs) are strands which have to be tightly interwoven if we are to rise from the burgeoning global crises that confront us. The policy sciences are highly relevant in achieving the SGDs because of its timeless attributes that aid in problem-solving and decision making.

Policy Sciences’ Narrative vis-à-vis SGDs

The policy sciences are means for understanding and solving problems. Laswell, by modifying Dewey's pragmatism, proposed that the policy sciences be separated into two poles and be categorized as (1) the scientific study of problems and (2) policymaking around these problems (Turnball, 2010). The offshoot of those poles is the integrated and comprehensive set of procedures for addressing problems in either local or planetary scope (Lynch, 2016).  Specifically, it is the reactive rather than the proactive type of policy which specializes in remediating existing concerns and problems (Robinson, 2015).

When Lasswell and Lerner (and McDougal) developed the “policy sciences”, the movement was primarily designed “to contribute to fostering and achieving a commonwealth of human dignity for all”.  

Today’s SGDs narrative is in consonance with that of the policy sciences  as the former also moves towards resolving global problems and reaching shared prosperity without leaving anyone behind. Just like the policy sciences, the SGDs aim to promote the well-being of humanity by “ending poverty of all forms, protecting the planet and ensuring prosperity”.

Policy sciences as relevant tools in achieving the SDGs

The connection between the policy sciences and the SGDs was even more strengthened by the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development’s (OECD) cognizance that the creation of sound and evidence-based public policies are essential tools in achieving the 17 goals of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development.

To contextualize this notion, the OECD, as a body which promotes policies for the global improvement of the people, crafted the policy-related action plan dubbed as “Better Policies for 2030: An OECD Action Plan on the Sustainable Development Goals”. The OECD’s plan mentions that the policies’ coherence with sustainable development initiatives will help the countries to prepare for an integrated and multidisciplinary approach to global progress.

Supporting references and literatures on the claim: Policy sciences remain as tools for achieving SGDs

The setting of global goals motivates the countries to ensure the alignment of their national policies with the SDGs (Fukuda-Parr, 2013) because while programs are equally important, it is the policies which cause sustainability and carry long term effects (Wilson, 2015). In Pakistan, the country was recommended to have a major shift in its policy and strategic directions if it were to achieve the then installed health-related Millennium Development Goals (Islam, 2004). Sweden, on the other hand, expresses that their policy decisions will be coherent to the SGDs through considering its effects on poor countries and people.

The policy coherence, alignment of directions and the involvement of policy sciences in general, are indeed considered relevant in achieving the goals as evidenced by the inclusion of Target 17.14 (enhance policy coherence for sustainable development) in the 169 targets of the 2030 agenda of SDG.

To ensure that this target will be met, the OECD also created the “Policy Coherence for Sustainable Development (PCSD) in the SDG Framework”. The application of policy sciences in relation to the achievement of SGDs can be seen through PCSD’s nature as an “approach and policy tool for the integration of the economic, social, environmental and governance dimensions of sustainable development at all stages of domestic and international policy making”. The OECD’s PCSD aims to increase governments’ capacities to achieve these objectives: foster synergies across economic, social and environmental policy areas; (2) identify trade-offs and reconcile domestic policy objectives with internationally agreed objectives; and (3) address the spillovers of domestic policies.

Supporting references and literatures on the claim: Policy sciences remain as tools for achieving SGDs

One of the salient evidences which prove that policy sciences and SDGs are interrelated is the PCSD analytical framework. The OECD has labeled this framework as a tool in facilitating the design and implementation of policies to consider the following: (i) diversity, roles and responsibilities of different actors as well as sources of finance – public and private, domestic and international; (ii) policy inter-linkages across economic, social and environmental areas, including the identification of synergies and trade-offs; (iii) non-policy drivers,i.e. the enablers and disablers at global, national, local and regional levels for sustainable development outcomes; and (iv) policy effects, i.e. transboundary and temporal impacts.

To make this target attainable, the OECD has proposed this SMART-version of SGD target 17.14:

“Strengthen the capacity of governments to implement coherent and mutually supportive policies to achieve the SDGs in time to inform national action plans for SDG implementation, in ways that balance economic, social and environmental goals; consider domestic and international effects of policies; and support long-term sustainability.”

The OECD further proposed that the key indicators for the achievement of this target be measured through Criteria-based Assessment, Qualitative Assessments, Perceptions Index and/or Composite Index.

Other than the OECD, there are also individuals coming from various sectors who expressed the need for policies to accomplish the SDGs. As proofs, the following are excerpts of their statements:

“What is urgently needed now are strategies to sustainably harness the world's environmental resources, including appropriate policies and practices. A policy measure that could be achieved through national actions is - once environmental loss is reversed - prioritizing the allocation of a percentage of environmental-based earnings to sectors that will be highly catalytic in implementing the 2030 Agenda.” - Thiaw (2016)

“Technology can help us to fundamentally transform education delivery and, with the right mix of policies and incentives, we can scale up early success stories.” - Saadia Zahidi Head of Employment and Gender Initiatives (as cited by Cann, 2015)

“We need new policy frameworks and solutions that give economies every chance to drive growth that is inclusive and not limited to small elites.” – Jennifer Blanke, Chief Economist (as cited by Cann, 2015)

“Ensure policies and management decisions at the city level; take into account the regional and global context and interactions. Unintended adverse consequences which affect housing, industry, energy consumption and health can be minimized through closer collaboration on science and urban policies.” –Bai (2015)

“Poor governments will have a responsibility to change policy priorities and spending allocations, and look to their own domestic resource mobilization. But we have to watch out for a certain hypocrisy here where rich governments are happy to share responsibility but not to share the power and control of resources that poor countries will need.” – Byanyima (2015)

These varied voices from different sectors acknowledging the need for the use of policy sciences to successfully embark in the implementation of the SGDs are quite inspiring. Thus, to further spark collaborative participation among people and companies, the SGDs can be segmented into four, namely: people, planet, policy and the human condition (Chakravorti, 2017). It must be noted that in area of policy, the people/company leaders are challenged to engage in the SGDs by collaborating with the policy-makers to create conditions for a fair and equitable society (Chakravorti, 2017).

In a nutshell, the success of our pursuit to Sustainable Development Goals lies on our maximization of policy sciences and the application of such movement through ensuring that the countries’ policies are coherent to the targeted goals. The challenge that comes along with the promise of having a better planet for future generations can be possibly won through the partnership of world leaders, international organizations, governments, private sector, academia, civil society and the citizens. If this “multi-stakeholder partnership” will prosper, like “a glue that holds the process together” (Thomson, 2015), then we can assure ourselves that the SGDs will be the trail that leads to what Ricard (2015) termed as “Road to Enlightenment”.

References:

Bai, X. (2015). 10 ways to make our cities liveable by 2030. Retrieved 10 April 2017 from https://www.weforum.org/agenda/2015/09/10-key-steps-to-make-our-cities-liveable-by-2030/

Byanyima, W. (2015). How can we eradicate poverty by 2030? Retrieved 10 April 2017 from https://www.weforum.org/agenda/2015/09/how-can-we-eradicate-poverty-by-2030/ 2015

Cann, O. (2015). How can the development goals be achieved? Retrieved 10 April 2017 from https://www.weforum.org/agenda/2015/09/how-achievable-are-the-sustainable-development-goals/

Chakravorti, B. (2017). Where to begin with the SDGs? 3 steps for all companies. Retrieved 10 April 2017 from https://www.weforum.org/agenda/2017/03/where-to-begin-with-the-sdgs-3-steps-for-all-companies

Fukuda-Parr, S. (2013). Global Development Goal Setting As A Policy Tool for Global Governance: Intended and Unintended Consequences. Retrieved 10 April 2017 fromhttps://sustainabledevelopment.un.org/content/documents/863IPCWorkingPaper108.pdf

Government Offices of Sweden (2017). Sustainable development policy. Retrieved 11 April 2017 from http://www.government.se/government-policy/sustainable-development-policy/

Islam, A. (2004). Health-related millennium development goals: policy challenges for Pakistan. J Pak Med Assoc. 2004 Apr;54(4):175-81. PMID: 15241993 Free Article. Retrieved 11 April 2017 from https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/15241993

Lynch, A. (2016). Policy Sciences. Retrieved 10 April 2017 from http://www.policysciences.org/

Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (2016). Better Policies for 2030: An OECD Action Plan on the Sustainable Development Goals. Retrieved 10 April 2017 from http://www.oecd.org/dac/Better%20Policies%20for%202030.pdf

Ricard, M. (2015). 5 ways to improve health and well-being for all. Retrieved 10 April 2017 from https://www.weforum.org/agenda/2015/09/5-ways-to-improve-the-well-being-of-the-world/

Robinson, B. (2015) Energy Policy. John A. Dutton e-Education Institute, College of Earth and Mineral Sciences, The Pennsylvania State University. Retrieved 10 April 2017 from https://www.e-education.psu.edu/geog432/node/128

Thiaw, I. (2016) A policy agenda for Sustainable Development Goals. Retrieved 10 April 2017 from http://www.aljazeera.com/indepth/opinion/2016/03/policy-agenda-sustainable-development-goals-160321100549287.html

Thomson, S. (2015). What are the Sustainable Development Goals? Retrieved 11 April 2015 from https://www.weforum.org/agenda/2015/09/what-are-the-sustainable-development-goals/

Turnball, N. (2010). Harold Lasswell’s “problem orientation” for the policy sciences. Retrieved 10 April 2017 from http://www.tandfonline.com/action/showCitFormats?doi=10.1080%2F19460171.2008.9518532

Wilson, S. (2015). Crucial Difference Between Policies and Programs. Retrieved 10 April 2017 from http://www.governing.com/gov-institute/voices/col-social-equity-crucial-difference-policies-programs-ferguson.html

Year 2012 when I have taken DevC202 (Introduction to Development Communication) where the professor was Dr. Alexander Flor. It was the year when I was enlightened about our society is facing up to this moment. It was the year when I realized that somehow I’m lucky because I wasn’t totally experiencing the inequality, the malnutrition and other big problems of the society. In Intro to Development Communication, we were able to discuss about the MDG 2015 or the Millennium Development Goal 2015 of the United Nations. The MDG 2015 aimed to diminish the 7 societal problems of the countries belong to the third world. But 2015 has passed and yet the countries belong to the third world are still experiencing those societal problems.

In a study, (“Limitations of the Millennium Development Goals, 2013”) discussed that In September 2001, based upon the Millennium Declaration, the United Nations (UN) presented the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) as a list of common goals for the world community to achieve by 2015. Since then, remarkable progress has been made towards achieving the MDGs. According to the UN MDG Report 2012, the proportion of people living on less than $1.25 has decreased from 47% in 1990 to 24% in 2008 (from 2 to 1.4 billion) (“Limitations of the Millennium Development Goals, 2013”). Furthermore, it was indicated that Target 1 – Halve the proportion of people living on less than one dollar a day – will be reached by 2015 (UN, 2012). Child mortality (Target 4.A) has been steadily decreasing globally, and immunization rates are over 90% in almost two-thirds of all countries (Overseas Development Institute [ODI], 2010). Enrolment rates of primary schools increased from 58 to 76% in sub-Saharan Africa between 1999 and 2010, professional assistance during childbirth has improved from 55% in 1990 to 65% in 2010 (Indicator 5.2) and the aimed reduction of slum dwellers by 100 million (Target 7.D) is already achieved (UN, 2012) (“Limitations of the Millennium Development Goals, 2013”).

Moreover, (“Limitations of the Millennium Development Goals, 2013”) states that however, progress across all MDGs has been limited and uneven across countries. An estimated 15.5% of the world population still suffers from hunger, and many countries, particularly on the African continent, are unlikely to meet the targeted two-thirds reduction in child mortality by 2015 (ODI, 2010; UN, 2012). The reduction in maternal mortality (Target 5.A) has been slow and mortality remains alarmingly high (UN, 2012). In sub-Saharan regions and Southern Asia, where 80% of people in extreme poverty live, progress in reaching MDGs has generally been very limited (UN, 2012) (“Limitations of the Millennium Development Goals, 2013”).

This is why on September 25th 2015, countries adopted a set of goals to end poverty, protect the planet, and ensure prosperity for all as part of a new sustainable development agenda. Each goal has specific targets to be achieved over the next 15 years (“Sustainable Development Goals, n.d.”). In an article, (“Transforming our world, n.d.”) discussed that the agenda of Sustainable Development Goal is a plan of action for people, planet and prosperity. It also seeks to strengthen universal peace in larger freedom (“Transforming our world, n.d.”).

The way I look at the previous MDG project of the United Nations, they were not able to understand the whole context of their goals.  For instance, the problem of the poverty is a huge one which cannot be resolved as fast as 14 years. They have to understand the problem first, study how they would communicate among others and configure what solution they may give to the problems of the society, this is how policy science is being defined. (Policy Science, n.d.”) states that in policy science, whether the problems are local, regional, international or planetary, it is a must to provide an integrated and comprehensive set of procedures for addressing the, in ways that help to clarify and secure the common interest, helping people make better decisions. That is why, the conceptualizing or implementing the sustainable development goals, the implementer should study and understand everything and if it is really feasible to continue the plan.

References:

Limitations of the Millennium Development Goals: a literature review (2013). Retrieved from https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3877943/

Policy Science (n.d.). Retrieved from http://www.policysciences.org/

Sustainable Development Goals (n.d.). Retrieved from http://www.un.org/sustainabledevelopment/sustainable-development-goals/

Transforming our world: the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development (n.d.). Retrieved from http://www.un.org/ga/search/view_doc.asp?symbol=A/RES/70/1&Lang=E

To explain the apparent relevance of policy sciences to the pursuit Sustainable Development Goals, I will attempt to align them with the following key points: politics/governance, decisions, implementation, and policy coherence.

The SDGs are all highly politicized issues wherein decisions on a particular goal have something to do with a political strategy. There is a central role for institutions, encompassing both their function and their ethos and logically puts politics at the heart of institutions. Francis Fukuyama (2014) has stated and shown that politics are really the underlying driver of progress. Whaites (2016) stated that “the strategies followed by those who dominate the `political settlement’ in using or neglecting institutions impact greatly on development outcomes.”

With a hierarchical governance, weaknesses include inflexibility, bureaucratic procedures, and a closed/inward looking culture, disincentive to synergy between sectors, sometimes lack of innovation and bottom-up initiative, lack of ownership, lack of mechanisms to prevent lock-in effects, and low levels of awareness of unexpected and unpredictable events (Niestroy and Meuleman, 2015).  The SDGs are also difficult to implement since there is a lack of concrete knowledge. Russell (2016) added that the (SDG) targets themselves are so broad that the U.N. is working on a drastic re-working of global statistics to measure progress across agenda, honing 230 statistical indicators, including some that haven’t really been invented yet.” The decisions to enact policies related to SDG are complex and heavy. Mans Nillson (as cited by Russell, 2016), research director and deputy director of the Stockholm Environment Institute stated that implementing policies to boost consumption in order to promote economic growth in fulfilling one SDG goal may counteract the objectives of another SDG goal. Indeed, there are no easy or binary decisions to be made. There are also often competing interests for the role of oversight in policy.

Quoted from OECD (2015), “Policy Coherence for Sustainable Development (PCSD) can help facilitate the design and implementation of policies considering the diversity, roles and responsibilities of different actors as well as sources of finance, policy inter-linkages across economic, social and environmental areas, non-policy drivers, and policy effects. Since it is an approach and policy tool to integrate the economic, social, environmental and governance dimensions of sustainable development at all stages of domestic and international policy making, it aims to increase governments’ capacities to achieve the following objectives:

1) Foster synergies across economic, social and environmental policy areas;

2) Identify trade-offs and reconcile domestic policy objectives with internationally agreed objectives; and

3) Address the spillovers of domestic policies.

There are still different ways to achieve a goal depending on the types of policies available such as taxes, regulations, laws, standards, incentives, and fines. It is important to understand how policy instruments work for different types of SDG challenges. One of the more important aspects of the policy process is successful implementation. Implementation of a policy begins during the policy design and analysis phases, and is the most integral component to ensuring the policy achieves its intended goals. To have a clearly defined purposes and specific action plans for the SDGs are necessary to execute the programs effectively.

To quote OECD (2015), “it is challenging to define or measure a target for PCSD in a rigorous, outcome-focused way…The SDGs require a clear target on policy coherence. This would help to foster commitment and make policy coherence part of the international accountability framework for the SDGs. The alternatives are that policy coherence remains unclear and is largely ignored because of its lack of specificity, or that it is dropped as a target altogether, and referred to only as a vague commitment in the preamble to the SDGs…In order to avoid these situations, we need to set a clearer and sharper target for policy coherence within the SDGs. We should recognize that policy coherence is a means of implementation, and therefore bound-up with processes as well as outcomes. We should develop a target that is SMART (specific, measurable, attainable, relevant (for all countries), and time-bound), as much as possible for a means of implementation. It shows the extent to which economic, social, and environmental aspects are interwoven throughout the SDGs, and the extent to which three priority areas for PCSD (food security, illicit financial flows, and the water-energy-food nexus) are related to other targets across the SDGs.”

References:

 Francis Fukuyama. [Stanford CDDRL].  2014, Aug 21. What is Development? Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iG3G56YdFeE.

Niestroy, I. and Meuleman, L. Common But Differentiated Governance: Making the SDGs work. Briefing note. Retrieved from http://www.ps4sd.eu/images/Common-But-Differentiated-Governance%20Niestroy-Meuleman_Apr2015.pdf.

OECD. (2015). Policy coherence for sustainable development in the SDG framework shaping targets and Monitoring Progress. Retrieved from http://www.oecd.org/development/pcd/Note%20on%20Shaping%20Targets.pdf)).

Russell, G. (2016, July 26). As UN pushes radical Sustainable Development Goals, scientists are trying to make sense of them. Retrieved from http://www.foxnews.com/world/2016/07/26/as-un-pushes-radical-sustainable-development-goals-scientists-are-trying-to-make-sense-them.html

Sustainable Development Goals. (2015). Retrieved from https://sustainabledevelopment.un.org/?menu=1300.

Whaites, A. (2016). Achieving the impossible: can we be SDG 16 believers?. Retrieved from 1http://www.oecd.org/dac/accountable-effective-institutions/Achieving%20the%20Impossible%20can%20we%20be%20SDG16%20believers.pdf

How relevant are the policy sciences to the pursuit of the Sustainable Development Goals?

The Sustainable Development Goals or SDGs were launched by the international development assistance community in September 2015. The policy sciences, on the other hand, were introduced by Laswell and Lerner more than half a century ago during the so-called First Development Decade. Does the policy sciences narrative jive with today's SDG narrative? Are the policy sciences still relevant as tools in achieving the SDG's. Does existing literature or current research support this?

According to Fraser (1998), policies will greatly aid in the successful implementation of projects as they provide directions on what necessary steps to take. In fact, this is evident with how the SDGs jive with the policy sciences. If we would deconstruct how the SDGs were formulated, we can argue that they follow a certain contextual map that provides a guide to the important explorations to resolve issues.

The SDGs follow the five intellectual tasks postulated by Laswell (1971).  First, the SDGs clarify the goals to be undertaken. It has laid out 17 goals with 169 associated targets, which are integrated and indivisible. Second, it describes the historical trends and gaps that can and may affect the SDG outcomes. The SDGs has taken into consideration the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs), which were created more than 15 years ago. The SDGs stressed the fact that there are development areas that MDGs have missed and some of the MDGs remain to be off-track. It builds on the MDGs and addresses the past missed opportunities. Third, the SDGs has reviewed the current conditions and factors of each country that affect the pursuit of sustainable development. For example, it has taken into consideration the serious challenges of middle income countries and gives special attention to African countries and countries affected by war. Fourth, the SDGs has projected developments if current policies are continued. For example, the implementation of the 10-Year Framework of Programmes on Sustainable Consumption and Production Patterns by all countries would enable the achievement of a sustainable management and efficient use of natural resources by 2030. Lastly, the SDGs follow the evaluation task. It has outlined the follow-up and review processes at national, regional, and global levels.

Are the policy sciences still relevant as tools in achieving the SDG's. Does existing literature or current research support this?

Yes, current research and technology support the intertwining nature of the SDG and policy science. The policy sciences are relevant in achieving the SDGs. In fact, a current research model has integrated policy making with the SDGs. The ISDG model is a tool that enables policy makers to understand the interconnectedness of policies designed to achieve the SDGs and test their likely impacts before adopting them (ISDGS, 2016). The model simulates the fundamental trends for SDGs until 2030 under a business-as-usual scenario, and supports the analysis of relevant alternative scenarios. It also traces the trends beyond the SDGs’ time span to 2050. Clearly, this model underscores the relevance of policy sciences in achieving the SDGs. 

Policy sciences are relevant since the can be used to assess, review and fix problems. These can be classified under two areas as suggested by Laswell after reviewing the concepts of Dewey. The two classifications are first to use science to study the situation and problem, and second is to create policies to address the problems as also considered by Turnbull (2010).  New processes and procedures can also be used to solve problems if they are not covered by these two poles (Lynch 2010).  Situations may occur that solutions are created after a problem has happened which is classified as a reactive approach to a problem, this can be different from the proactive type of addressing a situation that needs to be solved (Robinson, 2015).

Another research that highlights the importance of policy science in achieving the SDGs is done by Rasanathan and Diaz (2016). They stressed the fact that the lack of clear policy procedures creates policy confusion and explains the lack of progress on health inequities (Goal 3).

Research and current daily work scenarios show how policy science is important and relevant as tools to achieve the SDG goals.

References:

Fraser, C. (1998). Communicating for Development: Human Change for Survival. New York: I.B. Tauris.

Integrated Model for Sustainable Development Goals Strategies (2016). Policy Coherence and Integration to Achieve the Sustainable Development Goals. Retrieved April 23, 2017, from ISDGS Website:http://www.isdgs.org/       

Lasswell, H. D. (1971). A Pre-view of Policy Sciences. New York: American Elsevier.

Lynch, A. (2016). Policy Sciences. Retrieved 10 April 2017 from http://www.policysciences.org/

May, P.J., Sapotichne, J. & Workman, S. (2006). Policy Coherence and Policy Domains.

Policy Sciences. (2016). Retrieved from http://www.policysciences.org/

Rasanathan, K. & Diaz, (2016). Research on health equity in the SDG era: the urgent need for greater focus on implementation. International Journal for Equity in Health, 15:202.

Robinson, B. (2015) Energy Policy. John A. Dutton e-Education Institute, College of Earth and Mineral Sciences, The Pennsylvania State University. Retrieved 10 April 2017 from https://www.e-education.psu.edu/geog432/node/128

Turnball, N. (2010). Harold Lasswell’s “problem orientation” for the policy sciences. Retrieved 10 April 2017 from http://www.tandfonline.com/action/show CitFormats?doi= 10.1080%2F19460171.2008.9518532

UN (2015).  Transforming our World:  The 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development.  Retrieved from www.un.org

United Nations. (2016). Sustainable Development Goals. Retrieved April 23, 2017, from United Nations Website: http://www.un.org/sustainabledevelopment/sustainable-development-goals

UNDP (n.d).  Sustainable Development Goals. Retrieved from www.undp.org

The Sustainable Development Goals or SDG is a take-over from the Millennium Development Goals (MDG) which already ended. The SDG was launch in 2015 with the goal of attaining sustainability in terms of social, economic, and environment. According to an article from the Guardian.Com, the projects of MDGs are successful in a way that certain problems and concerns of society were lessen, however, the MDG misses out on its key target (https://www.theguardian.com/global-development/datablog/2015/jul/06/what-millennium-development-goals-achieved-mdgs).  Before the MDGs and SDGs, the United Nations has the First Development Decade in which it aims to support and mobilize the economic growth and social development of developing countries (http://www.nationsencyclopedia.com/United-Nations/Economic-and-Social-Development-FIRST-UN-DEVELOPMENT-DECADE.html). According to National Encyclopedia.com, during these times countries with stable economies were tasked to “pursue policies” to facilitate import-export activities of developing nation so as to ensure a fair share of its income. The First Decade of Development showed that progress was attained but fall short of realising its target and goals for the developing nations.

“The first UN Development Decade ended in December 1970 with one of its major goals, the attainment of a 5% growth rate, unattained in the developing countries. During the period 1960–67, those countries achieved an annual rate of increase in their total domestic product of about 4.6%, but, because of the population increase, the increase in their per capita gross product was only about 2%. The General Assembly concluded that one of the reasons for the slow progress was the absence of a framework of international development strategy.” (http://www.nationsencyclopedia.com/United-Nations/Economic-and-Social-Development-FIRST-UN-DEVELOPMENT-DECADE.html)

Policies and development strategies and plans were present during the first decade as well as in the Medium development goals in which progress were observed and experienced only missing out of their key targets and goals. Now do we expect that the same will happen in SDG? The SDG has a larger/ wider scope that that of the First Decade and the MDG. There are “17 Goals build on the successes of the Millennium Development Goals, while including new areas such as climate change, economic inequality, innovation, sustainable consumption, peace and justice, among other priorities. The goals are interconnected – often the key to success on one will involve tackling issues more commonly associated with another.” (http://www.undp.org/content/undp/en/home/sustainable-development-goals.html)

Since this is broader and larger, the policy sciences are still relevant. Specific policies on each goals should be provided and more sub policies should be framed in order for nations to apply it in their own countries. IMF.org has a blueprint of policies that can support the SDG. In Turnbull’s article, Lasswell believe that policy science should be adopted in order to solve problems of society. SDGs goals are meant to solve problems so we can say that it needs policies so as to implement projects to attain goals of SDG. The policy sciences involves different agencies, people as well as disciplines that can contribute to the success of implementing projects related to SDG. ISDGS.org’s video showed that the importance of policy makers in establishing policy coherence on SDGs. According to the video, policy makers should look into three questions such as (1) How to Coordinate policies to projects and goals as well as people and agencies involved in attaining a certain goal, (2) How to Leverage synergies where the policies will identify tasks and responsibilities as well as how affected people can participate in SDGs, (3) How Much Resources where policies can identify where to look for funds and where to put it as well as the amount to be allocated in such goal.

The goals are interrelated that is why policies are need to make specific objectives needed for a specific goal. Policies can get people act for their needs as well their problems. Solutions can be identified by them. The SDG is a concern of all and policies can help in dissemination of ideas of SDG.  

The goals of SDG is very easy to understand especially among us in the academe but how about those that are really affected by poverty and other problems stated in the SDG. How can they understand it without specific policies in communicating the ideas to the. A study done by Francisco and Tirol showed that farmers’ notion on climate change were “incomplete and not well defined” (Francisco and Tirol, 2010). In the study they suggested that agencies or scientists should help bring ideas that they can understand and apply in what they do in farming. Policies can help bring information and education to concern communities especially in discussing environment, poverty, education, equality, and other goals of SDG.

Though missing out on their key targets, the First Decade of Development and the Millennium Development Goals (MDG) had progress with the help of policies. We still need to believe that policies should be formulated in order to attain the SDGs. We just have to identify a specific policy that will suit a specific goal.

References:

Nick Turnbull. Harold Lasswell’s ‘problem orientation’ for the policy sciences. Retrieved from https://www.researchgate.net/publication/249070851_Harold_lasswell's_problem_orientation_for_the_policy_sciences

Policy Science. Retrieved from http://www.policysciences.org/

Communicating Sustainable Development Goals. Retrieved from https://ec.europa.eu/europeaid/news-and-events/communicating-sustainable-development-goals_en

Economic and Social Development – First UN Development Decade. Retrieved from http://www.nationsencyclopedia.com/United-Nations/Economic-and-Social-Development-FIRST-UN-DEVELOPMENT-DECADE.html

UNDP Sustainable Development Goals. Retrieved from http://www.undp.org/content/undp/en/home/sustainable-development-goals/goal-7-affordable-and-clean-energy.html

From Ambition to Execution: Policies in Support of Sustainable Development Goals. Retrieved from https://www.imf.org/external/pubs/ft/sdn/2015/sdn1518.pdf

Policy Coherence and Integration to Achieve the Sustainable Development Goals. Retrieved from http://www.isdgs.org/

What have the Millennium Development Goals Achieved? Retrieved from https://www.theguardian.com/global-development/datablog/2015/jul/06/what-millennium-development-goals-achieved-mdgs

Francisco, Rosa Pilipinas F. and Ma. Stella C. Tirol. Communicating Climate Change to Farmers: Using the Mental Models Approach in Identifying the Information Needs of A Rice Farming Village in Bayambang, Pangasinan, Philippines. THE PHILIPPINE JOURNAL OF DEVELOPMENT COMMUNICATION. Volume 3. January-December 2010

Article Harold Lasswell's "problem orientation" for the policy sciences

Policy sciences, as a movement and discipline that is forward-looking, interdisciplinary, and holistic, offers comprehensive frameworks on policy-making. This is precisely why it is intertwined with Development Communication. Narrow theorizing and rigid objectivity cannot be the lens taken by a policy scientist. Instead, Lasswell argues that the knowledge produced by the policy scientist should always be contextualized to the needs of the constituents. It is always geared towards upliftment of the public welfare. In this sense, the policy sciences began by Lasswell and Lerner remain relevant to the pursuit of the Sustainable Development Goals. However, times have changed and the policy science movement should continue to reinvent itself in order to create a vision of a sustainable society.

Intertwined roles of DevComm and the Policy Sciences

Lasswell’s influence on policy-making is so extensive because he brought together the social sciences and practical policy-making to solve public developmental concerns. In this regard, Flor (1991) asserted that a “development communication specialist, at one time or another assumes the role of a communication policy analyst because of his proactive posture and his preoccupation with purpose.”

When countries signed up again to adopt a post-2015 developmental agenda, they are actually renewing their commitment to end poverty, protect the planet, and ensure prosperity for all. The government, the civil society, the business sector, as well as the development communication workers and policy scientists are expected to work hand in hand to realize the SDGs and all 169 targets.

How Policy Sciences can fully engage contemporary policy movement

In order to assess if the policy sciences are still relevant as tools in achieving SDGs, we look not only at its extensive applications, but also at its reported failings. An article from social science and policy expert Nick Turnbull (n.d.) argues that the policy sciences favor a scientific approach to solving policy problems. He further noted how Lasswell included values in the policy orientation knowing fully well that policy-making is geared towards producing desirable human relations. However, Turnbull opines that although values are included in the choice of problems, Lasswell separated them from the rational process of scientific policymaking, which required ‘scrupulous objectivity and maximum technical ingenuity in executing the projects undertaken,’ in the words of Lasswell himself. We can take this to mean that facts and values are not disparate concepts. Development communication, for one, is always value-laden. It is purposive communication aimed at the realization of full human potential. Hence, policy scientists should make sure they adhere to this purpose.

Another analysis offered by Turnbull is that the policy sciences seek “to resolve questions by reference to experience, which is, and only is, what counts as knowledge in the end.” This positivist orientation can be dangerous, similar to what Martin Hilbert argued in his TedTalk “Big Data requires Big Visions for Big Change.” He said that in the information society, data analytics is a powerful tool because we can now see patterns, interrelations among concepts and phenomena, cause and effect relationships, among other applications of data. However, he is implying that if we rely on our past experiences and on past trends, it can “lock” us into our past by strengthening our belief systems and reinforcing past patterns. He made his point clear – if we rely on big data without any theory and a compelling vision of a future, we are in danger. Hence, in order to create the future that we desire – such as the Sustainable Development Goals – we bank on paradigm-shifting theories, instead of predictions based on past patterns.

Hence, for the policy sciences to remain relevant as tool, it must examine its reverence for prediction based on hypothesis testing and deductive reasoning. As Brunner reminds us, “The purpose of the policy sciences as ‘science’ is to realize more of the potential for free choice through the sharing of insight. The purpose is not prediction” (Pielke, 2004).

One way for policy sciences to fully engage the present challenges is drawing insights from other movements. For example, Otto Scharmer from the Presencing Institute of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology wrote the book Theory U: Leading from a Future as it emerges. The basic premise of Theory U is that we can tap our collective capacity by consciously shifting our inner condition so that individuals and nations can begin to operate from a future space of possibility that they feel wants to emerge. One example of an initiative that applied Theory U is the Sustainable Food Lab, a microcosm of stakeholders aiming to address food systems sustainability. The labs prototyped projects that addressed not only demand and supply chain innovations, but also purchasing standards and policy changes. Another is the Emerging Leaders for Innovation Across Sectors network. Through the Theory U framework, this network helped an Indonesian ministry of trade official in involving all key stakeholders in the sustainable sugar production policymaking process. According to reports, it was the first time that the ministry’s policies did not result in violent protests or riots by farmers or other key stakeholders in the value chain (www.presencing.com).

Thus, the combination of policy sciences tools and frameworks, aided by cutting-edge theories on visioning and creating a sustainable future, is needed. Overall, we have high regard and gratitude for the massive influence of the intellectual giants like Lasswell and Lerner, but it is up to the present generation of policy scientists and developmental communication creatives to make it relevant to the rapidly changing times.

References:

Flor, A.G. (1991). Development communication and the policy sciences. Journal of Development Communication. Retrieved from https://www.academia.edu/578845/Development_Communication_and_the_Policy_Sciences.

Hilbert, M. (2015, January 13). Martin Hilbert: Big data requires big visions for big change. [Video file]. Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UXef6yfJZAI.

Scharmer, O. (n.d.) Addressing the blind spot of our time. An executive summary of the new book by Otto Scharmer Theory U: Leading from the Future as It Emerges. Retrieved from https://www.presencing.com/sites/default/files/page-files/Theory_U_Exec_Summary.pdf.

Sustainable development goals. Retrieved from https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sustainable_Development_Goals.

Turnbull, N. (n.d.) Harold Lasswell’s ‘problem orientation’ for the policy sciences. Retrieved from https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Nick_Turnbull2/publications.

Pielke, R.A. (2004). What future for the policy sciences? Policy Sciences (2004) 37: 209–225 DOI: 10.1007/s11077-005-6181x. Retrieved from http://citeseerx.ist.psu.edu/viewdoc/download?doi=10.1.1.137.9827&rep=rep1&type=pdf.

Inherent to the inquiry of “relevance” is (re)thinking about making sense [value], whether conditions or contextual elements in literature at present remain plausible. To capture what makes policy sciences relevant to sustainable development goals (SDGs) compels us either to reject or accept the Lasswellian problem-solving model and policymaking methods. A major flaw of the framework is that it fails to address the fundamental issue of the nature of the individual [decision-making behaviours: cognitive versus normative-affective] in context of democracy [equated to “deference”] through social sciences (McGovern & Yacobucci, 1999, p. 2; 10; 15-16).

Central to policy sciences is problem orientation through a scientific inquiry/study of problems defined by Lasswell (1971) as “perceived discrepancy between goals [realizing human dignity] and an actual or anticipated state of affairs”. According to Turnbull (2008, p. 3), the link between science and policymaking is contingent [between logical and rhetorical] and political. This means the interaction of policy and social science is articulated under an interdisciplinary field which addresses: first, new social problems at face with modernity by scientifically predicting the future with emphasis on decisions (Lasswell, 1971 in Turnbull, 2008, p. 4); and second, social change by improving policymaking in context of “authentic information” and “responsible interpretations” with judgment (Lasswell, 1951 in Turnbull, 2008, p. 5) because stakeholders can hold conflicting interpretations at the same time (Dunn, 1993 in Turnbull, 2008, p. 12), and in execution.

To name a few, social problems fall under governance and development, human rights, natural resources and management, scientific leadership and science policy, public order, policymakers and decision makers, communication, health, and education (Policy Sciences Center, 2016). However, the problem-solving model will not be effective in multifaceted social issues of development since “Politics cannot be entirely removed in policymaking nor from scientific research for policy” and solutions take the form of arguments/rationalizations/rhetorical constructions/hypothetical conclusions which require an interpretative schema for their complexity and contextuality, and rationality from a political perspective in exercising autonomous judgment (Meyer, 1995) and justification of decision process (Turnbull, 2008, pp. 10-11). “Politicization” of policy sciences is the direct result of “scientization” (Pielke, Jr. in Hale, 2011, p. 225). Problem-solving polarizes between rigid instrumentalism, postpositivist, philosophical value dimensions and ethics (Hale, 2011, p. 223, 225). Lessons brought by the Millennium Development Goals reflect a shift of policy inquiry from knowledge [in policymaking and decision-making] to insight (Hale, 2011, pp. 223-224) regarding the overall outcome such as the impact of governance or political situation in developing countries (Haileamlak, 2014; Maestu, 2012).

Since no clear logical path exists from scientific inquiry to policy solution (Turnbull, 2008, p. 14), can Lasswell’s policy sciences remain relevant to pursue SDGs? Looking at value dimension, policy sciences are essential to sustainability endeavours in order to (1) blur discriminatory tensions through stakeholders’ consensus and participation in policymaking [rather than as “consumers” or “commodity” dealt with through economic means, McGovern & Yacobucci, 1999, pp. 17-18] while actions towards progress are legitimized and merited, (2) reckon the benefit of change, and (3) configure disarrays of allocation of equities and the production and distribution of effective power or political economy (Nagan, 2015, p. 32). Lasswells’ eight core values where goals are based upon, namely: health, wealth, skill, enlightenment, affection, power, respect, and rectitude (Hale, 2011, p. 222) serve as sustainability principles in comprehensive [strategic] community planning (Moss, 2016)—“the beginning stages of development” (Tsawout First Nation, 2017) and in integrated management of the social, economic and governance elements (Policy Horizons Canada, 2013). According to Giovannini et al. (2015, p. 10), SDGs require both domestic policies (e.g., human rights, governance, rule of law, education, health, income equality within nations, environmental protection, consumption and production patterns, greenhouse gas emissions, resource use, agriculture and fisheries, transboundary environmental pollution, etc.) and international policies (e.g., development cooperation, trade, migration, financial systems, etc.). The balance and interconnection of (a) economic, (b) ecological, and (c) social equity goals lead to sustainable development (Moss, 2016, p. 2) in a multi-leveled and multi-phased approach (Dorsey, 2003, p. 75). A new paradigm of sustainable development must be: “contextual” or must perceive all features of the social process of immediate concern in relation to the manifold of events comprising the relevant whole; “problem-oriented”, “multi-method” and “interdisciplinary” to focus on the dynamics of global interdependence and global interdetermination (Nagan, 2015). This calls a revitalization of the framework of policy sciences and the literature towards a holistic methodological vista.

References:

Dorsey, J. W. (2003). Brownfields and greenfields: The intersection of sustainable development and environmental stewardship. Environmental Practice; 5(1): 69-76. Retrieved at http://www.sociologia.unimib.it/DATA/Insegnamenti/2_1931/materiale/dorsey%202003%20-%20reading%20for%20group%204.pdf.

Giovannini, E. et al. (2015). The role of science, technology and innovation policies to foster the implementation of the sustainable development goals. Report of the Expert Group “Follow-up to Rio+20, notably the SDGs”. Luxembourg: European Union, pp. 1-57. Retrieved at https://ec.europa.eu/programmes/horizon2020/en/news/role-science-technology-and-innovation-policies-foster-implementation-sustainable-development; http://ec.europa.eu/newsroom/horizon2020/document.cfm?doc_id=12065. 

Haileamlak, A. (2014). Millennium development goals: Lessons learnt and the way forward. Ethiopian Journal of Health Science; 24(4): 284. Retrieved at https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4248025/.

Hale, B. (2011). The methods of applied philosophy and the tools of the policy sciences. International Journal of Applied Philosophy; 25(2): 215–232. Retrieved from http://sciencepolicy.colorado.edu/admin/publication_files/2011.37.pdf.

Maestu, J. (2012). The millennium development goals: Lessons learnt. United Nations Office to Support the Water Decade, Slides 1-34. Retrieved at http://ceowatermandate.org/files/mumbai/Josefina_Maestu%20_Mandate_Mumbai.pdf.

McGovern, P. & Yacobucci, P. (1999). Lasswellian policy sciences and the bounding of democracy. Theory, Policy and Society. Pp. 1-23. Retrieved at http://www.cddc.vt.edu/tps/e-print/wpsa99-pjm.doc.

Moss, M. L. (2016). Comprehensive planning based on sustainability: A model for Ohio communities. Ohio State University Extension, pp. 1-15. Retrieved at https://comdev.osu.edu/sites/comdev/files/imce/Comprehensive%20Planning%20based%20on%20Sustainability%20-%20Final.pdf.

Nagan, W. P. (2015). Towards a theory of sustainable development: Drawing on insights from developments in modern legal theory. Human Rights and Peace Institute, South Africa. Pp.  1-32. Retrieved at http://www.worldacademy.org/files/colloquium_2015/Towards_a_theory_of_sustainable_development_W.Nagan.pdf.

Policy Horizons Canada. (2013). Comprehensive community planning. Retrieved at http://www.horizons.gc.ca/eng/content/comprehensive-community-planning-ccp.

Policy Sciences Center. (2016). Policy sciences. Retrieved at http://www.policysciences.org/.

Turnbull, N. (2008). Harold Lasswell’s ‘problem orientation’ for the policy sciences. Critical Policy Studies. Taylor & Francis; 2(1): 72-91. Retrieved at https://www.researchgate.net/publication/249070851_Harold_lasswell%27s_problem_orientation_for_the_policy_sciences.

Tsawout First Nation. (2017). Comprehensive community plan. Retrieved at http://www.tsawout.com/departments/lands/lands-services/lands-projects/273-tsawout-developing-comprehensiv-community-plan.

Article Harold Lasswell's "problem orientation" for the policy sciences

The relevance of policy science to the pursuit of Sustainable Development Goals is by organizing experts on sustainability. Development projects require someone who is knowledgeable of not only the crafting of projects but also someone who understands policy science.

Lerner was one of those who pioneered in relating the study of communication to the process of modernization and development. It is observed that the policy analyst or policy scientist played an important role in the development process, wherein, usable knowledge is vital to holistic success of the development projects.

As we all know, Sustainable Development Goals is an offshoot of the then Millenium Development Goals (MDG) 2015. United Nations reported on it’s the Millenium Development Goals Report 2015 the positive impact of the development projects that are initiated by the UN. According to the international organization:

The data analysis presented proves that, with targeted interventions, sound strategies, adequate resources and political will, even the poorest countries can make dramatic and unprecedented progress.

The report also acknowledges uneven achievements and shortfalls in many areas.

Haas (2017), a professor of Department of Political Science from University of Massachussetts, that the implementation of SGD is a complex task. Kannie and Biermann (2007) explained that many of the 17 SDGs are themselves poorly understood or incompletely articulated, and the array of interconnections between the SDGs themselves is complex and poorly understood.

The literature cited explains that the parameters use to measure quantitatively and qualitatively the outcome of the implementation of the 17 goals worldwide should be studied. It was observed that implementors of SDG must learn from the experience of MDG in which strong policy science should be relied intensively. For instance, the success indicators should be marked accordingly by relying on expert knowledge to identify the best practices and to track adherence with the goals.

Despite the positive result that MDG has brought, UN admitted that “the work is not complete, and it must continue in the new development era.” This observation leads to organizing of another development goals. This time, the goal is to sustain those goals that were started by MDG, hence, the creation of Sustainable Development Goals (SDG).

Dr. Alexander Flor finds the relationship between development communication and policy science. He said:

The introduction of policy science concepts as integral subject matter in development communication training has strengthened the links between the two fields. A development communication specialist, at one time or another assumes the role of a communication policy analyst because of his proactive posture and his preoccupation with purpose.

According to Haas (2017), “usable knowledge has become embedded as a criterion for the design of expert scientific panels.” The panel should be (Hass and Stevens, 2011):

1. be composed of independent experts with international reputations in their fields, drawn from multiple disciplines;

2. be composed of experts from academia, civil society and the private sector in order to capture multiple perspective on sustainability;

3. members should be appointed on merit by impartial authorities;

the panel should be recruited based on merit representing a diverse array of countries;

4. the panel should have stable funding, and not be dependent upon a single funding source;

5. it should meet regularly and report directly to governments through the UN HLPF; and

6. it should seek to be clear on areas of consensus and contestation.

Having said these, both Haas (2017) and Dr. Flor (1991) are both on common denominator when development implementation is concerned. Both believe that the prime reason of the relevance of policy science in the attainment of development goals is by placing the right person who will work with implementation of the goals.

(NORBERTO M. NATANO, DCOMM PROGRAM)

Sources

Haas, P. M. (2017). Expert support for implementing the SDGs. University of Massachusetts.

Haas, P. M. and Stevens C. (2011). Organized science, usable knowledge, and multilateral environmental governance. Governing the Air: Dynamic of Science, Policy, and Citizen Interaction.

Flor, A. G. (1991). Development communication and policy sciences. Journal of Development Communication

Kannie, N. and F. Bierman, Eds. (2017). Governing through the goals.

The Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) are the centerpiece of a new global agreement on what society seeks to become over the next fifteen years. This agreement envisages a world free from poverty and deprivation, and where the fundamental conditions for human prosperity—healthy ecosystems, a stable climate, and a clean environment—are safely maintained (IGES, 2015). 

The recent negotiations over the SDGs have made the point clearly that implementing the SDGs will depend not merely on introducing new policies and sources of financing, but also on improving governance arrangements for decision-making on these issues (United Nations, 2014). Thus, a science-based decision making is the task of policy sciences. Policymakers (or policy scientists) and the leaders’ role is very crucial as they are expected to be committed (Lasswell, 1971) and be capable of scientifically designing, formulating, analyzing, and evaluating policies, and studying the policy making process itself (Flor, 1991).

The plan of implementation for these SDGs underlined the importance of a science based decision making. This is through integrating scientists' advice into decision-making bodies; partnerships between scientific, public and private institutions; improved collaboration between natural and social scientists, and establishing regular channels for requesting and receiving advice between scientists and policy makers; making greater use of integrated scientific assessments, risk assessments and interdisciplinary and intersectoral approaches; increasing the beneficial use of local and indigenous knowledge (United Nations, 2015).

The significant role of policy science that play in the realization of these goals is also supported by literature. One is the Trends in the international sustainable development policy discourse: Compliance, collaboration or both? (Olsen, Zusman and Cadman, 2015). According to the authors, policymakers have promoted sustainable development as a response to human-caused global environmental degradation for decades; realizing a sustainable future has remained a formidable challenge over the same period. The scholarly literature has also noted the importance of governance in improving policy action. A common theme in this literature is that governance is critical because it influences which actors exercise authority as well as the means through which they seek to achieve desired goals. A rough distinction can be made between governance for compliance and governance through collaboration.

References:

FLOR A. G. 1991. Development Communication and the Policy Sciences. Journal of Development Communication. Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia: Asian Institute of Development Communication. Retrieved as PDF.

Institute for Global Environmental Strategies (IGES). 2015. Achieving the Sustainable Development Goals: From Agenda to Action. Retrieved on April 30, 2017 from https://pub.iges.or.jp/pub/achieving-sustainable-development-goals-agenda

LASSWELL , H. D. 1971. A Pre-view of Policy Sciences. Elsevier. Retrieved on April 30, 2017 from http://www.policysciences.org/classics/preview.pdf

OLSEN, S., ZUSMAN, E. and CADMAN, T. 2015.Trends in the International Sustainable Development Policy Discourse: Compliance, Collaboration or Both? In Achieving the Sustainable Development Goals: From Agenda to Action Chapter 3 Retrieved on April 30, 2017 from http://pub.iges.or.jp/modules/envirolib/view.php?docid=6063

United Nations. 2015. Sustainable Development Knowledge Platforms. Retrieved on April 30, 2017 from https://sustainabledevelopment.un.org/topics/science

The Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), officially known as Transforming our world: the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development is spearheaded by the United Nations through a deliberative process involving its 193 Member States including global civil society. It is a broader and expanded intergovernmental agreement that acts as the Post 2015 Development Agenda - a successor of the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs). By the way just to review, the eight MDGs were the following:

Goal 1: Eradicate extreme poverty and hunger

Goal 2: Achieve universal primary education

Goal 3: Promote gender equality and empower women

Goal 4: Reduce child mortality

Goal 5: Improve maternal health

Goal 6: Combat HIV/AIDS, malaria, and other diseases

Goal 7: Ensure environmental sustainability

Goal 8: Global partnership for development.

According to UN’s WE CAN END POVERTY, Millennium Development Goals and Beyond 2015, “developing regions have made impressive strides in expanding access to primary education” (UN, 2013).

On 19 July 2014, the UN General Assembly's Open Working Group (OWG) on Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) forwarded a proposal for the SDGs to the Assembly.

SDGs is a set of 17 "Global Goals" with 169 targets between them. They are as follows:

Goal 1: No Poverty

Goal 2: Zero Hunger

Goal 3: Good Health and Well-being

Goal 4: Quality Education

Goal 5: Gender Equality

Goal 6: Clean Water and Sanitation

Goal 7: Affordable and Clean Energy

Goal 8: Decent Work and Economic Growth

Goal 9: Industry, Innovation and Infrastructure

Goal 10: Reduced Inequalities

Goal 11: Sustainable Cities and Communities

Goal 12: Responsible Consumption and Production

Goal 13: Climate Action

Goal 14: Life Below Water

Goal 15: Life on Land

Goal 16: Peace, Justice and Strong Institutions

Goal 17: Partnerships for the Goals.

The proper integration of policy interventions in different areas can make the difference between achieving the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and failure. This is why being learned about policy sciences offers this capability.

Decision makers should design effective strategies for SDGs. Policy makers, for instance, will have to address among others questions such as how to coordinate and harmonize investments across different areas, how to leverage on the positive synergies among interventions and limit undesired effects, how resources are needed to achieve SDGs and how to finance such investment (Pedercini, 2016).

It probably calls for a “problematique” (Ongkiko & Flor, 1998) mapping.

References

Ila Virginia C. Ongkiko, Alexander G. Flor. (1998). Introduction to Development Communication. Quezon City: UP Open Unviersity, Office of Academic Support and Instructional Services, 2nd Floor, National Computer Center.

Pedercini, M. (2016). iSDG model introduction. Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?time_continue=3&v=P-mXdpECl5c

Untied Nations. (2013, September). Achieve universal primary education. Retrieved September 6, 2014, from We Can End Poverty: http://www.un.org/millenniumgoals/pdf/Goal_2_fs.pdf

The Sustainable Development Goals identifies 17 goals to end poverty, protect the planet and ensure prosperity for all are targeted to be achieved over the next 15 years. For the goals to be reached, everyone needs to do their part.  However, each country has primary responsibility for its own economic and social development and the role of national policies, domestic resources and development strategies cannot be overemphasized.

Does the policy science narrative jives with today’s SDG narrative?

Yes, both policy science and SDGs are concerned with addressing societal issues such as ‘sustainability. The former, according to Pielke (2004), is “the policy analytic movement initiated by Harold Lasswell in the early 1950s. He developed the integrative approach to solving problems and making decisions with which this site is concerned and to which it is dedicated. he latter similarly identified that the implementation and sustainability will largely depend on the mechanism, approaches, visions, models and tools available to each country, in accordance with its national circumstances and priorities.

Are the policy sciences still relevant in achieving the SDG’s?

Policy sciences still remain relevant in achieving the SDGs. According to Pielke (2004), the policy sciences tradition offers a set of powerful tools with potential to contribute to improved decision making and the further realization of human dignity, threats to the tradition’s sustainability are indeed problematic. Under such circumstances, change must occur to enhance the prospects for sustainability.  either encourage the external world to become more receptive to the policy sciences or change might come from within the policy sciences community. The fact that SDGs are concern about solving society’s wicked problems all the more relates it to policy science. Lasswell’s grand vision clearly points out that the policy science would bring together the social sciences and practical policymaking to address fundamental problems of employment, peace and equality is obviously as relevant as it was before. I believe we can and should continue to draw on Lasswell’s ideas that understanding such global problems required a way to integrate different types of knowledge for decision making.  If each of the countries are to do their part guided by the policy sciences’, then perhaps we can all have the future that we truly want (Turnbull, 2008).

Does existing literature or current research support this?

Glacer and Bates (2011) explained how sustainable development has become the most daunting challenge for humanity.  That scientific knowledge and appropriate technologies are important means to resolve the fundamental issues such as economic, social and environmental.

The report and the recommendation from The German Committee Future Earth 2016 identified the need for a transformational, and multi-dimensional agendas focused on the collaboration of science and policy   beyond disciplines. The same goals of Lasswell and his fellow scholars are expressed as the current report requires for sound assessments and concrete actions that will address science –policy challenges but also the need for trust and legitimacy between countries and continues taking account of the existing local realities (Schmalzbauer and Visbeck, 2016)

The research entitled “Advancing the Sustainable Development Goal: Business Action and Millennials’ views” found out a wide gap between expectations of business when it comes to SDGs and what business is currently doing. It is therefore recommended that businesses need to develop policies that will align their corporate sustainability and responsibility practices.

My perspective is that policy science will remain to find its place in the world despite the criticisms and issue that surrounds it. As long as there are local, regional, international or planetary problems, the policy sciences will continue to help people across academic disciplines  make better decisions to deal with the problems they face. Both SDGs and policy sciences aim to foster human dignity for all to ensure that the future will be a better one for all and with that both for me are and will remain relevant.

References:

Advancing the Sustainable Development Goals: Business Action and Millennials Views. https://corporate-citizenship.com/wp-content/uploads/Advancing-the-Sustainable-Development-Goals-Business-Action-and-Millennials-Views.pdf

Dora, C., Haines, A., Balbus, J., Fletcher, E., Adair-Rohani, H., Alabaster, G., ... & Neira, M. (2015). Indicators linking health and sustainability in the post-2015 development agenda. The Lancet, 385(9965), 380-391. Retrieved from http://www.thelancet.com/journals/lancet/article/PIIS0140-6736(14)60605-X/fulltext  

http://www.un.org/sustainabledevelopment/sustainable-development-goals/

Lasswell, H.D. (1951a). ‗The Policy Orientation‘, in D. Lerner and H.D. Lasswell, eds.,The Policy Sciences: Recent Developments in Scope and Method .Stanford: Stanford University Press. Retrieved from https://www.scribd.com/document/269071525/Lasswell-1951-The-Policy-Orientation-Izvorni-Tekst

Glaser, G. & Bates P. ( 2011. Enhancing  Science  Policy links for Global Sustainability. Retrieved from http://www.stakeholderforum.org/fileadmin/files/ICSU%20Science%20Policy%20Final.pdf

Pielke, R. A. (2004). What future for the policy sciences?. Policy Sciences, 37(3), 209-225. Retrieved from http://citeseerx.ist.psu.edu/viewdoc/download?doi=10.1.1.137.9827&rep=rep1&type=pdf

Policy Sciences: Integrating knowledge and practice to advance human Dignity For All. Retrieved from http://www.policysciences.org/.

Schmalzbauer B., Visbeck M. (Eds.) 2016. The contribution of science in implementing the Sustainable Development Goals. German Committee Future Earth, Stuttgart/Kiel. Retrieved from http://www.dkn-future earth.org/data/mediapool/2016_report_contribution_science_v8_light_final_fin.pdf

Turnbull, N. (2008). Harold Lasswell’s "Problem OrienSDGs and what tation" for the Policy Sciences. http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/19460171.2008.9518532. Retrieved from https://www.academia.edu/195863/Harold_Lasswell_s_Problem_Orientation_for_the_Policy_Sciences

It seems that this is part of a seminar here? So I post again the Excel with the country ranking compared with the SDG (column M).

The SDGs therefore cannot being influenced by governments and citizens. They are a fixed standard provided by the Top-20.countries in the Benchmark.

The SDGs were decided on by world leaders present at the United Nations (UN) Sustainable Development Summit in September 2015, and it took effect in January 2016.  In a matter of just a year and a half, empirical reports regarding how it has been implemented, particularly the attainment of targets, are not yet available.  Enormous researches pertain to the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs), and these provide valuable inputs.  Logically, SDGs are in place to continue achieving the targets that MDG has not. 

However, there are studies, mainly in the form of critical reflection, which affirm the interface of SDG and policy sciences.  Hence, policy sciences narrative is centrally positioned in the SDG discourse.  As I did in my other blogs and papers, I focus on education policies vis-à-vis SDG.

First, Ansell (2015) believes that the SDGs are in and by themselves economic policies of global institutions, like the United Nations and the World Bank, which promote global neo-liberalism through Western capitalism, decentralization, deregulation, privatization, etc.  There are manifested in education policies through “target setting, primary education, measuring and enhancing quality, pedagogy and curriculum, education system reform by raising learning outcomes, and privatization and corporate influence” (pp. 9-13). She describes this situation as “subtle bur pervasive control of global institutions over the education sector” (p. 7).

This theoretical persuasion explains initiatives to establish learning systems that are “more locally ordered, more related to cultural realities and aspirations, and more flexible delivery” (Gould, 1993 in Ansell, 2015) like the Indigenous Peoples Education (DepEd, 2011 and 2015).  While education research is usually in the quantitative and econometric tradition, Ansell (2015) emphasizes ethnographic approaches.

Further, Willis (2016) considers the SDGs as “a framework of great importance until 2010” in terms of planning and policy making (p. 105).  She also believes that “there is a direct connection between the formulation, enhancement, and recognition of a global aspiration… and the decisions taken by national and local governments to meet targets” (Merth, 2013 in Willis, 2016).  

However, these are met by a few challenges. One is the complexity or multidimensionality of the goals. From only eight MDGs, there are now 17 SDGs that must be achieved in15 years.  Another is the location or space where development takes place.  While MDGs were explicitly for the third world or developing countries, developed countries are also sites or spaces for SDGs.  The last is actors in sustainable development practice.  There is now blurring of who the donors and beneficiaries are.

The ASEAN Integration of 2015 was finalized in the same year the SDGs were adopted.  SDG no. 4 states “ensure inclusive and equitable quality education and promote lifelong learning opportunities for all (United Nations, 2015).  This principle influenced the priorities of the ASEAN Work Plan for Education (WPE).  In turn, it has an impact on the ASEAN Qualifications Reference Framework (AQRF), which the Philippine Qualifications Framework (PQF) subscribes to. 

The “free tuition fee” for college education is a mechanism undertaken by the Philippine government to abide by the principle of inclusion.  It does not come in a silver platter.  The Commission on Higher Education (CHED) is reviewing and revising the initial policies.  Eventually, universities, considering their respective contexts, will soon develop their institutional policy to implement this coming enrollment period especially those whose academic years still starts in June.

Lastly, Hussain and Hammett (2015) claim that it is not only SDGs that influence higher education but also the other way around. They report that enrolment in higher education all throughout the world is increasing.  In fact, it has been “expanded and internationalized… by economic and education motives for global spread of knowledge production, recruitment of international students, and development of globalized curricula” (p. 361).  It is the same track taken by the ASEAN University Network-Quality Assurance (AUN-QA).  Further, this trend is hinged on the human capital theory that believes education is “a key policy concern” because its quality leads to economic prosperity. 

Hence, higher education is a space to propagate sustainable development and global citizenship, and this is what Bourn (2015) calls development education.  Manifestations of these include bilateral institutional collaborations, introduction of 666 UNESCO-endowed chairs that facilitate such collaborations, green campuses, among others.

REFERENCES:

Ansell, N. (2015). Shaping education: International agendas and governmental power. International Development Planning Review 37, 1, pp. 7-18.

Bourn, D. (2015). The theory and practice of development education: A pedagogy for global social justice. London: Routledge.

Department of Education. (2011). Adopting the National Indigenous Peoples Education policy framework. Pasig City: The Author.

Hussain, S. and Hammett, D. (2015). Viewpoint: ‘The world is going to university: Higher education and the prospects of sustainable development. International Planning Development Review 37, 4, pp. 361-372.

Willis, K. (2016). International development planning and the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). International Development Planning Review, 36, 2, pp. 105-111.

United Nations. (2015). Transforming our world: The 2030 agenda for sustainable development. New York: The Author.

The integration of POLICY Sciences to Sustainable Development Goals(SDG) is necessary and could only happen through a synergy-driven effort from all stakeholders acting collaboratively to push for the SDG implementation toward a sustainable and more resilient nation. The relationship is reciprocal. Policy is needed to bolster the development plans to be sustainable by building equity among stakeholders. Such move needs the humane stake of the government to be able to enact policies that will benefit all humanity equitably. SDG's priorities are highlighted through the 17 development goals generally aimed at realizing the human rights of all and to achieve gender equality and the empowerment of all women and girls. They are integrated and indivisible and balance the three dimensions of sustainable development: the economic, social and environmental (UN GA, 2015). To realize this, policies are needed to serve as the backbone to strengthen the agenda and meet this goal. Hence, the collaborative role of participating stakeholders are crucial.

The dialogical relationship of the two is indispensable. Both are geared towards development. Both intends to create social change. These two dichotomies acts in reciprocal system that for one to function more effectively, it needs the other. The United Nations commits: we pledge that no one will be left behind. Recognizing that the dignity of the human person is fundamental, we wish to see the Goals and targets met for all nations and peoples and for all segments of society. And we will endeavor to reach the furthest behind first(Ibid).

Having that vision to achieve a sustainable economic growth, fair use of land and seas, social development, alleviation of poverty, strategic frameworks are not enough but needs a decisive policy to implement the plan across local, national and international frontiers.

Today’s Challenge

Today, we are living with immense challenges and will continue to pose difficulty towards the attainment of SDGs. The shift from physical industry to information industry coupled with economic and cultural integration creates a herculean task for decision makers and development planners. The gap between the information-rich and the information-poor is becoming wider and complex. Poverty are still on the rise. Inequalities especially the marginalized sector are still heeding for help. Despite these, significant improvements can also be noted specifically the improved access to education for both gender. International bodies have strongly advocated for the involvement of women in politics and workforce. If one is to remain optimistic, the means of the problem can be used to convert as a driving force for development instead. The growth of technology can be used to accelerate progress and bridge the digital divide gap---this will become realizable with a robust development framework supported by policies, regulations and laws.

References:

Transforming our world: the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. Retrieved from https://sustainabledevelopment.un.org/post2015/transformingourworld

The concept of "the policy sciences" was crystallized by Harold D. Lasswell and over several decades, Lasswell and his collaborators refined through practice and peer review the intellectual tools needed to support problem-oriented, contextual, and multi-method inquiry in the service of human dignity for all. In response to the requirements of practice, other parts of the policy movement are gradually converging on the problem-oriented, contextual, and multi-method outlook of the policy sciences. Thus, the policy sciences set the standard for the rest of the policy movement, and will continue to do so for some time (Brunner, 1996).

The policy sciences presents the framework of situational normativism, a descriptive-normative methodology by which the components of policy sciences may be pragmatically integrated and applied to real decision problems. This can be integrated with the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), a collection of 17 global goals set by the United Nations aimed at transforming the world by 2030. It covers a broad range of social and economic development issues that aims to end poverty, bring dramatic improvements in quality of life, the environment and governance for everyone. The SDG goals apply to all countries, with no distinction between "developed" and "developing" nations. For the goals to be reached, everyone needs to do their part: governments, the private sector, and civil society. In developing these goals, the UN has conducted the largest consultation program in its history to gauge opinion on what the SDGs should include (i.e., working group discussions, series of “global conversations”, door-to-door surveys, online survey asking people to prioritize the areas they would like to see addressed in the goals).

I would say that the policy sciences narrative jives with today's SDG narrative and will remain relevant as tools in achieving the SDG's. The main challenge lies in making connections between the abstract tools of the policy sciences and the achievement of desired outcomes. Making connections requires interpretations and judgments that can be difficult or complex. However, these tools can help one perceive more of the problem-relevant context more reliably; find better problem definitions and solutions for self-orientation in the context; and recognize overlooked patterns across contexts. Such payoffs are the key to making and sustaining good progress in any development program. The policy sciences can bring greater insight and clarity into the complex and transformative events shaping our world.

Sources:

http://www.un.org/sustainabledevelopment/sustainable-development-goals/

https://www.theguardian.com/global-development/2015/jan/19/sustainable-development-goals-united-nations

https://www.colorado.edu/UCB/TheUniversity/Committees/SPS/F/courses/psci5076.html

The SDGs and The Policy Sciences

Lasswell (1970: 3) defines policy sciences as knowledge of the policy process as well as knowledge in this process. Torgerson (1985) states that Larsswell proposed the development of policy science-or policy sciences-as an interdisciplinary field to embrace all the social sciences and to produce knowledge applicable to public problems. The term "policy sciences" in its plural form therefore emphasizes its interdisciplinary nature (Flor, 1991). The “policy sciences" adopts an approach to understanding and solving problems that draw on and contribute to all fields of knowledge (Quebral, 2001) and sets out procedures in an integrated and comprehensive form to help clarify and secure common interests. According to Hale (2011), the central aim of policy sciences is to resolve problems [in the service of human dignity] and the diverse human, historical, and contextual element in public policy-making. This is a reiteration of the Lasswellian maxim on public policy in the following key elements: "contextual"; "problem-oriented"; "multi-method inquiry" or diverse empirical methods, "political", "normative, welfare-oriented" in the case of social policy goals; and posing "interdisciplinarity" or moving between humanities and social sciences.

Profoundly influenced by Freud and Marx, Lasswell emphasized the importance of the contextual orientation of policy analysts, both individually and collectively (Lasswell, 1977). When he first articulated this principle of contextuality, Lasswell indeed referred explicitly to the "exposition of the dialectical method" (1965: 18n) in Lukacs's History and Class Consciousness, adding that the insights of psychoanalysis provided a complement to the Marxian dialectic which would aid in understanding "the symbolic aspects of historical development" (Laswell, 1965, p.19). Here Lasswell proposed a mode of contextual-configurative analysis whereby, through "an act of creative orientation" (Laasswell, 1965, p. 13), the inquirer could locate himself in an 'all-encompassing totality" (Lasswell, 1965, p. 12), Lasswell considered such contextual orientation indispensable to the conduct of rational inquiry, and urged the use of contextual-configurative analysis in the development of a policy science profession. Sciences are policy sciences when they clarify the process of policymaking in society, or supply data for the making of rational judgments on policy questions" Lasswell (1976).

According to Laswell (1976), an adequate strategy of problem solving in policy sciences encompasses five intellectual tasks performed at varying levels of insight and understanding namely: goal clarification; trend description; analysis of conditions; projection of developments; and invention, evaluation, and selection of alternatives (Lasswell, 1971). The ‘art’ of policy sciences, therefore, seek to improve decision-making by reinforcing and supporting human dignity to elide the blinders of instrumental reason by addressing the manifold of human experience (Hale, 2001). How can the ‘art’ of the policy science be applied in assessing the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)?

The Social Development Goals (SDGs)

The publication of a comprehensive, and extensive, road map of targets and indicators underpinning the sustainable development goals (SDGs) in 2015 was a milestone for aligning not only developing countries but also developed ones on the path of sustainable development (United Nations General Assembly, 2015). The SDGs have set the 2030 agenda to transform the world by ensuring, simultaneously, human well-being, economic prosperity, and environmental protection. Comprising of 17 goals and 169 targets, SDGs aim at tackling multiple and complex challenges faced by humankind. Accordingly, they are implicitly interdependent and it may happen that conflicting interactions among the SDGs may result in diverging results (Nilsson et al., 2016). Indeed Servaes (2009, p. 52) notes that ‘our present-day ‘global village’, in general as well as in its distinct regional and national entities, is confronted with multifaceted crises: economic and financial, but also social, cultural, ideological, moral, political, ethnic, ecological and security crises.

Does the policy sciences narrative jive with today's SDG narrative?

Eradicating poverty in all its forms and dimensions, including extreme poverty, is the greatest global challenge and an indispensable requirement for sustainable development (United Nations, 2015). In fact, the convening of the high-level representatives and heads of states from the different part of the world that gave birth to the so-called 'Sustainable Development Goals' or SDGs in 2015 seeks to strengthen universal peace in larger freedom, is resolved to free the human race from the tyranny of poverty, heal and secure our planet, and is determined to take the bold and transformative steps which are urgently needed to shift the world onto a sustainable and resilient path. These lofty aims enshrined in the SDGs align with the Policy Sciences in that the “policy sciences" adopts an approach to understanding and solving problems [in the service of human dignity] (Hale, 2011), and the diverse human, historical, and contextual element in public policy-making that draw on and contribute to all fields of knowledge (Quebral, 2001).

Tucker (2015) notes that the first SDG, “to end poverty in all its forms everywhere”, is going to prompt accusations of over-ambition and lack of realism. The general perception, perpetuated by the doom-laden imagery mentioned above, is that global poverty is pervasive and intractable. People need plausible solutions, not a utopian fantasy, to prevent scepticism about the goals and the organisations associated with them. As such, sciences are policy sciences when they clarify the process of policymaking in society, or supply data for the making of rational judgments on policy questions" Lasswell (1976, p. 120). The convening of the high-level representatives and heads of states from the different part of the world that gave birth to SDGs, and its Agenda dissemination can be aligned to the concept of the “communication process of human society” (Lasswell, 1948). Wide scale consultations were held to aid in informing the contents of the SDGs. For instance, a website was developed to provide the latest news, information and expert analysis around the global decision-making process to define a new set of global goals to eradicate poverty through sustainable development, known as the post-2015 development agenda. This website formed part of a wider multi-stakeholder engagement programme run by two civil society organizations, CIVICUS and Stakeholder Forum, in collaboration with the United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs (UNDESA) known as SD2015. The programme provided tools and opportunities for all stakeholders to input to the process and help build a more sustainable future, through five focus areas: raising awareness; increasing engagement; empowering stakeholders; coordinating advocacy; and strengthening governance. SD2015 also supported 12 partners[1] to develop national level advocacy plans for influencing the post-2015 development agenda. The other processes tracked on this website also have relevance for the SDGs and the 2015 milestone:

The High Level Political Forum (HLPF) is set to become the new institutional home for sustainable development within the UN system. The HLPF plays a major role in the coordination and monitoring of efforts around the new global goals. Another sub-process tracked via the website, was the intergovernmental process to develop a finance strategy to mobilise resources for the implementation of sustainable development, including the achievement of the SDGs.

Mulholland, et al (2017) outline the strategy adopted for the communication and awareness raising in the implementation of the 2030 Agenda and the SDGs whilst acknowledging that despite the lack of a blueprint on how to effectively communicate the 2030 Agenda and the SDGs to all stakeholders, the 2030 Agenda does stress the importance of incorporating every facet of society, capturing everyone, and leaving no one behind so as to avert effects of ‘turbulent’ social change, and aim for policies that seek for the achievement of the ‘highest social good’ (Flor, 1991). Mulholland, et al (2017) illustrates examples of measures adopted for the communication and awareness of the SDGS such as the UN website dedicated to sustainable development, the 2030 Agenda and the SDGs which gives readers and overview of the 2030 Agenda and how it is a more ambitious than the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs).

The UN website even goes as far as having a page dedicated towards actions and steps that people can take to make a difference, including a guide entitled The Lazy Person’s Guide to Saving the World, which lays out the small things people can do in their lives that can have far ranging impacts, including on reaching the targets set out in the SDGs. There is also the been an application for smart phones developed called the Sustainable Development Goals in Action, which was created in partnership by GSMA, Project Everyone and DPI. It features:

o All the latest progress news

o Facts and figures about all 17 Goals

o Short, shareable content

o The ability to create your own action for the Goals and share it with friends and colleagues.

o Great stories and case studies to inspire you and your friends.

o The application can be downloaded via Android or Apple app stores via: https://sdgsinaction.com/

Mulholland, et al (2017) note that communicating and raising awareness for the SDGs through social media and smart phone applications is an effective way in reaching a large amount of people, as the amount of time that is spent on social media, such as Facebook and Twitter, and on smart phones, is increasing. The authors (Mulholland, et al, 2017) contend that an important part of being able to communicate and raise awareness for the SDGs is by providing people with examples of what is occurring around the world and closer to home, as it becomes easier for people to engage with issues if they can see it for themselves. The features of this application allow news to be viewed and shared about particular SDGs that a person may find interesting. This application makes it easier for its users to find information on these topics, instead of searching for it themselves, which is highly relevant and important in awareness raising: quick, easy to understand, and interesting at the touch of a screen.

Policy scientists, in turn, must constantly look at how they will move their knowledge not just outward to broad audiences, but directly into practice. The participatory approach in policy engagement is deemed key in ensuring that the public and stakeholders have been involved at various stages.

The interface of development communication and policy sciences is the common ground for social and political actions in order to: (1) blur discriminatory tensions, (2) reckon the benefit of change, and (3) configure disarrays of allocating equities between the government, corporations, and social sectors. Undeniably, development communication and the policy sciences are generally regarded as inextricable links in recognizing change in the society. Their engaged roles encourage and support research, practice, and education, and disseminate knowledge and information for the people through various means of communication. Policies articulate directions for their mobilization and regulatory mechanisms since it is set to be anticipatory or forward-looking (Flor, 1991) in which problems have been envisioned (predicted) at vantage points (strategic) so countermeasures can have minimal consequences. In this process, policy engagement in development communication starts with building relationships with those they seek to inform, influence, and work together with for change.

The rationale for policy engagement in development communication involves:

· Decision makers are more likely to consider the recommendations if they have been consulted and involved at various stages.

· Building awareness in the public leads to both advocacy for and receptivity to policy changes.

Ergo, the crafting of the SDGs attests to the fact that the State is not a lone actor in the creation of public policies as noted by the various stakeholders identified by Flor (1991), attesting to the fact that State actions do not occur in an empty space. William Dunn (2008) considers these policies the result of a process and highlights three components in permanent interaction: a) public policies per se; b) participant actors and/or decision makers, interesting for political results; and c) the political environment.

Are the policy sciences still relevant as tools in achieving the SDG's

The relevance of the policy sciences as tools in achieving the SGDs are applicable as evidenced by Collstei, Pedercini and Cornell (2017) who propose the application of the Threshold 21 iSDG model, a structured System Dynamics based model designed to explore scenarios for policy integration to achieve the SDGs. This model, attest Collstei, Pedercini and Cornell (2017), builds on the well-vetted Threshold 21 model that has been applied to over 40 nations and has evolved over the past 30 years through research and application (Barney 2002). As most relevant policy making takes place on regional, national and sub-national levels, models that can bridge scales may be particularly useful (Hayha, et al. 2016).

iSDG is designed for regional, national and sub-national policy development, and is typically customized to be applicable to the specific contexts where it is to be used and in providing a credible representation of real-world development. Flor’s (1991) attests that the ‘supradiscipline’ of Communication Development and Policy Science indeed ought to be anticipatory by employing its interdisciplinary ‘arsenal’ in forms of theories and methods so that development communication policy is contextually relevant!

The convening of the high-level representatives and heads of states from the different part of the world that gave birth to SGS, and its Agenda dissemination can be aligned to the concept of the “communication process of human society” (Lasswell, 1948). Ergo, the Agenda 2030 resolution includes 17 sustainable development goals (SDGs) that are described as integrated (United Nations, 2015). This implies that the goals, and the effectiveness of the policies addressed to achieve them, depend on each other. Ergo, implementation efforts that isolate goals one by one and overlook these systemic interdependencies may hardly be fit for purpose. This overarching aim is a reiteration of the Lasswellian maxim on public policy in the following key elements: "contextual"; "problem-oriented"; "multi-method inquiry" or diverse empirical methods, "political", "normative, welfare-oriented" in the case of social policy goals; and posing "interdisciplinarity" or moving between humanities and social sciences. Lasswell proposed a mode of contextual-configurative analysis whereby, through "an act of creative orientation" (p. 13), the inquirer could locate himself in an 'all-encompassing totality" (p. 12).

Lasswell considered such contextual orientation indispensable to the conduct of rational inquiry, and urged the use of contextual-configurative analysis in the development of a policy science profession.

iSDG, like its forerunner Threshold 21, is based on feedbacks between and within three main sectors that may be referred to as environment, society and economy and governance. Each sector of the iSDG model consists of 10 subsectors: an outer field includes the environment subsectors, a middle field showing various society subsectors and an inner field showing the economy and governance subsectors. Indeed the Lasswell’s concept of official communication in the “world community,” consists of “three categories of specialists”: One group surveys the political environment of the state as a whole, another correlates the response of the whole state to the environment, and the third transmits certain patterns of response from the old to the young. Diplomats, attachés, and foreign correspondents are representatives of those who specialize on the environment. Editors, journalists, and speakers are correlators of the internal response. Educators in family and school transmit the social inheritance. (Lasswell, 1948, p. 40).

The adoption of SDG Agenda 2030 and the increased availability of relevant literature and data have supported enriching the iSDG model structure with additional relationships between various SDGs. Strengthening the feedback network across the SDGs makes the model correspond better to reality and provides a more accurate representation of development processes. In addition strengthening the feedback network may make the model more policy relevant. Auer (2011) notes that what matters is how systems of communication and the actors who participate in them, operate in functional terms and to what effect.

Collstei, Pedercini and Cornell (2017) development of an applied iSDG model note the following prime characteristics of system dynamics model formulations (Forrester 1992; Barlas 1996): the use of diverse data sources and the focus on anticipated causal structure and qualitative aspects of models in model validation. On the latter aspect, Collstei, Pedercini and Cornell (2017) state that the intention is to provide a credible, well-grounded and useful hypothesis of the overall causal structure of a country’s development, data sources used are not restricted to numerical data, for example, from national account databases, but can also incorporate other sources of information. These include qualitative theories of causal relationships from literature, and data from diverse experiences provided through expert or stakeholder interviews (Forrester 1992).

Further, a better mapping of the relationships between the goals is becoming increasingly relevant both in the academic (Nilsson et al. 2016) and political arenas (United Nations 2015). The social process is a comprehensive map of both basic, overarching, authoritative structures and rules, and the “particular decisions” that emerge from this architecture (Lasswell & McDougal, 1992, pp. 26–29). The social process is part of a larger framework that policy scientists use to identify participants who interact in particular situations and who use strategies to obtain desired outcomes. Mapping is as such an ‘anticipatory’ process in its self.

Does existing literature or current research support this?

The holistic nature of the SDG framework implies that a large number of potential interactions across the 169 targets have to be considered by policy makers (Costanza et al., 2016; Rickels et al., 2016). Although frameworks have been proposed to characterize SDG interactions, a systematic, data-driven analysis of interactions between all SDG indicators is currently missing. Collstei, Pedercini and Cornell (2017) attest that their research highlights benefits from considering interactions between SDGs in a structured way with the use of integrated simulation tools. The authors (Collstei, Pedercini and Cornell, 2017) posit that working with the iSDG model brings the multitudes of possible feedback loops that shape a country’s development to the forefront. The model not only maps interlinkages, but also says something plausible about the resulting behaviour of different policy options (Collstei, Pedercini and Cornell, 2017). The study shows how integrated models can be used to explore systemic relationships between SDGs. It thus demonstrates a flexible, adaptable and suitably transparent approach to generate actionable information (Collstei, Pedercini and Cornell, 2017).

Collstei, Pedercini and Cornell (2017) however caution that models can assist in structuring thoughts and put light on unintended consequences of different policies, but they do not immunize against uncertainties and unpredictable real-world behaviours. In addition, evidence for many relationships and potential formulations is disputed so alternative model designs always need to be considered. That integrative modelling is just one part of a shift towards an informed systemic discussion of sustainable development and how best to attain it (Collstei, Pedercini and Cornell, 2017). An effective analysis process, opine the authors (Collstei, Pedercini and Cornell, 2017), goes beyond the desk study of the published literature and data on causal links to include the exploration of policy options with decision-takers and stakeholders who bring knowledge of their own contexts that informs the model development and may improve the model’s correspondence to reality. Lasswell (1971) indeed warns that integrativeness can lead to over-intensity; they provoke coercive responses—either by the aggrieved or by powerful actors who may feel threatened (Lasswell, 1971, p. 89).

References

Auer, Matthew R. (2011). The Policy Sciences of Social Media, The Policy Studies Journal 39 (4), pp. 709-736.

Barlas Y (1996) Formal aspects of model validity and validation in system dynamics. Syst Dyn Rev 12:183–210.

Barney GO (2002) The global 2000 report to the president and the threshold 21 model: influences of dana meadows and system dynamics. Syst Dyn Rev 18:123–136.

Collstei, David, Pedercini, Matteo, and Cornell, Sarah (2017). Policy coherence to achieve the SDGs: using integrated simulation models to assess effective policies, Sustainable Science 12 (1), pp. 921–931.

deLeon, P. & Steelman, T. A. (2001). Making public policy programs effective and relevant: The role of the policy sciences (Curriculum and Case Notes). Journal of Policy Analysis and Management; 20(1): 164

Flor, Alexander, G. (1991). ‘Development Communication and the Policy Science’, Journal of Development Communication, Asian Institute for Development Communication. December.

Forrester JW (1992) Policies, decisions and information sources for modeling. Eur J Oper Res 59:42–63.

Hale, B. (2011). The methods of applied philosophy and the tools of the policy sciences. International Journal of Applied Philosophy; 25(2): 215–232.

Ha¨yha¨ T, Lucas PL, van Vuuren DP, Cornell SE, Hoff H (2016) From planetary boundaries to national fair shares of the global safe operating space—how can the scales be bridged? Global Environ Change 40:60–72.

Lasswell, H. D. (1971). A Pre-view of Policy Sciences. New York: American Elsevier.

Lasswell, H. D. (1965). “The World Revolution of Our Time: A Framework for Basic Policy Research.” In World Revolutionary Elites, ed. Harold D. Lasswell, and Daniel Lerner. Cambridge, MA: MIT Press, 29–96.

Mulholland, Eric, Bernardo, Alessia, and Berger, Gerald (2017), Communication and Awareness Raising in the Implementation of the 2030 Agenda and the SDGs: Activities and Challenges, ESDN Quarterly Report 44, April 2017, ESDN Office, Vienna.

Nilsson M, Griggs D, Visbeck M (2016) Policy: map the interactions between sustainable development goals. Nature 534:320–322.

Quebral, N.C. (2001). "Development Communication in a Borderless World". "Paper presented at the national conference-workshop on the undergraduate development communication curriculum, "New Dimensions, Bold Decisions"". Continuing Education Center, UP Los Banos: Department of Science Communication, College of Development Communication, University of the Philippines Los Banos, pp 15–28.

Servaes, Jan (2009). ‘Communication policies, good governance and development journalism’, Communication 35 (1) pp. 50-80.

Shi, T. (2003). Ecological economics as a policy science: Rhetoric or commitment towards an improved decision-making process on sustainability. Ecological Economics; 48(2004): 25

Torgerso, Douglas (1985). Contextual Orientation in Policy Analysis: The Contribution of Harold D. Lasswell, Policy Sciences 18 (1), pp. 241-261.

Tucker, Will (2015). How to communicate the sustainable development goals to the public. The Guardian Newspaper. October 6, 2015.

https://www.theguardian.com/global-development-professionals-network/2015/sep/07/how-to-communicate-the-sustainable-development-goals-to-the-public

United Nations (2015) Transforming our world: the 2030 Agenda for sustainable development A/RES/70/1. United Nations General Assembly, New York.

[1] http://www.sustainabledevelopment2015.org/index.php/about/203-uncategorised/1627-national-partners

The SDGs and The Policy Sciences

Lasswell (1970: 3) defines policy sciences as knowledge of the policy process as well as knowledge in this process. Torgerson (1985) states that Larsswell proposed the development of policy science-or policy sciences-as an interdisciplinary field to embrace all the social sciences and to produce knowledge applicable to public problems. The term "policy sciences" in its plural form therefore emphasizes its interdisciplinary nature (Flor, 1991). The “policy sciences" adopts an approach to understanding and solving problems that draw on and contribute to all fields of knowledge (Quebral, 2001) and sets out procedures in an integrated and comprehensive form to help clarify and secure common interests. According to Hale (2011), the central aim of policy sciences is to resolve problems [in the service of human dignity] and the diverse human, historical, and contextual element in public policy-making. This is a reiteration of the Lasswellian maxim on public policy in the following key elements: "contextual"; "problem-oriented"; "multi-method inquiry" or diverse empirical methods, "political", "normative, welfare-oriented" in the case of social policy goals; and posing "interdisciplinarity" or moving between humanities and social sciences.

Profoundly influenced by Freud and Marx, Lasswell emphasized the importance of the contextual orientation of policy analysts, both individually and collectively (Lasswell, 1977). When he first articulated this principle of contextuality, Lasswell indeed referred explicitly to the "exposition of the dialectical method" (1965: 18n) in Lukacs's History and Class Consciousness, adding that the insights of psychoanalysis provided a complement to the Marxian dialectic which would aid in understanding "the symbolic aspects of historical development" (Laswell, 1965, p.19). Here Lasswell proposed a mode of contextual-configurative analysis whereby, through "an act of creative orientation" (Laasswell, 1965, p. 13), the inquirer could locate himself in an 'all-encompassing totality" (Lasswell, 1965, p. 12), Lasswell considered such contextual orientation indispensable to the conduct of rational inquiry, and urged the use of contextual-configurative analysis in the development of a policy science profession. Sciences are policy sciences when they clarify the process of policymaking in society, or supply data for the making of rational judgments on policy questions" Lasswell (1976).

According to Laswell (1976), an adequate strategy of problem solving in policy sciences encompasses five intellectual tasks performed at varying levels of insight and understanding namely: goal clarification; trend description; analysis of conditions; projection of developments; and invention, evaluation, and selection of alternatives (Lasswell, 1971). The ‘art’ of policy sciences, therefore, seek to improve decision-making by reinforcing and supporting human dignity to elide the blinders of instrumental reason by addressing the manifold of human experience (Hale, 2001). How can the ‘art’ of the policy science be applied in assessing the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)?

The Social Development Goals (SDGs)

The publication of a comprehensive, and extensive, road map of targets and indicators underpinning the sustainable development goals (SDGs) in 2015 was a milestone for aligning not only developing countries but also developed ones on the path of sustainable development (United Nations General Assembly, 2015). The SDGs have set the 2030 agenda to transform the world by ensuring, simultaneously, human well-being, economic prosperity, and environmental protection. Comprising of 17 goals and 169 targets, SDGs aim at tackling multiple and complex challenges faced by humankind. Accordingly, they are implicitly interdependent and it may happen that conflicting interactions among the SDGs may result in diverging results (Nilsson et al., 2016). Indeed Servaes (2009, p. 52) notes that ‘our present-day ‘global village’, in general as well as in its distinct regional and national entities, is confronted with multifaceted crises: economic and financial, but also social, cultural, ideological, moral, political, ethnic, ecological and security crises.

Does the policy sciences narrative jive with today's SDG narrative?

Eradicating poverty in all its forms and dimensions, including extreme poverty, is the greatest global challenge and an indispensable requirement for sustainable development (United Nations, 2015). In fact, the convening of the high-level representatives and heads of states from the different part of the world that gave birth to the so-called 'Sustainable Development Goals' or SDGs in 2015 seeks to strengthen universal peace in larger freedom, is resolved to free the human race from the tyranny of poverty, heal and secure our planet, and is determined to take the bold and transformative steps which are urgently needed to shift the world onto a sustainable and resilient path. These lofty aims enshrined in the SDGs align with the Policy Sciences in that the “policy sciences" adopts an approach to understanding and solving problems [in the service of human dignity] (Hale, 2011), and the diverse human, historical, and contextual element in public policy-making that draw on and contribute to all fields of knowledge (Quebral, 2001).

Tucker (2015) notes that the first SDG, “to end poverty in all its forms everywhere”, is going to prompt accusations of over-ambition and lack of realism. The general perception, perpetuated by the doom-laden imagery mentioned above, is that global poverty is pervasive and intractable. People need plausible solutions, not a utopian fantasy, to prevent scepticism about the goals and the organisations associated with them. As such, sciences are policy sciences when they clarify the process of policymaking in society, or supply data for the making of rational judgments on policy questions" Lasswell (1976, p. 120). The convening of the high-level representatives and heads of states from the different part of the world that gave birth to SDGs, and its Agenda dissemination can be aligned to the concept of the “communication process of human society” (Lasswell, 1948). Wide scale consultations were held to aid in informing the contents of the SDGs. For instance, a website was developed to provide the latest news, information and expert analysis around the global decision-making process to define a new set of global goals to eradicate poverty through sustainable development, known as the post-2015 development agenda. This website formed part of a wider multi-stakeholder engagement programme run by two civil society organizations, CIVICUS and Stakeholder Forum, in collaboration with the United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs (UNDESA) known as SD2015. The programme provided tools and opportunities for all stakeholders to input to the process and help build a more sustainable future, through five focus areas: raising awareness; increasing engagement; empowering stakeholders; coordinating advocacy; and strengthening governance. SD2015 also supported 12 partners[1] to develop national level advocacy plans for influencing the post-2015 development agenda. The other processes tracked on this website also have relevance for the SDGs and the 2015 milestone:

The High Level Political Forum (HLPF) is set to become the new institutional home for sustainable development within the UN system. The HLPF plays a major role in the coordination and monitoring of efforts around the new global goals. Another sub-process tracked via the website, was the intergovernmental process to develop a finance strategy to mobilise resources for the implementation of sustainable development, including the achievement of the SDGs.

Mulholland, et al (2017) outline the strategy adopted for the communication and awareness raising in the implementation of the 2030 Agenda and the SDGs whilst acknowledging that despite the lack of a blueprint on how to effectively communicate the 2030 Agenda and the SDGs to all stakeholders, the 2030 Agenda does stress the importance of incorporating every facet of society, capturing everyone, and leaving no one behind so as to avert effects of ‘turbulent’ social change, and aim for policies that seek for the achievement of the ‘highest social good’ (Flor, 1991). Mulholland, et al (2017) illustrates examples of measures adopted for the communication and awareness of the SDGS such as the UN website dedicated to sustainable development, the 2030 Agenda and the SDGs which gives readers and overview of the 2030 Agenda and how it is a more ambitious than the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs).

The UN website even goes as far as having a page dedicated towards actions and steps that people can take to make a difference, including a guide entitled The Lazy Person’s Guide to Saving the World, which lays out the small things people can do in their lives that can have far ranging impacts, including on reaching the targets set out in the SDGs. There is also the been an application for smart phones developed called the Sustainable Development Goals in Action, which was created in partnership by GSMA, Project Everyone and DPI. It features:

o All the latest progress news

o Facts and figures about all 17 Goals

o Short, shareable content

o The ability to create your own action for the Goals and share it with friends and colleagues.

o Great stories and case studies to inspire you and your friends.

o The application can be downloaded via Android or Apple app stores via: https://sdgsinaction.com/

Mulholland, et al (2017) note that communicating and raising awareness for the SDGs through social media and smart phone applications is an effective way in reaching a large amount of people, as the amount of time that is spent on social media, such as Facebook and Twitter, and on smart phones, is increasing. The authors (Mulholland, et al, 2017) contend that an important part of being able to communicate and raise awareness for the SDGs is by providing people with examples of what is occurring around the world and closer to home, as it becomes easier for people to engage with issues if they can see it for themselves. The features of this application allow news to be viewed and shared about particular SDGs that a person may find interesting. This application makes it easier for its users to find information on these topics, instead of searching for it themselves, which is highly relevant and important in awareness raising: quick, easy to understand, and interesting at the touch of a screen.

Policy scientists, in turn, must constantly look at how they will move their knowledge not just outward to broad audiences, but directly into practice. The participatory approach in policy engagement is deemed key in ensuring that the public and stakeholders have been involved at various stages.

The interface of development communication and policy sciences is the common ground for social and political actions in order to: (1) blur discriminatory tensions, (2) reckon the benefit of change, and (3) configure disarrays of allocating equities between the government, corporations, and social sectors. Undeniably, development communication and the policy sciences are generally regarded as inextricable links in recognizing change in the society. Their engaged roles encourage and support research, practice, and education, and disseminate knowledge and information for the people through various means of communication. Policies articulate directions for their mobilization and regulatory mechanisms since it is set to be anticipatory or forward-looking (Flor, 1991) in which problems have been envisioned (predicted) at vantage points (strategic) so countermeasures can have minimal consequences. In this process, policy engagement in development communication starts with building relationships with those they seek to inform, influence, and work together with for change.

The rationale for policy engagement in development communication involves:

· Decision makers are more likely to consider the recommendations if they have been consulted and involved at various stages.

· Building awareness in the public leads to both advocacy for and receptivity to policy changes.

Ergo, the crafting of the SDGs attests to the fact that the State is not a lone actor in the creation of public policies as noted by the various stakeholders identified by Flor (1991), attesting to the fact that State actions do not occur in an empty space. William Dunn (2008) considers these policies the result of a process and highlights three components in permanent interaction: a) public policies per se; b) participant actors and/or decision makers, interesting for political results; and c) the political environment.

Are the policy sciences still relevant as tools in achieving the SDG's

The relevance of the policy sciences as tools in achieving the SGDs are applicable as evidenced by Collstei, Pedercini and Cornell (2017) who propose the application of the Threshold 21 iSDG model, a structured System Dynamics based model designed to explore scenarios for policy integration to achieve the SDGs. This model, attest Collstei, Pedercini and Cornell (2017), builds on the well-vetted Threshold 21 model that has been applied to over 40 nations and has evolved over the past 30 years through research and application (Barney 2002). As most relevant policy making takes place on regional, national and sub-national levels, models that can bridge scales may be particularly useful (Hayha, et al. 2016).

iSDG is designed for regional, national and sub-national policy development, and is typically customized to be applicable to the specific contexts where it is to be used and in providing a credible representation of real-world development. Flor’s (1991) attests that the ‘supradiscipline’ of Communication Development and Policy Science indeed ought to be anticipatory by employing its interdisciplinary ‘arsenal’ in forms of theories and methods so that development communication policy is contextually relevant!

The convening of the high-level representatives and heads of states from the different part of the world that gave birth to SGS, and its Agenda dissemination can be aligned to the concept of the “communication process of human society” (Lasswell, 1948). Ergo, the Agenda 2030 resolution includes 17 sustainable development goals (SDGs) that are described as integrated (United Nations, 2015). This implies that the goals, and the effectiveness of the policies addressed to achieve them, depend on each other. Ergo, implementation efforts that isolate goals one by one and overlook these systemic interdependencies may hardly be fit for purpose. This overarching aim is a reiteration of the Lasswellian maxim on public policy in the following key elements: "contextual"; "problem-oriented"; "multi-method inquiry" or diverse empirical methods, "political", "normative, welfare-oriented" in the case of social policy goals; and posing "interdisciplinarity" or moving between humanities and social sciences. Lasswell proposed a mode of contextual-configurative analysis whereby, through "an act of creative orientation" (p. 13), the inquirer could locate himself in an 'all-encompassing totality" (p. 12).

Lasswell considered such contextual orientation indispensable to the conduct of rational inquiry, and urged the use of contextual-configurative analysis in the development of a policy science profession.

iSDG, like its forerunner Threshold 21, is based on feedbacks between and within three main sectors that may be referred to as environment, society and economy and governance. Each sector of the iSDG model consists of 10 subsectors: an outer field includes the environment subsectors, a middle field showing various society subsectors and an inner field showing the economy and governance subsectors. Indeed the Lasswell’s concept of official communication in the “world community,” consists of “three categories of specialists”: One group surveys the political environment of the state as a whole, another correlates the response of the whole state to the environment, and the third transmits certain patterns of response from the old to the young. Diplomats, attachés, and foreign correspondents are representatives of those who specialize on the environment. Editors, journalists, and speakers are correlators of the internal response. Educators in family and school transmit the social inheritance. (Lasswell, 1948, p. 40).

The adoption of SDG Agenda 2030 and the increased availability of relevant literature and data have supported enriching the iSDG model structure with additional relationships between various SDGs. Strengthening the feedback network across the SDGs makes the model correspond better to reality and provides a more accurate representation of development processes. In addition strengthening the feedback network may make the model more policy relevant. Auer (2011) notes that what matters is how systems of communication and the actors who participate in them, operate in functional terms and to what effect.

Collstei, Pedercini and Cornell (2017) development of an applied iSDG model note the following prime characteristics of system dynamics model formulations (Forrester 1992; Barlas 1996): the use of diverse data sources and the focus on anticipated causal structure and qualitative aspects of models in model validation. On the latter aspect, Collstei, Pedercini and Cornell (2017) state that the intention is to provide a credible, well-grounded and useful hypothesis of the overall causal structure of a country’s development, data sources used are not restricted to numerical data, for example, from national account databases, but can also incorporate other sources of information. These include qualitative theories of causal relationships from literature, and data from diverse experiences provided through expert or stakeholder interviews (Forrester 1992).

Further, a better mapping of the relationships between the goals is becoming increasingly relevant both in the academic (Nilsson et al. 2016) and political arenas (United Nations 2015). The social process is a comprehensive map of both basic, overarching, authoritative structures and rules, and the “particular decisions” that emerge from this architecture (Lasswell & McDougal, 1992, pp. 26–29). The social process is part of a larger framework that policy scientists use to identify participants who interact in particular situations and who use strategies to obtain desired outcomes. Mapping is as such an ‘anticipatory’ process in its self.

Does existing literature or current research support this?

The holistic nature of the SDG framework implies that a large number of potential interactions across the 169 targets have to be considered by policy makers (Costanza et al., 2016; Rickels et al., 2016). Although frameworks have been proposed to characterize SDG interactions, a systematic, data-driven analysis of interactions between all SDG indicators is currently missing. Collstei, Pedercini and Cornell (2017) attest that their research highlights benefits from considering interactions between SDGs in a structured way with the use of integrated simulation tools. The authors (Collstei, Pedercini and Cornell, 2017) posit that working with the iSDG model brings the multitudes of possible feedback loops that shape a country’s development to the forefront. The model not only maps interlinkages, but also says something plausible about the resulting behaviour of different policy options (Collstei, Pedercini and Cornell, 2017). The study shows how integrated models can be used to explore systemic relationships between SDGs. It thus demonstrates a flexible, adaptable and suitably transparent approach to generate actionable information (Collstei, Pedercini and Cornell, 2017).

Collstei, Pedercini and Cornell (2017) however caution that models can assist in structuring thoughts and put light on unintended consequences of different policies, but they do not immunize against uncertainties and unpredictable real-world behaviours. In addition, evidence for many relationships and potential formulations is disputed so alternative model designs always need to be considered. That integrative modelling is just one part of a shift towards an informed systemic discussion of sustainable development and how best to attain it (Collstei, Pedercini and Cornell, 2017). An effective analysis process, opine the authors (Collstei, Pedercini and Cornell, 2017), goes beyond the desk study of the published literature and data on causal links to include the exploration of policy options with decision-takers and stakeholders who bring knowledge of their own contexts that informs the model development and may improve the model’s correspondence to reality. Lasswell (1971) indeed warns that integrativeness can lead to over-intensity; they provoke coercive responses—either by the aggrieved or by powerful actors who may feel threatened (Lasswell, 1971, p. 89).

References

Auer, Matthew R. (2011). The Policy Sciences of Social Media, The Policy Studies Journal 39 (4), pp. 709-736.

Barlas Y (1996) Formal aspects of model validity and validation in system dynamics. Syst Dyn Rev 12:183–210.

Barney GO (2002) The global 2000 report to the president and the threshold 21 model: influences of dana meadows and system dynamics. Syst Dyn Rev 18:123–136.

Collstei, David, Pedercini, Matteo, and Cornell, Sarah (2017). Policy coherence to achieve the SDGs: using integrated simulation models to assess effective policies, Sustainable Science 12 (1), pp. 921–931.

deLeon, P. & Steelman, T. A. (2001). Making public policy programs effective and relevant: The role of the policy sciences (Curriculum and Case Notes). Journal of Policy Analysis and Management; 20(1): 164

Flor, Alexander, G. (1991). ‘Development Communication and the Policy Science’, Journal of Development Communication, Asian Institute for Development Communication. December.

Forrester JW (1992) Policies, decisions and information sources for modeling. Eur J Oper Res 59:42–63.

Hale, B. (2011). The methods of applied philosophy and the tools of the policy sciences. International Journal of Applied Philosophy; 25(2): 215–232.

Ha¨yha¨ T, Lucas PL, van Vuuren DP, Cornell SE, Hoff H (2016) From planetary boundaries to national fair shares of the global safe operating space—how can the scales be bridged? Global Environ Change 40:60–72.

Lasswell, H. D. (1971). A Pre-view of Policy Sciences. New York: American Elsevier.

Lasswell, H. D. (1965). “The World Revolution of Our Time: A Framework for Basic Policy Research.” In World Revolutionary Elites, ed. Harold D. Lasswell, and Daniel Lerner. Cambridge, MA: MIT Press, 29–96.

Mulholland, Eric, Bernardo, Alessia, and Berger, Gerald (2017), Communication and Awareness Raising in the Implementation of the 2030 Agenda and the SDGs: Activities and Challenges, ESDN Quarterly Report 44, April 2017, ESDN Office, Vienna.

Nilsson M, Griggs D, Visbeck M (2016) Policy: map the interactions between sustainable development goals. Nature 534:320–322.

Quebral, N.C. (2001). "Development Communication in a Borderless World". "Paper presented at the national conference-workshop on the undergraduate development communication curriculum, "New Dimensions, Bold Decisions"". Continuing Education Center, UP Los Banos: Department of Science Communication, College of Development Communication, University of the Philippines Los Banos, pp 15–28.

Servaes, Jan (2009). ‘Communication policies, good governance and development journalism’, Communication 35 (1) pp. 50-80.

Shi, T. (2003). Ecological economics as a policy science: Rhetoric or commitment towards an improved decision-making process on sustainability. Ecological Economics; 48(2004): 25

Torgerso, Douglas (1985). Contextual Orientation in Policy Analysis: The Contribution of Harold D. Lasswell, Policy Sciences 18 (1), pp. 241-261.

Tucker, Will (2015). How to communicate the sustainable development goals to the public. The Guardian Newspaper. October 6, 2015.

https://www.theguardian.com/global-development-professionals-network/2015/sep/07/how-to-communicate-the-sustainable-development-goals-to-the-public

United Nations (2015) Transforming our world: the 2030 Agenda for sustainable development A/RES/70/1. United Nations General Assembly, New York.

[1] http://www.sustainabledevelopment2015.org/index.php/about/203-uncategorised/1627-national-partners

Policy sciences as tools for SDGs

The premise

The Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) reflect problems postmodern societies face these days as a global community. These problems are complex and interconnected. Basing on the way Ila Virginia Ongkiko and Alexander Flor discuss policy scientist Daniel Lerner’s vicious cycle of poverty (in relation to problems associated with underdevelopment) inIntroduction to Development Communication, the problems are pervasive, interrelated, come in clusters and tend to recur.

Since these goals are premised in that context, policy sciences remain relevant tools to pursue them and realize them by the year 2030. The brains (people and institutions) behind SDGs must have crafted the latter using the policy sciences as framework.

The relevance of policy sciences

Harold Lasswell, author of A Pre-View of Policy Sciences, provides the working definition of policy sciences as they “are concerned with knowledge of and in the decision processes of the public and civic order.” He adds, “Knowledge of the decision process implies systematic, empirical studies of how policies are made and put into effect.” Lasswell emphasizes that policy sciences strive for contextuality, problem orientation and diversity as principal attributes.

Given the nature of the problems being addressed by SDGs, policy sciences are the tools since, paraphrasing what Lasswell has said, policy scientists engage in intellectual activities to clarify goals and alternatives, among others, and use different methods. These lead to decisions that are part of a larger social process.

In his paper titled What future for the policy sciences?, Roger Pielke Jr. touches on these components of policy sciences framework (problem-focused, contextual and methodologically diverse) as he reflects on the sustainability of a distinct tradition of the policy movement.

He adds that the purpose of policy sciences framework is the development of specific knowledge related to decisions and problems in context. Since it veers away from making predictions and generalizations with theoretical support, policy sciences are concerned with the specific and the particular as Pielke Jr. suggests. These features of policy sciences suit the context of SDGs. Though the goals are universal, they remain specific and particular (context-specific) to each member state of the United Nations. Yes, the problems possess both global and parochial characteristics.

New methods and tools

Within the policy sciences tradition, there are methods being used for policy analysis. Ongkiko and Flor also enumerate some under the label methods in communication policy analysis in their volume. However, there are other tools or methods that researchers propose.

Jo-An Atkinson, Andrew Page, Robert Wells, Andrew Milat and Andrew Wilson suggest systems dynamics and agent-based modelling (simulation modeling) as systems science methods. According to them, the tools allow virtual experimentation of policy scenarios and determine their comparative impact and cost. They ground in the interdisciplinary field of systems science that “investigates the nature of complex systems and is underpinned by well-established mathematical theory of nonlinear dynamics.”

On the other hand, Kristan Cockerill, Lacy Daniel, Leonard Malczynski and Vincent Tidwell offer collaborative modeling which contributes to diverse goals such as integration of values and different types of information, promotion of an interdisciplinary approach and focus on problem identification and improving actual decisions.

The authors say that the modeling framework “is not a technocratic approach to policy” and it needs “to be selected such that both the technical and lay stakeholders are equally comfortable with the tools and the process.”

My personal take

Policy sciences, I think, are preferred tools for SDGS because again the tradition under the policy movement is problem-oriented and context-specific and uses varied methods. Since societal problems cut across diverse, manifold aspects of human life, policy sciences, taken as one, is “it” since it is also multidisciplinary and interdisciplinary. Policy scientists should also welcome new methods to analyze policies and to effect change.

References

Atkinson, Jo-An, Page, Andrew, Wells, Robert, Milat, Andrew and Wilson, Andrew (2015). A modelling tool for policy analysis to support the design of efficient and effective policy responses for complex public health problems.Accessed fromhttps://implementationscience.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.1186/s13012-015-0221-5

Cockerill, Kristan, Daniel, Lacy, Malczynski, Leonard and Tidwell, Vincent (2009). A fresh look at a policy sciences methodology: Collaborative modeling for more effective policy. Accessed fromhttps://libres.uncg.edu/ir/asu/f/Cockerill_K_2009_A_Fresh_Look.pdf.xx.pdf

Lasswell, Harold (1971). A Pre-View of the Policy Sciences. American Elsevier Publishing. Accessed fromhttp://www.policysciences.org/classics/preview.pdf

Ongkiko, Ila Virginia and Flor, Alexanxder (1998). Introduction to Development Communication. SEAMEO Regional Center for Graduate Study and Research in Agriculture and the University of the Philippines. Diliman, Quezon City.

Pielke Jr., Roger (2004). What future for the policy sciences? Accessed fromhttps://www.researchgate.net/publication/227326995_What_Future_for_the_Policy_Sciences

The point of relatedness that I see on Laswell’s policy sciences to Sustainable Development Goals is their grounding on problem as starting point for targeting social change. My reasons for saying that policy sciences narrative jive with today's SDG narrative are:

a. Problem and goals have logical connection. Problems (Laswell key concept for policy orientation) are to be addressed with the goals (SDG key concept for policy orientation). One cannot do without the other.

b. Policy sciences and SDG shared teleology on improving policy development. While policy sciences is silent on specific theme and SDG have thematic social change i.e. sustainable development; suffice to say that policy sciences and SDG are not contradictory but are complementary.

SGD follows a backcasting approach where it begins with a projection of the desired outcome(s), and works backwards to understand what is needed for their realization (PwC,2015). In working backward on what is needed, policy science is a useful tool in for ensuring rationality. Using scientific approach in policy making gives a more reliable and objective approach for solving societal problems.

References:

Nick Turnbull (2008) Harold lasswell's “problem orientation” for the policy

sciences, Critical Policy Studies, 2:1, 72-91, DOI: 10.1080/19460171.2008.9518532

PwC. (2015). Engaging with the Sustainable Development Goals, (December), 36.

Policy science is still a relevant tool in succeeding the SDG’s through the strategy and guidelines that is being created in responding the demand for the development of the desired standard quality of living of humanity emphasizing on the social development and environmental and natural resources sustainability. Likewise, policy science is very much relevant in framing platform, advocacy and strategy that would create quantifiable outcomes in reaching better policies for 2030 agenda.

Lasswell and Lerner coined the term “Policy Science” in 1971 to depict policies as an answer in solving societal problems and to promote economic and social development. According to Quebral (2012) “development” is a progressive improvement of quality of life that needs to happen and “communication” is the vehicle that carries development onwards. On the other hand “policy science” composed of multiple theories of context, basic and applied analysis with a collective multi-method, and focused on using scientific research that provide an integrated and comprehensive set of procedures for addressing them in ways that help to clarify and secure the common interest (Lynch, 2016). In the pursuit of “Sustainable Development Goals” wherein it aimed to end poverty, protect the environment, and ensure prosperity for all living structure; thus, the policy science is a vital tool in achieving its objective. Moreover, the approach of the policy science is favoring innovation and development with its substantial characteristic of interdisciplinary and holistic in nature towards the society. This serves as guiding principle to action of the totality of SDG’s plan to improve lives especially to the vulnerable community; henceforth, provisions should be taken to execute into the process of shaping public awareness and leadership aspects.

Philippine Movement Towards SDG's

According to Flor (1991), the national government is the most powerful stakeholder in communication policy science. In the Philippines, the creation of Philippine Agenda 21(PA21) and the Philippine Strategy for Sustainable Development (PSSD) which derived from the “SDG’s” movement and strategy were properly implemented and utilized for the sustainable development of intervention areas in the country. According to Lasswell (1971), societal problems were synthesized in a larger scientific perspective, the orientation for the policy sciences should be addressed to open the avenue of modernization in shaping ideas about the use of communication media to promote economic and social development. Thus, policy sciences narrative jives with today's SDG narrative because of the attainable development that transpires utilizing new strategies and contagious awareness to uphold and protect the Earth. The adoption by the Philippines of SDG’s is mutually compatible which implies the compatibility not only the needs of the society but also to the natural dynamics and carrying capacities of ecosystems. Law makers are continuously improving the policies followed by the strict execution by the government. The Philippine government which is highly supported by UN intergovernmental processes for sustainable development sets the policies with the praxis of policy science in achieving the sustainable development goals, strategies in reaching the desired objectives and providing a wide access of information and knowledge through the online platforms of social media.

REFERENCES

Flor, A. G. (1991). Development communication and policy sciences. Journal of Development Communication. Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.

Lasswell, H. D. (1971). The Pre-View of Policy Sciences. New York, NY: American Elsevier.

Lynch, A. (2016). Policy sciences: Integrating knowledge and practice to advance human dignity for all. Policy Science Center (PSC) Inc. Retrieved from http://www.policysciences.org/

Quebral, N.C. (2012). Development communication primer. Communication in rural development. ISBN 978-983-9054- 56-9. Southbound, Malaysia. Retrieved from file:///J:/UP%20DOCTORAL/fromUP/QuebralCruzPrimer2012.pdf

Policy science assertions on research-orientedness are timelessly relevant as regards the desired trajectory of realizing SDGs . And I would like to anchor it on 3 points revolving on research and triangulate it with my present SDG project in primary health care, to further concretize them:

(1) Need for contextual modelling

"The SDGs are meaningful to different types of people and stakeholders for different reasons. Looking forward, we should sketch out the most critical common intersections in policymaking and then find ways of building or strengthening epistemic communities around them." As a behaviorist, I believe that we must avoid inappropriate emphasis on one-dimensional models of human behavior as human beings are highly complex entities. Thus, even as we have formulated generic SDGs, we still need to endogenize them. Even though they come out of thousands of discussions with people in many different places, they still need to be flexible enough to be adapted locally. Good honest-to-goodness qualitative research to document experiences of people – their life experiences and narratives should be part of the process. People have to feel that the SDGs are basically “theirs” rather than a technical issue to be dealt with by a distant expert with no local immersion or experience or deep understanding of where the people, the end-beneficiaries, are coming from.

"Importance should be given to policy modeling research, which emphasizes the need to carefully select and cultivate stakeholders, educate them on their roles, engage knowledgeable facilitators, select tools and techniques suited to the problem, and above all to consider policymaking as a learning process." This is what we are doing with our EU - PSHRC project establishing Centre of Excellence in Family Medicine for Primary Care in receptive regions of the country. We role model, choosing malleable stakeholders.

2. Need for more empowering participatory process(dialogues)

Research on public sector knowledge networks is valuable in helping us understand multi-actor networks that must work together to achieve policy integration. Research suggests that trust—establishing and building it—is a powerful determining factor in the collaboration and sustainability of multi-actor networks. The early stage in collaborations is critical; stakeholders who must collaborate should feel they are not only invited but also heard, in context of dialogues. To build trust, it is advisable "not to start with the hardest or biggest problem, but rather with the lowest hanging fruit, which can help build trust, as a capability that lives beyond the solution of a particular problem." The SDGs will not be like a “puppet-show where policy analysts are controlling what every single actor is doing”, but rather like a “scene setter” that induces changes, incentives and awareness at the margins. I am learning a lot about doing this as I embark on my pilot RHU to do the Family Medicine practice modelling. "The key challenges we face in policy integration for SDGs are to develop the capability and legitimacy of governments to engage in policy development, grounded in citizen and stakeholder engagement; to develop better MODELS & TOOLS for understanding complexity by citizens, not just expert modellers; and, to better connect research and practice through rich connectivity among the government , experts, communities and the public."

Again, this is what we are doing in our EU COE Project: we try to synergize the academe, the professional society, the LGUs and the highest govt educational and health institutions for primary care. The lesson learned in Indonesia was: funds were transferred directly to community institutions to build small-scale infrastructure projects, without any provision for regular fiscal transfers from the government for maintenance of said infrastructure, and this resulted in rapidly declining infrastructure with very little sustainability. So always, course and loop any policy research or project with the government institution, meaning instutionalize everything, like do everything with MOAs and loop all possible government institutions at all levels. This will not only provide check and balance and policy support, but more than anything sustainability.

3. Need for knowledge sharing infrastructure

To do these, we recognize 2 needs : (1) Need to do understand nexus approach and (2) Need to break down of goals into smaller components.

Presently there is this need to understand the idea of NEXUS in terms of policy science, not only in terms of interrelationships and systems thinking but creating spaces to share . It is critical to have spaces or fora where people from a variety of perspectives can come together to inspire each other, provide support and, if necessary, disagree with one another on a variety of linked issues. There are many opportunities for integrating policies that already exist; for example, one can simply convene encounters among various socioeconomic groups and interests that do not typically communicate or interact with each other, including marginalized people, where lessons can be learned cross-sectorally.

Many goals in the current SDG formulation appear “utopian” and not formulated in a way that can be easily unpacked. OECD is an example of a generic organization that reduces SDGs into smaller workable components in terms of making them demand-driven processes, focusing on complementarities and ensuring feedback and learning. We should stop trying to build systems that address a huge problem with every possible detail, and rather focus on incremental, modest goal applications in the development and sustainability of mechanisms including objectives setting, institutional frameworks, engagement stakeholders,resolution of conflicts, etc. This category of applications can be reused from one policy integration initiative to another . Likewise experimenting with different approaches and learn, revise, repeat the usual experimental process. Investing in our learning capabilities and in seeing the policy cycle as a learning process can help us to do this. So, applying these to our EU project, we do benchmarkings with other models from other country settings, and make sure we proceed with our quality improvements through building blocks traversing diverse systems within health infrastructure.

As health impacts practically on all other fields, and being now in in the era of data revolution, handling big data to get them to translate into relevant policies is indeed a gargantuan task. Nevertheless, there are emerging opportunities in leveraging big, open and linked data, from civil society and international organizations as ways of pulling together evidence for policy integration effectiveness. We need more ICT-based policy modelling and more accessible citizen deliberation platforms and invest in mechanisms that will engender the most effective learning and discovery. Yes, for our project I realize that part of my task is the need to examine and teach each institution and organisation I brush with the basics and essentials of having a good communication plan stemming from their vision-mission to upgrade their knowledge sharing and management.

We realize more than ever now that we have to do better this time and learn how to communicate what we already have, but in a better way. We need not get stuck in management issues because it is really in good policy science where we need to broaden on in the light of pursuing SDGs projects.

References

UN (2015) Policy integration in government in pursuit of the SDGs Report of the expert group meeting

EPOS (2018) TOR on Centre of Excellence in Family Medicine for Primary Care

The quest for the fulfilment of the SDGs launched in 2015 is germane to the topic on the policy sciences -- introduced by Laswell & Lerner (1951) as being concerned with "knowledge of, and in the decision processes of the public and civic order".

The 17 SDGs of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, propounded by the international policy-making community through the UN, in gist aim to eradicate poverty, keep the planet healthy, and bring in prosperity for all. The Unesco focuses on these 17 ambitious goals through the 5Ps: people, the planet, prosperity, peace, partnership -- the same urgent thrusts we find in the arena of the policy sciences.

The principles of what to think about (content), and how to go about it (process) situate such universal thrusts in context in society. After all, Laswell referred to "contextuality as an unescapable theme" in the policy sciences, and that to be genuinely interested in public policy, one had to be "preoccupied with the aggregate", the big picture, the amalgamation of what is important for humanity to prosper as they clarify/make sense of their shared vision and purpose (that is, people making better decisions).

Pursuing the SDGs in 17 varied aspects of society also necessitates sound and mutually-supportive public policy (which could, for example, stipulate measurable targets) so that the impact on society is holistic and desegregated. The OECD's Policy Coherence for Sustainable Development is an example of a policy science tool that stimulates synergy among the economic, social, environmental, and governance aspects of SD in all stages of national and international policy, and is able to pinpoint accountability on government for the success/failure of the goals. The Unesco is also able to contribute to the implementation of SDGs by providing assistance in designing policies based on best local practices and indigenous knowledge systems "to inspire science-based solutions"; investing in human capital (such as education and training programs); and strengthening the science-policy interface wherein the scientific and technological experts can advice on policy issues when crucial.

Closer to home, a report on a UN program conducted in the Philippines through the SDG Fund illustrates how narratives of the policy sciences and the pursuit of SDGs in fact meld. The SDG Fund is a development mechanism created in 2014 to promote the 2030 Agenda for SD. The $3.6 million water sanitation program included a policy component to improve local governance, and a KM component to generate/use knowledge on safe water, sanitation, and hygiene.

References:

Laswell, HD (1971). A Pre-View of Policy Sciences

OECD (2017). Policy Coherence for SD. http://www.oecd.org/development/pcd/Note%20on%20Shaping%20Targets.pdf

SDG Fund.Pro-Water: Promoting Water and Sanitation Access, Integrity, Empowerment, Rights, and Resiliency.

As Laswell had explained it, policy Science is concerned with knowledge of and in the decision processes of the public and civic order (1971). It implies systematic and empirical studies of how policies are made and put into practice and focusing on execution of policy. In addition, Laswell also emphasized that with policy science, change is visible and it helps in enlightening the decision for society.

This is still applicable in present time and also on achieving the Sustainable Development Goals (SDG). On the preamble of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development it mentioned that the plan of action is for people, planet and prosperity. This is aligned with the principles of policy sciences developed by Laswell. In order to reach the said agenda, a systematic approach on creating policy is needed then a proper execution. Different countries are involved on development, a collaborative partnership is expected.

In essence, the policy science of Lerner is the foundation or the core of any policy that will be implemented, since its principles still associated with the plans being done in achieving the SDG.

References:

Lasswell, H. (1971). A Pre-view of the Policy Sciences. New York: American Elsevier. Retrieved 25 April 2017 from http://www.policysciences.org/classics/preview.pdf

http://www.un.org/sustainabledevelopment/sustainable-development-goals/

http://www.mofa.go.jp/files/000259285.pdf

The fifty four-year gap from September 1961 to September 2015 is a continuous pursuit to halt poverty and attain development. In the pursuit efforts, various development models and policy processes were pertained to alleviate scarcity, maximize resources, and discover the path to opulence called development. When the former US President John F. Kenedy in 1961, launched a proposal and addressed the United Nation General Assembly, he called for a development decade that aimed to “lessen the gap between developed and underdeveloped countries, to speed up the process of modernization, and to release the majority of mankind from poverty.” (Jolly).

For more than half century ago when the first development decade proposal for action was launched, a prolific writer coined the term policy sciences as an integrative approach to solving problems and making decisions. Policy sciences provide an integrated and comprehensive set of procedures for addressing problems in ways to clarify and secure the common interest at different levels, local, regional, international or planetary (PSC). A comprehensive account of the policy sciences which is based on curriculum materials evolved over about a quarter century beginning in the early 1950s at prestigious westerns schools. The concept was used by the scholars and researchers, it evolved in related concepts of policy in general as policy movement, policy problem, policy analysis, and public affairs. Due to its distinctive outlook : problem oriented, contextual, and multi disciplinary inquiry it provides a decision maker a comprehensive critical perspective (Brunner).

For the sustainable development goal, policy sciences is still a relevant approach, evolved as strategic policy making, policy process, policy coherence and various development models, but the essence and principles are that of Lasswell’s concept of policy sciences.

A growing number of people across academic disciplines, professions, and in civic life are finding that the policy sciences offer a useful way to deal effectively with whatever problems they confront. The concept is relevant to the modern age problems because of its distinct characteristics: First, it is an approach to understanding and solving problems, it presents a comprehensive set of procedures with a central and fundamental objective of comprehensive decision making and fostering a commonwealth of human dignity. Second, it draws on and contributes to all fields of knowledge, it provides emphasis on comprehending problems in context and build constructive results. Third, the vast applications of policy sciences to variety of problems that include local, national, and international problems such as questions of governance and development, achievement of human rights in all contexts, natural resources policy and management, improving health, education, and many others (PSC).

The discussions on many present literatures conceptualizing on the realization of sustainable development goals uphold the relevance of policy sciences. The International Institute for Sustainable development published an article on its view on successfully integrating sustainable development goals in current policies. The approach is an evident characteristics of policy sciences with holistic thinking and action relying on the policy makers’ best practice experience of policy integration efforts of policy coherence (Bizikova).

For scientific community, they recognize how policy sciences can help deliver the global goals. A scientific article reported that “recently a group of thirty-two scientists from twenty-three countries met for a week-long workshop in Italy, hosted by the International Council for Science, International Social Science Council and Future Earth. One of the main messages to emerge from the meeting was the need for more effective linking of science to policy in the unfolding debate around the global goals” (Koch).

The Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development believes that policy sciences particularly policy coherence is the central policy tool to inform relevant stakeholders for managing development goals at the local, regional, and international levels (OECD).

References:

Bizikova, L. How can we successfully integrate sustainable development goals into our current policies. International Institute for Sustainable Development. March 17,2017. Retrieved from: https://www.iisd.org/blog/how-can-we-successfully-integrate-sustainable-development-goals-our-current-policies

Brunner,R. Introduction to Policy Sciences. University of Colorado. Retrieved from:

https://www.colorado.edu/UCB/TheUniversity/Committees/SPS/F/courses/psci5076i.html

Jolly et al (eds) (2004) UN Contributions to Development Thinking and Practice. Indiana Press, Bloomington. pp 85-7. Part of the UN Intellectual History Project. See http://www.unhistory.org/CD/index.html.

https://steps-centre.org/anewmanifesto/timeline/un-first-development-decade/

Koch,F. How can science policy help to deliver the global goals. The Guardian. 9 October 2015. Retrieved from: https://www.theguardian.com/science/political-science/2015/oct/09/how-can-science-policy-help-to-deliver-the-global-goals

OECD (2016), Better Policies for Sustainable Development 2016: A New Framework for Policy Coherence, OECD Publishing, Paris. http://dx.doi.org/10.1787/9789264256996-en. retrieved from: https://sustainabledevelopment.un.org/content/documents/commitments/493_12066_commitment_Better%20Policies%20for%20Sustainable%20Development%202016.pdf

PSC Policy Science Center. PolicyScience.org. Policy Science. Retrieved from: http://www.policyscience.org/index.html

UNDP. Sustainable Development Goals. Retrieved from:

http://www.undp.org/content/undp/en/home/sustainable-development-goals.html

Central to the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) are major universal issues which are expected by international communities to end or be resolved by 2030. SDGs target poverty, hunger, good health and well-being, quality education, gender equality, clean water and sanitation, affordable and clean energy, decent work and economic growth, industry, innovation and infrastructure, reduced inequalities, sustainable cities and communities, responsible consumption and production, climate action, life below water, life on land, peace, justice and strong institutions, and partnership for the goals. This package of bold goals for global transformation in 2030 calls for a smart synergy of the government, non-governmental organizations, business, civil society, and researchers or “the glue” that will hold the process together as described by Stephanie Thomson, an editor at the World Economic Forum.

Successfully pursuing these 17 goals demands for sound policies created from a scientific study of policy making. Policy sciences’ holistic, interdisciplinary (Dror, 1971 as cited in Flor, 1991), scientific, and anticipatory approach aims to produce lead time in resolving the key societal problems at hand and these characteristics of policy sciences make them relevant to the achievement of the 17 goals despite being introduced by Laswell and Lerner more than half a century ago.

While SDGs provide a coordinating and synthesising framework for public (and private) sector decision-making, science can play a pivotal role, for example, in representing sustainability challenges in different contexts (data, analysis and scenario building), creating models that explore how different targets interact, and tracking progress towards goals (Dasgupta et al., 2014; Beisheim et al., 2015; Yonglong et al., 2015; Nilsson, 2016; Nilsson et al., 2016 as cited in Executive Summary of the United Nation Secretary General’s Scientific Advisory Board, 2016). Indeed evaluation is needed to ascertain that the policies, strategies, and other interventions are reaching their goals and contributing to sustainable development without causing unanticipated negative consequences (Uitto, Kohlitz & Todd, 2017). According to Lasswell (1971), policy appraisal is an inherent responsibility of a policy scientist. Moreover, scientific policies will be strengthened further if they are matched with ethical values, a crucial “missing pillar” of sustainability (Burford, Hoover, Velasco, Janoušková, Jimenez, Piggot, Podger & Harder, 2013).

In brief, applying scientific analysis and putting committed and right focal persons in implementing sustainable development are the keys to achieving the Sustainable Development Goals.

Sources:

Burford,G., Hoover,E., Velasco,I., Janoušková, S.,Jimenez,A., Piggot,G.,Podger,D.,& Harder,M. (2013). Bringing the “Missing Pillar” into Sustainable Development Goals: Towards Intersubjective Values-Based Indicators. Retrieved from http://www.mdpi.com/2071-1050/5/7/3035/htm on April 20, 2018.

Flor, A. G. (1991). Development Communication and the Policy Sciences. Retrieved from https://www.academia.edu/578845/Development_Communication_and_the_Policy_Sciences

Lasswell, H. (1971). A Preview of Policy Sciences

Thomson, S. (2015). What are the Sustainable Development Goals?. Retrieved from https://www.weforum.org/ agenda/2015/09/what-are-the-sustainable-development-goals/

Uitto,J., Kohlitz, J. and Todd, D. (2017). Evaluation for 2030 Providing Evidence on Progress and Sustainability. Retrived from https://ideas-global.org/evaluation-for-agenda-2030/ on March 14, 2018.

United Nation Secretary General’s Scientific Advisory Board (2016).The Contribution of Science in Implementing the Sustainable Development Goals. Retrieved from http://futureearth.org/sites/default/files/2016 _report_contribution_science_sdgs.pdf on March 14,2017.

Does the policy sciences narrative jive with today's SDG narrative?

I wish to state at the start that while UN documents are voted upon and approved by member countries at the UN Headquarters in New York, or in some other city where the UN offices operate (Geneva, Vienna. Nairobi, Rome, etc.), they are not immediately operational. They still have to be approved back home by each country (legislated if necessary), after which concrete steps are taken to implement them, with the assistance of the different UN agencies if necessary. The only exception to this would be the decisions of the UN Security Council, which could immediately be implemented by the UN itself.

The SDG’s, while accepted by the different States, have to be implemented by their governments. Policies have to be made in the planning and implementation stages, with all the details that would allow them to be operational.

Are the policy sciences still relevant as tools in achieving the SDG's?

Definitely, because the SDG’s are general goals, and to attain them all the UN agencies have to come up with concrete giant programs for the country, with smaller and smaller projects, that eventually have to reach the smallest and farthest communities.

In other words, the SDG’s present goals that could be attained by solving existing problem. The policy sciences will provide the means, that is, the tools, to solve those problems and thus achieve the SDG’s.

Does existing literature or current research support this?

Immediately after the SDC’s were launched, different organizations have immedialtely organized conferences to study how to attain them. Some examples follow:

* Scientific support for policy-making in sustainable development: joining forces. “The aim of the conference is to identify best practices at international level in channelling scientific evidence in support to the implementation, evaluation and monitoring of policies and actions towards the achievement of the SDGs.” https://ec.europa.eu/jrc/en/event/conference/second-worldwide-meeting-young-acadamies

* Technology Facilitation Mechanism. Multi-stakeholder Forum on Harnessing Science, Technology and Innovation to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals. This focuses on Science, Technology and Innovation plans, policies and capacity building. https://sustainabledevelopment.un.org/TFM/STIForum2017

* Policy Brief: Expert Support for Implementing the SDGs. It says, “Implementing the SDGs requires reliance on expert advice. The nature of the sustainability challenge requires a new form of expert guidance, and the creation of an orchestrating expert panel on sustainability. Lessons drawn from environmental science panels and Global Environmental Assessments can help design such a panel.” http://sdg.earthsystemgovernance.org/sdg/publications/policy-brief-expert-support-implementing-sdgs

Sustainable Development Goals (SDG), also known as the global goals refer to that new set of universal goals generally aimed at eradicating poverty, protecting Mother Nature, and ensuring that people all over the world live in peace and prosperity. SDG becomes a basis of every member to frame its respective agenda and political policies that would have to entail the participation or involvement of the people in addressing various concerns as specifically articulated in its overall 17 goals. The principle is simple – call people into action, considered as the key toward the attainment of these goals leading to sustainable development. The Brundtland Report defines sustainable development as, a “development that meets the needs of the present without compromising the ability of the future generations to meet their own needs”. The success of the SDG lies not in the hands of political leaders (who frame the agenda and set the procedures) but in the hands of the citizenry per se.

Policy Sciences on the other hand as introduced by Lasswell and Lamer refer to a certain approach to understanding and solving problems arising from different levels – local, regional, international. The concept of policy sciences is to address these problems by way of providing a comprehensive set of procedures that help to clarify and secure the common interest of the constituents. Policy sciences is proactive- it allows the people themselves to participate in that social process of initiating change following certain policies and procedures. Policy sciences spell out good governance.

Now, how relevant are the policy sciences to the pursuit of the Sustainable Development Goals? The fact that the SDG responds to the present needs of the people amid the perennial problems that beset the society and the world at large, the application of policy sciences is highly relevant. Policy Sciences suggest to understand a certain problem by getting into its root cause, and solve it from there. The Policy Sciences’ narrative jives with today’s SDG narrative, as both have these common denominators – help people make better decisions and foster a commonwealth of human dignity for all.

Both (Policy Sciences and SDG) work in the spirit of partnership and pragmatism to make the right choices to improve life. Policy Sciences and the SDG put emphasis on comprehending problems in context so that recommendations that are realistic, desirable and attainable be developed. Their ultimate goal to solve these problems is to call people into action.

This relationship can be supported by a research study titled, “The Reflection of Good Governance in Sustainable Development Strategies”, authored by Mihaela Karros (2012) which points out that in a society still in search for solutions for sustainable development, good governance has always been recognized to be a critical tool for advancing sustainable development and a crucial element to be incorporated in sustainable development strategies. It further notes that through its strategic mechanisms, good governance contributes to engagement for long-term commitment and strategic objectives, to policy coherence through vertical and horizontal coordination, to an open, transparent process of involving and consulting stakeholders and to bringing sustainable development strategies closer to local communities, to the people.

The research results point out that there are well-functioning strategic mechanisms in respect to the investigated issues, but more concern, involvement and interest are necessary to enhance vertical coordination mechanisms, to disseminate good practices about public consultation processes and to bring sustainable development strategies closer to the people, in forms they can understand and use to change their behavior to a more sustainable one.

References:

http://www.undp.org/content/undp/en/home/sustainable-development-goals.html

http://www.policysciences.org/

www.tandfonline.com/doi/pdf/10.1080/19460171.2008.9518532

https://www.theguardian.com/global-development/2015/jan/19/sustainable-development-goals-united-nations

https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/

The policy sciences stands as an approach to problem solving that can span local, regional, international, or even planetary scopes. The goal is to preserve and enrich human dignity. This alone allows the discipline to inhabit all fields of knowledge so as to contextualize concerns, develop recommendations that are both realistic and desirable, and empower effective decision-making. “This is a reiteration of the Lasswellian maxim on public policy in the following key elements: "contextual"; "problem-oriented"; "multi-method inquiry" or diverse empirical methods; "political"; "normative, welfare-oriented" in the case of social policy goals; and posing "interdisciplinarity" or moving between humanities and social sciences.”

This integrative approach to problem assessment clearly supports the 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. The United Nations declared that “over the next fifteen years, with these new Goals that universally apply to all, countries will mobilize efforts to end all forms of poverty, fight inequalities and tackle climate change, while ensuring that no one is left behind.” The 17 SDGs tasked to transform our world are No Poverty, Zero Hunger, Good Health and Well-being, Quality Education, Gender Equality, Clean Water and Sanitation, Affordable and Clean Energy, Decent Work and Economic Growth, Industry, Innovation and Infrastructure, Reduced Inequality, Sustainable Cities and Communities, Responsible Consumption and Production, Climate Action, Life Below Water, Life on Land, Peace and Justice Strong Institutions, and Partnerships to Achieve the Goal.

These mirroring narratives “recognize that ending poverty must go hand-in-hand with strategies that build economic growth and addresses a range of social needs including education, health, social protection, and job opportunities, while tackling climate change and environmental protection. While the SDGs are not legally binding, governments are expected to take ownership and establish national frameworks for the achievement of the 17 Goals. Countries have the primary responsibility for follow-up and review of the progress made in implementing the Goals, which will require quality, accessible and timely data collection. Regional follow-up and review will be based on national-level analyses and contribute to follow-up and review at the global level” (un.org).

It used to be that policy making just looked at Human Development Index (HDI) but now it’s HDI plus ecosystems that translates into a more relevant Wellness Index (WI). Though literature may not necessarily name the Policy Sciences for these developments, it is still the very dynamics that is in effect.

http://www.policysciences.org/

https://www.un.org/development/desa/disabilities/envision2030.html

Although the policy sciences were introduced by Lasswell and Lerner in 1951 (Flor, 1991), the concepts still play a relevant role in the attainment of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDG). Criticized as an “ambitious sweep” (Renwick, 2015), the SDGs were dubbed by the United Nations Secretary General Ban Ki-moon as the “agenda for the people”, “a promise by leaders to all people everywhere” and “an agenda for the planet, our common home” (United Nations, 2015).

As a blueprint, the SDGs are meant to guide global development efforts from 2015 to 2030. As guide though, the SDGs are a voluntary agreement and not a binding treaty. Although lacking in accountability, the SDGs present the opportunity and potential for government leaders to look beyond their national interests (Ngwira, 2015) and “fit a new grand purpose” of shared prosperity, peace, and partnership (Ban, 2015, in United Nations, 2015).

Sustainable development has been defined by the UN as “development that meets the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs” (World Commission on Environment and Development, 1987, in United Nations, n.d.). The very characteristics of policy sciences make it relevant to the SDGs. Policy sciences aim to improve policy making to solve and anticipate societal problems (Flor, 1991). Flor (1991) stated that the approach of policy sciences is forward-looking, which is the same with sustainable development’s definition which includes “without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs”.

Moreover, the coverage of the SDGs is broad, taking into consideration the complexity and interconnectedness of the problems in the world. Ban stressed that the SDGs are universal and integrative (United Nations, 2015). As such, the interdisciplinary and holistic nature of the policy sciences again come to the fore. The policy sciences recognize that “societal problems are considered to be multi-faceted and complex” (Flor, 1991). Truly, the SDGs show the interconnectedness of society’s problems, that solving one can have an impact on others, while leaving one unsolved can contribute to the aggravation of the rest of the problems.

The SDGs as an agenda advocate for a change in paradigm. In the words of UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon, “We can no longer afford to think and work in silos” (UN, 2015). To think beyond national borders for inclusive and shared peace and prosperity, changes in policies are necessary. The policy sciences thus are relevant as informed policy-making and decision-making are necessary to achieve this. As the Society of Policy Scientists (2016) claims, policy sciences “provide an integrated and comprehensive set of procedures for addressing them in ways that help to clarify and secure the common interest. Helping people make better decisions is the central objective of the policy sciences, and the fundamental goal is to foster a commonwealth of human dignity for all”.

References:

Flor, A. G. (1991). Development Communication and the Policy Sciences. Journal of Development Communication. Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia: Asian Institute of Development Communication. Retrieved from https://www.academia.edu/578845/Development_Communication_and_the_Policy_Sciences

Ngwira, P.M. (2015). Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) A Critique. Retrieved from https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/sustainable-development-goals-sdgs-critique-percy-mabvuto-ngwira/

Renwick, D. (2015). Sustainable Development Goals. Retrieved from https://www.cfr.org/backgrounder/sustainable-development-goals

Society of Policy Scientists. (2016). The Policy Sciences Are an Approach to Understanding and Solving Problems. Retrieved from http://policysciences.org/

United Nations. (2015). UN adopts new Global Goals, charting sustainable development for people and planet by 2030. Retrieved from https://news.un.org/en/story/2015/09/509732-un-adopts-new-global-goals-charting-sustainable-development-people-and-planet

United Nations. (n.d.). Sustainable Development. Retrieved from http://www.un.org/en/ga/president/65/issues/sustdev.shtml

How relevant are the policy sciences in the pursuit

of the Sustainable Development Goals?

The old policy sciences’ narrative containing the mandate of creating knowledge on the process of policy-making and the utilization of said knowledge in the improvement of the process together with the fundamental goal of fostering a commonwealth of human dignity for all, sit well with the SDG narrative of provision of a holistic and multidimensional view of development in the global context. The policy sciences as tools are still relevant in achieving the SDGs. With Laswell’s argument that the role of the policy sciences is to produce knowledge for democracy, this holds true in the the SDGs that espouse eradication of poverty, gender equality, decent work and economic growth, reduced inequalities and peace, justice and strong institutions. Lasswell’s emphasis on contextualism influences quantitative research in key ways, guiding analysts to consider as many external influences as possible in their research. He likewise affirms that policy analysis as an important tool in policy sciences must work toward objectivity in the analysis of results.

The existing literature/research “Systematic Study of Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) Interactions by Pradhan, Costa, Rybski, Lucht and Kropp (November 30, 2017) states that the seventeen SDGs are interconnected and the key success of one goal will involve issues more commonly associated with the other goals. The relevance of policy sciences as tools in achieving the SDGs is strengthened by the analysis of the authors of the existing dependencies among the SDG goals in terms of potential interactions that need to be evaluated both across and within the SDGs.

In the study, it has been established that although a framework has been proposed to characterize SDG interactions, a systematic data-driven analysis of interactions between all the SDG indicators have been lacking. Such interactions can be classified as synergies (where progress in one goal favors progress in another) or trade-offs (where progress in one goal hinders progress in another goal) and vice versa. Pradhan et.al. exemplified this in synergies between SDG 1 (No Poverty) and SDG 12 (Responsible Consumption and Production) where “SDG 1 has synergistic relationship with most of the other goals, whereas SDG 12 is the goal most commonly associated with trade-offs.” The attainment of the SDG agenda will greatly depend on whether the identified synergies among the goals can be leveraged. The highlighted trade-offs, which pertain to obstacles in the attainment of SDGs necessitates negotiation and making said obstacles structurally non-obstructive by effecting changes in the current strategies.

The empirical framework on the evaluation of SDG interactions presented in the study creates fundamental contribution to make the policy successful in the SGD agenda implementation. SDGs that are associated with higher human development and socio-economic standards are traditionally conflicting with environmental protection goals. Learning from said developments, policies are analyzed to be targeting for sustainable transformation through departing from the lock-in relationships and by making fresh synergies.

References:

Policy Sciences www.policysciences.org/

Pradhan et.al. (2017). A Systematic Study of Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) Interactions.

https://doi.org/10.1002/2017EF000632

Hello Dr. Flor,

Policy Sciences provides the connectivity to the pursuit of the Sustainable Development Goals. Through the study of policies comes policymaking of an organization to run smoothly with the spirit of acceptance not a hard thing to get the organization to appreciate the permanent and temporary value of the records of the organization and its environment. Policy sciences narrative does not misled with today’s SDG narrative. It is working even in the far-flung area. I am living in a town in Northern Mindanao. Our province nestled at the middle of the Zamboanga Peninsula, in our north is Zamboanga del Norte and our south is Zamboanga del Sur. The policy sciences are still relevant as tools in achieving the SDGs. Through policy sciences, records management policy is strengthened as it made possible the National Archives of the Philippines and the National Museum Philippines visited our town to help us in the preservation of records. With this, the pursuit to push that our town be included in the UNESCO World Heritage List is inspiring. Record inventory policy has to be strengthened. At present, our old church – The Parish Church of St. John the Baptist, Jimenez, Misamis Occidental is declared as National Cultural Treasure by the National Museum last July 31, 2001.

Policy sciences can help realize the SDG Goals especially in cultural preservation and tourism boost. It starts locally that has a potential to be global in its service. Existing current research in 2017 of Nocca on Cultural Heritage in Sustainable Development supports this.

Bibliography:

The Department of Education,. DepED Records Management Operations Manual. Philippines: n.d. .

Flor, Alexander. (1991). Development Communication and the Policy Sciences. The Journal of development communication.

Nocca, Francesca. 2017. "The Role of Cultural Heritage in Sustainable Development: Multidimensional Indicators as Decision-Making Tool." Sustainability 9, no. 10: 1882.

RESEARCH GATE ENGAGEMENT

How relevant are the policy sciences to the pursuit of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)?

The meeting held at the United Nation Headquarters on 28 and 29 Jan 2015 met to discuss certain objectives. The main objectives of the meeting was to elicit views on the translation of policymaking into practical terms, to establish fundamental understanding of the government capacity and to connect observations on the policy cycles based on political realities. It is noted that the term Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) is mentioned in 2015. The policy science by Lasswell (1971) is close to half a century ago. The time and generation gap is wide and it is interesting to see how both concept can be reconciled. Before that it is important to define some of the terms such as SDGs and policy science.

The SDGs is a set of 17 goals which initiated by UN which set out the quantitative objectives across the social, economic and environmental dimensions of sustainable development. The goal is to achieve them by year 2030. Examples of the SDGs include end poverty in all its forms, achieve gender equality and make cities and human settlements inclusive and safe. These are global problems which require the global community to solve.

The term “Policy Science” is coined by Harold D. Lasswell in 1970s. It is an approach to understand and solve problems. The problems can be local, regional, international or planetary. The SDGs goals described above definitely fall into Lasswell’s problem solving. The policy sciences provide an integrated and comprehensive set of procedures for addressing them in ways that help to clarify and secure common interest.

Are we able to reconcile the policy science approach towards the successful pursuit of the SDGs? The policy science is a good direction which moves away from fragmentation seen in most nations. Too often, a fragmented approach to a global problem is likely to fail. Lasswell then approach the problem through scientific approach and attempt to synthesize it in a larger scientific study of problems and policy making around the problems.

Lasswell’s problem orientation is keystone in his concept of policy sciences. However many critics have since rejected his view of policymaking as a problem solving science. Lasswell modified Dewey’s pragmatism by proposing a policy science composing of two separate poles: the scientific study of problems and policymaking around these problems. He suppressed the problematic to cast policy as non-political politics. The relationship between the two poles and the orientation of the problem should be theorized as contingent and political.

The challenge of policy science on solving SDGs is likely and will prove to be difficult. Government institutions involved in sectors and implementing the SDGs are often organized along functional silos with fragmented agenda-setting. They lack adequate arrangements for policy integration across levels and sectors of government. Since the SGDs are global goals and problems, it requires integration and cooperation between each nation. However, each nation is experiencing different stages of economic development with different resources. It is difficult or near impossible for nation with less resources to contribute equally to the SGDs goals.

References

Lasswell, H. D. (1970). The emerging conception of the policy sciences. Policy Sciences, 1(1), 3-14.

Lasswell, H. (1971). A Pre-view of the Policy Sciences. New York: American Elsevier. Retrieved 25 April 2017 from http://www.policysciences.org/classics/preview.pdf

UN. (2015, December 14). Chapter 1: Getting to know the Sustainable Development Goals. Retrieved from https://sdg.guide/chapter-1-getting-to-know-the-sustainable-development-goals-e05b9d17801

The purposive nature of policy sciences coincides with the tenets of the SDG, to wit, amelioration from abject poverty, provision of clean air, medicine and overall transformation of society through policies designed and implemented. Policy sciences are tasked to answer society's challenges which remain infectious to progress and development. Its interdisciplinary nature that combines social sciences attests to various knowledge, solutions that can be planned and ultimately become policies in the attainment of sustainable development. Recently, SDGs have been incorporated in the Millennium Development Goals where the eradication of poverty has remained a top priority, including other complex societal problems that entail systemic approach to finding solutions, systemic and purposive as well.

Moreover, United Nations Chief announced that education is the core of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development meant to realize all the goals stipulated in the SDG as adopted in 2015. Having said, policy sciences remain attuned to purposive education that encompasses lifelong learning pursuits, formal and non-formal education that cater to flexible learners whether they are for professional or vocational pursuits. With education, one is deemed to get out of the poverty trap, a policy that remains sacrosanct in every society.

One common denominator between the policy sciences and the Sustainable Development Goals, although both came from different time and milieu is the fact that both were introduced, created, and formed to address and curb social problems that hinder the development of the society. While policy science, is an approach that provides extensive, general, but scientific ways in comprehending and solving societal problems, the sustainable development goals, on the other hand, is an application to that approach that provides a specific outline to resolve specific social problems towards a sustainable future.

Furthermore, if I may use a simile to describe the relationship between the policy sciences and the SDGs, I can say that I see policy science as the mother tree in which other small plants and trees that live under it, get their food and energy from it. The UN’s sustainable development goals framework is one of those that gets its strength from the policy sciences. Therefore, I can say that the policy sciences are extremely relevant to SDGs and that SDGs need the policy sciences towards achieving and fulfilling its goals. In other words, the policy sciences’ role is imperative in SDGs. Perhaps, there can be no SDGs if there were no policy sciences.

Additionally, a number of recent studies in the literature (Engström & Salvi, 2018; Leal Filho, Azeiteiro, Alves, 2017; Maund, Gajendran, Brewer, 2018; and, Zhu, 2017) that explore the adoption of policy sciences in global sustainability proved that indeed policy science, no matter how classic it is, is still relevant and applicable in today’s modern time; and that it continues to live with its distinguishing characteristics- its policy applications and orientation, emphasis on contextuality, and its explicitly multidisciplinary approach to policy problems (De Leon, 1981).

References:

De Leon, P., (1981). Policy Sciences: The Discipline and the Profession. Policy Sciences, 13: 1–7.

Engström, J. & Salvi, U. (2018). Global goals in a local context: Implementation of the Sustainable Development Goals - A case study. A Master’s thesis. Malmo University. http://muep.mau.se/handle/2043/25478

Leal Filho, W.; Azeiteiro, U.M.; Alves, F. (2017). Reinvigorating the Sustainable Development Research Agenda: The role of the Sustainable Development Goals. Int. J. Sustain. Dev. World Ecol.

Maund, K.; Gajendran, T.; Brewer, G. (2018). Key Issues for Implementation of Environmental Planning Policy: Construction Management Practice. Sustainability, 10, 2156.

Zhu, D. (2017). Research from global Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) to sustainability science based on the object-subject-process framework. Chinese Journal of Population Resources and Environment, 15(1):8-20.

Dear Professor Flor,

it took me some time to understand, that this thread is used for teaching which I highly appreciate.

Therefore I excuse myself to featuring the only UN publication on the political issues of the SDGs such as their interlinkages, their costs and as well their allocation, e.g. Goal 1, 10 an 16 are not supported by the donors.

Secondly I'm currently one of the very few social scientist contributing the UN IATF on Financing for Development:

https://developmentfinance.un.org/sites/developmentfinance.un.org/files/The_SDGs_are_public_goods_IATF_2019.pdf

Imagine that any contribution of Political Sciences to achieving the SDGs has to get into the debate and decision making which takes five to ten years and doesn't happen in a teacher-pupil relation. Therefore all my colleagues retired from the Global SDG process to mention Prof. Giovannini and Nobel laureate Joseph Stiglitz. In 2016 the HLPF stopped the participation of Academia in the IAEG on SDG and I was among the last ones that were allowed to comment the indicators for the SDGs.

As you can see in the Excel attached, the indicators used to assessing the SDGs are entirely redundant.

Of course, that would be an issue for Political Sciences: How can we define new indicators?

Of course, the heads of the UN, of World Bank and the UN Ambassadors all believe to being committed to the SDGs that they signed.

But that doesn't mean that there is any action.

So please Professor Flor and your busy students: read our recent papers and start to bringing new ideas and perspectives to the SDGs!

We thank Professor Dill for sharing his Global Index Benchmark for SDGs on this thread. I am recommending this to all our subscribed doctoral students. However, for purposes of context, we do need to differentiate between Professor Dill's political sciences and this thread's policy sciences although the interface is fairly substantial. A few month back, Dr Craig Hammer of the World Bank's Society of Policy Scientists invited me to give a short presentation on the policy sciences and the SDGs (as well as the themes that surfaced in this RG Thread) to the 2018 Policy Sciences Annual Institute held at the Bank's HQ in Washington DC. Two of our doctoral students participated in this exchange online. I'm appending a file on the Society of Policy Sciences provided by Dr Hammer.

A pleasant day to you Dr. Flor and everyone on this thread!

The Sustainable Development Goals (SDG), research inquiry and decision making through policy sciences are interwoven processes which integrate economic, social and environmental issues.

The policy sciences' relevance to the present day SDG’s international initiative cannot be denied.

The Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and Lasswell's framework of policy sciences commit to three similar attributes. According to McGovern and Yacobucci, these attributes include contextuality, problem orientation and diversity. Both SDG and policy sciences deals with the idea that decisions are part of a larger social process (contextuality), the recognition that the policy making approach must be rational and purposeful (problem orientation) and methods employed are not of limited, narrow range (diversity).

With broader scope for the 2030 SDG Agenda, the issues on implementation, measurement, monitoring and accountability pose several challenges. Identifying knowledge gaps through initiating solutions- oriented research with multiple stakeholders can be beneficial to the decision-makers (TFM, 2016). According to Schmalzbauer (2018), it can help in identifying critical interactions between policies aimed at achieving specific SDGs and how it can be mitigated through synergy and possible multipurpose actions.

In a nutshell, no matter how ancient the concept of policy sciences was, it is still the emerging framework surrounding developmental endeavors in which the modern era of decision makers constantly resort to. Moreover, it cannot be detached from knowledge. The science of research serves as the determinant towards the success of every collective global goal for sustainability.

References:

McGovern and Yacobucci (2018). Lasswellian Policy Sciences and the Bounding of Democracy Accessed from: http://citeseerx.ist.psu.edu/viewdoc/download?doi=10.1.1.531.7363&rep=rep1&type=pdf

Schmalzbauer, B. (2018).The Contribution of Science in Implementing the Sustainable Development Goals. Accessed from: http://futureearth.org/sites/default/files/2016_report_contribution_science_sdgs.pdf

United Nations Official Website (2019).About the Sustainable Development Goals Accessed from: https://www.un.org/sustainabledevelopment/sustainable-development-goals/

THE POLICY SCIENCES AND SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT GOALS (SDGs)

THE POLICY SCIENCES

Lasswell and Lerner’s collaboration gave birth to the “policy sciences.” The term "policy sciences" refers to the scientific study of policies and policy making. Policy refers to a cluster of decisions with a particular purpose and audience in mind. The word "science" is used to suggest the use of empirical data gathered from systematic observation. “Sciences” is used to highlight the interdisciplinary nature of this field (Allen, 1978 in Flor, 1991).

The aim of “policy sciences” is to improve policy making in order to solve society’s problems. Improved policy making is achieved through the application of social and behavioral science knowledge, structured rationality and new uses of the scientific method (Allen, p.51 in Flor, 1991). The features of “policy sciences” include its forward-looking or anticipatory, interdisciplinary and holistic nature.

SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT GOALS (SDG)

The Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) are the blueprint to achieve a better and more sustainable future for all. They address the global challenges we face, including those related to poverty, inequality, climate, environmental degradation, prosperity, and peace and justice. The Goals interconnect and in order to leave no one behind, it is important that we achieve each Goal and target by 2030 (United Nations, 2015).

The Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) cover more ground, with aims to address inequalities, economic growth, decent jobs, cities and human settlements, industrialization, oceans, ecosystems, energy, climate change, sustainable consumption and production, peace and justice (United Nations, 2015).

POLICY SCIENCES IN SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT GOALS (SDG)

The Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) were created to answer the pressing concerns that the world is facing today. With societal problems being multi-faceted and complex, the “policy sciences” is able to address this through its forward-looking or anticipatory, interdisciplinary and holistic nature. Simply put, Sustainable Development Goals is the vision, the end goal of the United Nations by 2030 and the “policy sciences” provide the means to achieve this goal. With this, the “policy sciences” narrative jives with today’s SDG. The “policy sciences” is still a relevant tool in achieving SDG.

Let me use a metaphor to expound on the relationship of “policy sciences” and SDG. “Policy sciences” is like learning a mathematical skill, a concept or a formula and applying it to various problems or equations, in this case, the SDG. It doesn’t matter if the variables are different or the numbers vary, what’s constant is the knowledge and skill in solving these problems and that’s what matters most.

POLICY SCIENCES AND SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT GOALS

Various literature supports the relationship of “policy sciences and sustainable development goals.” The Organization of Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) published a book entitled, “Better Policies for Sustainable Development (2016)” which provides guidance for policy-makers. Sustainable development framework calls for updating current approaches based on lessons learned from the past, and ensuring that institutional mechanisms are “fit for purpose” for the implementation of the 2030 Agenda. It builds on that analysis and experience and introduces the “Policy Coherence for Sustainable Development (PCSD Framework,)” to provide practical support to any government interested in adapting its institutional mechanisms, policy-making processes and practices to implement the SDGs in a coherent manner. The OECD’s work on policy coherence for sustainable development is one important element in OECD’s Strategic Response to help implement the SDGs globally.

In another article published in The Guardian Weekly, “How can science policy help to deliver the global goals?” Science needs to inform the design and monitoring of the SDGs, offer technical and social solutions and support the implementation of these solutions. This means going beyond offering skilled and appropriate scientific advice but also finding ways in which scientists can collaborate with policymakers and other stakeholders to jointly frame problems, generate new knowledge, and make that knowledge relevant to specific contexts. The scientific community has helped the current momentum for sustainable development and the SDGs. By linking evidence to policy in timely, thoughtful and sensitive ways, scientists can contribute to the task of implementation. It’s not just up to the politicians whether the SDGs succeed or fail but is a responsibility that all share.

With all these researches, now is a great time to work on more policy engagements in achieving sustainable development goals.

References:

Flor, A (1991). Development Communication and the Policy Sciences. Retrieved https://www.researchgate.net/publication/301584726_Development_Communication_and_the_Policy_Sciences

How can Science policy help to deliver the global goals? (2015, October 9), The Guardian Weekly. Retrieved from https://www.theguardian.com/science/political-science/2015/oct/09/how-can-science-policy-help-to-deliver-the-global-goals

Organization of Economic Co-operation and Development (2016) Better Policies for Sustainable Development. Retrieved https://sustainabledevelopment.un.org/content/documents/commitments/493_12066_commitment_Better%20Policies%20for%20Sustainable%20Development%202016.pdf

UN General Assembly, Transforming our world : the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, 21 October 2015, A/RES/70/1, available at: https://www.refworld.org/docid/57b6e3e44.html [accessed 29 March 2019]

Policy sciences are relevant tools in turning words into actions of a global framework intended to be both aspirational and practical in creating a sustainable future. In formulating evidence-based decisions, policy sciences create opportunities of implementations by providing empirical data applying existing knowledge into rational resolutions to the problems. To lay groundwork of implementation of 17 SDGs and address nexus challenges, policy sciences are contributory agents to imperative social changes, integrated initiatives, design and formulation of resolutions focusing on cooperation and shared responsibility of all stakeholders around the globe.

Policy sciences jive with SDGs narrative as both fields were developed from complex societal turbulence, challenges and crises that the world is currently facing. In anticipatory manner, policy science as a field and SDGs as a framework, both address global challenges through a more structured and rational use of scientific methods in formulating decisions and solutions. The 17 SDGs in pursuit of collaborative efforts for the creation of a better and sustainable future, offer a coverage of multifaceted large-scale dimension of social, economic, environmental and institutional/government. The framework is holistic in nature, purposively designed to address global challenges such as poverty, inequality, climate, environmental degradation, prosperity, peace and justice. Similarly, in policy sciences, the process of policymaking require participatory clusters of subsystems of science and political dimensions, holistic and purposively designed by scientific principles to solve a pragmatic and critical societal problems at a global scale.

German Future Earth Committee in their article “The Contribution of Science in Implementing Sustainable Development Goals” (2016), highlighted that one of the recommended actions that address implementation issues of SDGs, is “to reinforce the science-policy process to ensure the best scientific knowledge available to decision-makers. Thus, making policy sciences relevant tool in achieving the Global Goals.

References:

ICSU. Review of Targets for the Sustainable Development Goals: the Science Perspective. (2015). Retrieved March 26, 2019. https://council.science/cms/2017/05/SDG-Report.pdf

International Conference on “the Sustainable Development Goals in global perspective”.(2018). Retrieved March 26, 2019. http://www.a-id.org/events-archive/id-x-sdgs-conference-sustainable-development-goals-global-prospective/

The Contribution of Science in Implementing Sustainable Development Goals. Retrieved March 29, 2019. http://www.dkn-future-earth.org/data/mediapool/2016_report_contribution_science_v8_light_final_fin.pdf

USAID. Taking a Holistic View of the Sustainable Goals. Retrieved March 27, 2019. https://www.usaid.gov/GlobalGoals

The Policy Sciences are still relevant in pursuing the 2015 Sustainable Development Goals.

In 2015, the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) identified the 17 goals addressing the common concerns of countries hoping to diminish the problem by year 2030. The issues and concerns such as health, poverty, education, equality, to name a few were identified from all the 193 countries in the world, which means, the identified concerns are not specific to developing countries alone but the whole world.

Policy sciences are concerned with the problem-solving performance of governmental and private organizations (Lasswell, 1971, p.57). Its framework and approach serve as a guidebook designed for a “One Size fits all” program to address different concerns of each nations. Although it was developed earlier before the SDGs were launched, it is still applicable in terms of addressing the goals of the SDG. It provided strong foundation and covered the basics from tracing historical trends, to its process, down to its beneficiaries. Policy Scientists are tapped by decision and policy makers to make an informed decision to address the concerns such as those stated in the SDG. Quoting Peter Strohschneider, President of the Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft, “Scholarly knowledge can help to formulate, question, or criticise competing knowledge claims. Researchers are in the best position to offer their scholarly knowledge, their expertise and their reflexivity to political decision-makers, particularly by outlining the range of options for actions and their respective implications, before policymakers then actually take the decisions.” The goal of achieving the enumerated SDG goals requires a long process of proposing a solution, lobbying and convincing other lawmakers to agree to a decision that would help achieve the SDG targets.

References:

https://www.undp.org/content/dam/undp/library/corporate/brochure/SDGs_Booklet_Web_En.pdf

http://www.policysciences.org/classics/preview.pdf

http://futureearth.org/sites/default/files/2016_report_contribution_science_sdgs.pdf

The policy sciences provide us with the framework in which the sustainable development goals can be supported. The policy sciences could provide an interdisciplinary, intersectoral and intersocietal tools to solve widespread societal and sustainability concerns. For instance, Kaaronen (2016) provided a concise outlook and typology on how science–policy interfaces are organised in a variety of OECD (Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development) countries, and on the other hand to respond to a systematic lack of discussion on the role of scientific knowledge in developing sustainable development policies. In particular, different models were introduced such as Independent Model, Integrated Model, Assignment Model, Nested Model, Adviser Model, Platform Model, and the Mixed Model.

Kaaronen (2016) also emphasized that knowledge production and reporting are still the prime modes of operation for most expert panels, groups and councils. Whilst it should not be suggested that these linear modes of knowledge production are in vain or ineffective, these means seem rather noninclusive and non-participatory for tackling sustainability challenges which affect the whole of society, and have a tendency to over-emphasize the capability of mere evidence to bring about true change in policy and society. Hence, looking deeper into the policy sciences of such sustainable development goals could create a collaborative environment from which development agenda can be approached based on more realistic and collective problem solving tools.

Reference:

Kaaronen, R. (2016). Scientific Support for Sustainable Development Policies

A Typology of Science– Policy Interfaces with Case Studies. Available from; https://media.sitra.fi/2017/02/28142637/Selvityksia118.pdf

The Policy Sciences were born more than half a century apart from Sustainable Development Goals, but Policy Sciences’ interdisciplinary and inclusive solution to societal problems jives with SDGs “shared vision and shared goals that put people and the planet at the center” (United Nations Sustainable Development, 2018). Thus, Policy Sciences are timely tools for today’s development and healing of social woes.

The SDG advocates 17 thematic goals, and calls for imperative partnership from governments, civil society, and private sectors in achieving these interrelated goals. The Policy Sciences, however, still need to completely rise to this challenge. The Policy Sciences, particularly economics policy for example, has concentrated on monetary policy only and overlooked other critical factors like education or communication (Flor, 1991).

Since Policy Sciences use scientific and empirical method, the field can be misinterpreted as positivist or mechanistic by providing ready-made solutions with little contextual relevance. However, Lasswell, the proponent of Policy Sciences emphasizes that “contextual orientation” is indispensable to the conduct of rational inquiry”(Torgerson,1985, p. 242) Because SDGs are complex, policy sciences as their tools must strive to be not only empirical but also interpretive and critical, as Laswell intends them to be (Torgerson, 1985).

It seems to me that the SDG born in 2015 is a driving force that demands policy makers to go back to the significant principles of Policy Sciences, described by Flor (1991) as holistic, forward-looking, and interdisciplinary as opposed to inadequate perspectives disguising as “parsimony or… sober appreciation” (p. 3) of the problem.

An example of this mature type of Policy Sciences at work is the commitment of India to go beyond a national level of health care policy towards a universal level. India stepped up to the Universal Health Care under SDG 3 to reform the country’s health policies (Gera, et. al. (2018). UHC promotes health as a right of all people at all ages. It has comprehensive targets and agenda applicable to developed and developing nations. Before committing to SDG 3, India’s health system suffered from wide disparities of health infrastructure, service and delivery systems. As a result, 64.2% of health expenses are shouldered by its population, and every year, more than 63 million people are plunged into poverty just by health costs. Learning from these persistent health problems, India adopted the SDG 3 systems approach of eradicating poverty (focus of SDG 1) through well-coordinated health policies (SDG 3). For instance, by combatting premature deaths due to non-communicable diseases, India can save US $4.58 trillion by 2030.

Flor, A. (1991). Development communication and policy sciences. Journal of

Development Communication. Retrieved from

https://www.researchgate.net/publication/301584726_Development_Communication_and_the_Policy_Sciences

Gera, R. Narwal, R., Jain, M., Taneja, G., and Gupta, S. (2018). Sustainable

development goals: leveraging the global agenda for driving health policy

reforms and achieving universal health coverage in India. Indian J

Community Med.2018; 43:255‐9. Retrieved from

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6319280/

Torgerson, D. (1985). Contextual Orientation in Policy Analysis: The Contribution

of Harold D. Lasswell. PolicySciences 18 (1985) 241-261. Retrieved from

https://www.jstor.org/stable/4532051?seq=1#metadata_info_tab_contents

United Nations Sustainable Development (2018). 17 Goals to sustains our

world.Retrieved April

9, 2019 from https://www.un.org/sustainabledevelopment/

In 2015, the 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) were introduced as “a blueprint for peace and prosperity for people and the planet,” and these were adopted by all United Nations Member States. The 17 SDGs were the foundation of the numerous efforts done by government and non-government agencies around the world that are fighting against our various societal problems. In view of this, the policy sciences introduced by Harold D. Lasswell are all the more relevant to the pursuit of these SDGs as these utilize the scientific process in addressing problems in different social contexts. The policy sciences are important to be able to have a specific and tailor-made plan in attaining each SDG. This multi-disciplinary approach is needed to be able to work within and around the context of a societal problem. “The emphasis is on comprehending problems in context in order to develop recommendations that are both realistic and desirable (Policy Sciences, 2016).”

As we are all part of a bigger system, all our actions make a big impact to the society and the environment. I reckon that each SDG would be attained as long as we continue contributing to the efforts of policy scientists, our leaders, and ordinary people alike who care for the future of the nation—to be able to achieve a higher quality of life for all the succeeding generations. Apparently, there is no clear-cut plan in achieving success. In most cases, it would be trial and error. But if we develop our zest for learning, persistence to find better solutions, and drive for goodwill and change, we are bound to reap the fruits of our hard work.

References:

Policy sciences. (2016). Retrieved from http://www.policysciences.org

United Nations sustainable development goals knowledge platform. (2019). Retrieved from: https://sustainabledevelopment.un.org/?menu=1300

The goal of sustainable development 2030 is to eradicate poverty and inequalities and spur economic growth while respecting planetary boundaries, while, Policy Sciences hold forth the hope of improving the most backward of all human institutions and habits, which is policy making and decision making. It constitutes a major attempt to assert and achieve a central role for rationality and intellectualism in human affairs and to increase by jumps the capacity of humanity to direct its future. Both are positioned along the line of building this world a much better place for the human race, where everything and everyone co-exist, and it can be achieved by allowing the “science-policy interface”. A process wherein it involves balancing between the critical independence of science and the effective authority of government, between the scientific rigor and the hot political environment, and between the delicate (and slow) scientific quality and the sometimes impulsive (and fast) policy arena (Karoonen, 2016).

Sustainable development is one of the most daunting and complex challenges faced by humanity in its history. Therefore, it follows naturally that sustainable development policies should be informed by humans’ best available knowledge and scientific practices, and that the scientific knowledge creation and political decision making platforms should be, in this respect, intricately. Indeed, if successful, such a reciprocal connection would ‘help make research and scientific information more policy-relevant, and policy development and implementation more science based’, facilitating the transition towards sustainable socio-ecological systems (Karoonen, 2016).

The focus of science in the 21st century is beyond discovery, it is about addressing human needs and addressing concerns. There is hardly any social problem on which science cannot make some contribution, this is science for policy, and science is never sufficient to solve a problem completely, it is however, always vital and necessary, this is policy for science. Current studies have shown that science brings one special asset in terms of policy, and that is the process of producing knowledge directed by systematic and rule-governed efforts that guard against self-deception against believing something is true because one wants it to be true. When the policy makers throw the question about what are the “real” conditions or what will “probably” happen if we implement one policy instead of another, science is on balance a more dependable and defensible guide than informed hunches, analogies, or personal experience. Science can only do so much, Policy will still determine whether science and technology will become a tool for human development. Policy intervention backed by political will and strong commitment, supported by scientific knowledge will help fulfill the goals of SDG 2030.

References:

Karoonen, R. (2016) Scientific Support for Sustainable Development Policies Retrieved from: https://media.sitra.fi/2017/02/28142637/Selvityksia118.pdf

Sustainable Development Goals Knowledge Platform. Transforming Our World: the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development Retrieved from: https://sustainabledevelopment.un.org/post2015/transformingourworld

Mehta, G. (n.d) Science and Technology for A Better World: Retuning the World of Science Retrieved from: http://archive.unu.edu/globalization/2006/files/MEHTA.ppt

Van Heijden, K. & Bapna, M. (2015) Now the Hard Part: Make the Sustainable Goals A Reality Retrieved from: https://www.greenbiz.com/article/now-hard-part-4-keys-make-sustainable-development-goals-reality

Prewitt, K., Schwandt, T., A. & Straf, M.L. (2012) Use of Science As Evidence in Public Policy. Committee on the Use of Social Science Knowledge in Public Policy. Center for Education. Division of Behavioral and Social Sciences and Education. National Research Council. https://www.ametsoc.org/ams/assets/File/NRC%20-%202012%20-%20Using%20Science%20as%20Evidence%20in%20Public%20Policy.pdf

United Nations Environment Programme (2017). Strengthening the Science-policy Interface: A Gap Analysis. Nairobi. Retrieved from: http://futureearth.org/sites/default/files/2016_report_contribution_science_sdgs.pdf

Hi Dr Alexander G. Flor ,

The policy sciences, originally introduced by Lasswell and Lerner, go in the sense that it is an approach to help understand and solve any problems in any field. This could be applicable in either a small scale or large-scale basis. For example, in a given community, it can be used locally, nationally, or regionally. The Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) was developed in 2015 to address the full-term needs of all the nations involved in the plan for fifteen years. When it comes to the relationship with policy sciences and SDGs, the objective of the two goes along very well.

A policy, through the SDG plans laid out and signed by participating countries, was employed throughout. Even though it's hard to unite nations with different cultures, the policy sciences, with the help of the Sustainable Development Goals, helped stabilize the implementation of the plans.

There is indeed an existing literature when it comes to the relevance of policy science to SDGs. This literature was authored by the European Commission and the Directorate-General for Research and Innovation. In this, the advancements in science, technology and innovation policies are tackled in relations to how nations will handle the implementation and success of the SDG's goals and targets.

With these cited literatures, it can be said that there is a strong correlation between Lasswell and Lerner’s theory in the policy sciences with the implementation of the Sustainable Development Goals 2030. So, yes, the literature is still relevant as of today and in the foreseeable future.

References

Lerner, D. & Lasswell, H. (1951). The Policy Sciences. Stanford, CA: Stanford University Press

United Nations. United Nations Sustainable Development Goals Retrieved from https://www.un.org/sustainabledevelopment/sustainable-development-goals/

Policy Sciences, as mentioned by Dr. Flor in his article entitled, “Development Communication and the Policy Sciences,” is described as a "turbulent field" environment, such a condition has made traditional social science methodology inadequate to solve many of today's societal problems (Allen, 1978). The policy sciences grew out of this need to reorient actively the social sciences to the resolution of policy issues (Ocampo, 1978). And since the policy sciences was conceptualized because of the need to address certain issues, it truly jives with the pursuit of the Sustainable Development Goals.

As described in the United Nation’s website on The Sustainable Development Goals, the said objectives are the blueprint to achieve a better and more sustainable future for all. They address the global challenges we face, including those related to poverty, inequality, climate, environmental degradation, prosperity, and peace and justice. The Goals interconnect and in order to leave no one behind. Since it is important that we achieve each Goal and target by 2030, policy sciences would surely be very much relevant in achieving those since its aim is to is to improve policy making in order to provide as much "lead time" as necessary in the solution of societal problems. Improved policy making is achieved through the application of social and behavioral science knowledge, structured rationality and new uses of the scientific method (Allen, p.51).

Furthermore, Turnbull (2008) mentioned in his article that the American political scientist Harold Lasswell had a vision for the ‘policy sciences’ which would bring together the social sciences and practical policymaking to solve public problems. This further strengthens the idea that policy science is a key player in making the said sustainable goals a reality by 2030.

Reference:

Flor, Alexander. “Development Communication and the Policy Sciences.” Journal of Development Communication Vol. 2, Dec. 1991.

Turnbull, N. (2008) Harold Lasswell's “Problem Orientation” for the Policy Sciences, Critical Policy Studies, 2:1, 72-91, DOI: 10.1080/19460171.2008.9518532

The way I have been exposed to practicing the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) at work are to apply these to the private sector. My company has been helping large conglomerates to understand sustainability and integrate this into their business plans. For us, the SDGs are major targets that will help private sector address global problems and work together with givernments to solve them. If the Policy Sciences are an integrative approach to solving problems and making decisions, then they are very much relevant as the path to achieving the targets. In the UN language, the SDGs have a set of measures for each organization/entity/government to track and monitor themselves. The process of the policy sciences in setting clear targets, reviewing trends, analyzing, projecting developments, evaluating and innovating is a very relevant approach to finding solutions for both private and publuc sectors. This is the process by which we create blueprints for the SDGs for the private sector.

http://www.policysciences.org

https://www.un.org/sustainabledevelopment/sustainable-development-goals/

https://www.encyclopedia.com/social-sciences/applied-and-social-sciences-magazines/policy-sciences

Harold Lasswell coined the term “Policy Sciences.” Wikipedia defines it as the analysis of the process of policymaking and the contents of the policy. Its analysis includes substantive area research, program evaluation, and impact studies and policy design.   

It has been years since he conceptualized the word but his name still figures out in voluminous numbers of articles when addressing problems of global proportions or concerns.  It is a common knowledge that when problems occur even in the local or regional levels, authorities have to institute means which are too integrative or comprehensive in order to resolve them. The approach introduced by Lasswell was too pragmatic especially that it promotes a common interest. The principles he laid down serve as a guide to help the subject make better decisions in their lives.  I fervently believe, along with Lasswell that it is central to the policy sciences. Authorities should make regulations and procedures in line with the goal of fostering human dignity for all mankind.

Policy Sciences concern governance and development.  When the issue of governance at the center, we cannot do away from developmental concerns which include significantly the attainment of Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). Policymakers at all levels should make a check and balance  whether or not the issues on Poverty, Hunger, Quality Education, Gender Equality, Decent Work and Economic Growth, Inequalities, Peace, Justice and Strong Institutions etc.  are given due considerations.  Stakeholders also should render their collaborative efforts to make sure SDGs are attained.  People from the academe may serve as a watchdog to assert whether or not the policies created meet the criteria set to achieve the goals so people may live in orchestrated harmony. Policy sciences do really matter.  They are still very much integral in the realization of SDGs. 

References:

About the Sustainable Development Goals. Retrieved on April 30, 2019 from https://www.un.org/sustainabledevelopment/sustainable-development-goals/

Policy Sciences. Integrating Knowledge and Practice to Advance Human Dignity for All. Retrieved on April 30, 2019 from Policy Sciences

Policy Studies/Sciences. Retrieved on April 30,2019 from https://www.un.org/sustainabledevelopment/sustainable-development-goals/

Hi Dr. Flor and classmates,

According to the European Commission, there are six key transformations to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals. These are (1) advancement in human capacity through improvement in education and healthcare, (2) responsible consumption and production cut, (3) decarbonization of energy, (4) access to nutritional food and clean water for all, (5) building 'smart' cities, and (6) digital revolution.

So when does policy science enter the picture?

It is already in the picture. It is embedded in all of these key transformations. Policy sciences, as introduced by Lasswell and Lerner, is an approach for decision-making and problem solving. Therefore, policy science is very relevant in the realization of SDGs. All of the aforementioned key transformations require policy scientists in each field to come up with a framework based on research in order to mobilize stakeholders involved in achieving the SDGs.

References:

https://ec.europa.eu/jrc/en/science-update/six-steps-achieving-sustainable-development-goals

http://www.policysciences.org/

Dr. Flor,

The policy science refers to the scientific study of policies and policy making. Policy refers to a cluster of decisions with particular purpose and audience in mine.

The Policy Sciences (Lasswell, Lerner) still jives with today’s Sustainable Development Goals narratives. It is in fact still very much applicable to this day. Lasswell’s communication model on the policy sciences still applies to “turbulent field” environment that we have today, such as the goals for SDG: 1) No Poverty, 2) Zero Hunger, 3) Good Health and Well-being, 4) Quality Education, 5) Gender Equality, 6) Clean Water and Sanitation, 7) Affordable and Clean Energy, 8) Decent Work and Economic Growth, 9) Industry, Innovation, and Infrastructure, 10) Reducing Inequality, 11) Sustainable Cities and Communities, 12) Responsible Consumption and Production, 13) Climate Action, 14) Life Below Water, 15) Life On Land, 16) Peace, Justice, and Strong Institutions, 17) Partnerships for the Goals

The policy science methods, such as :

· Communication Technology Assessment could be used as a tool in addressing SDG #9 Industy, Innovation, and Infrastructure;

· Social Cost-Benefit Analysis could be used as a tool in addressing SDG #1 No Poverty, #2 Zero Hunger, #3 Good Health and Well-being, #4 Quality Education and the like;

· Problematique Analysis could be used as a tool in addressing SDG #13 Climate Action in analyzing the subordinate and superordinate influential factors that are affecting climate change;

· Scenario Construction could be used as a tool in addressing SDG #13 Climate Action in analyzing the best and worst case state if we will not do any action in addressing climate change;

· Policy Delphi can be used in structuring group communication process in addressing SDG #16 Peace, Justine, and Strong institutions;

An existing literature support this. You may refer to this link that talks about How can science contribute to sustainable growth development, https://i.unu.edu/media/ehs.unu.edu/news/6616/Joint-Press-Release-DFG-UNU-conference-in-New-York.pdf

References:

Flor, A., Introduction to Development Communication.

Sustainable Development Goals. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sustainable_Development_Goals

How can science contribute to sustainable growth development. https://i.unu.edu/media/ehs.unu.edu/news/6616/Joint-Press-Release-DFG-UNU-conference-in-New-York.pdf

The Sustainable Development Goals of is too broad and ambitious social agenda which aimed at eradicating all social ills by 2030. It is pegged on eight Millennium Development Goals: (1) eradicate poverty and hunger, (2) achieve universal primary education, (3) promote gender equality, (4) reduce child mortality, (5) improve maternal health, (6) combat HIV/AIDS, malaria and other diseases, (7) ensure environmental sustainability, and (8) global partnership for development. Of these, this piece will focus on gender equality in the Philippines.

On the other hand, the policy sciences of Laswell and Learner in the early 1940s introduced us to the three paradigms that dominates much of the communication for development researches. Paradigm here is defined as a way of looking or theoretical scaffolding or how one views policy development in this case, in the context of gender equality. Again this short commentary will focus on the third paradigm or the multi-dimentional development and it was born on the idea of giving voices to all stakeholders in the process of policy development. The notion of voice in communication studies refers to a standpoint where everyone can genuinely participate in a dialogue. Here, the often marginalized groups are given the opportunity to articulate their sentiments regardless of their status without fear of alienation.

Our country is home to two female presidents since it became a republic in 1899. We have 22 female senators since the 5th Congress, 87 congresswoman in the current 17th congress, two female chief justices, and 68 female cabinet secretaries since 1986.

Who runs the world?

The Philippines currently holds the title as the most gender equal nation in Asia according to the World Economic Forum’s Global Gender Gap Index in 2018.

These are enough evidence to support that policies in the Philippines (with special attention to gender equality and women empowerment in the SDG) in one way or the other is affected by these female leaders.

The policy sciences and the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) both aim to address one thing: social problems. The SDGs aim to address global challenges and end all forms of poverty by calling into action all countries to "promote prosperity while protecting the planet”. It "encompass a broad range of issues from poverty and hunger to environmental issues, economic growth and gender, pursue affluence while also protecting global environment, and emphasize that no one will be left behind." The Policy Sciences, on the other hand, emerged from a time when traditional social science methodology are inadequate to solve many of societal problems (Flor, 1991). Thus, the policy sciences was born to address this need and situation and push for resolution of policy and social issues.

The multidisciplinary approach that the policy sciences employ emphasize on context which clearly identifies the characteristics of policy making and application per sectors and countries. This is very important in the context of the SDGs since there is a need to understand internal or national policies and how these can help in achieving the SDG targets. Both the development goals and the policy sciences evolve and are dynamic in trying to resolve societal and global challenges. Given these similarities and complementarities, the policy sciences are still very relevant in the context of the SDGs.

Reference:

Flor, A. 1991. Development Communication and the Policy Sciences. Retrieved from https://www.academia.edu/578845/Development_Communication_and_the_Policy_Sciences

Communicating the SDGs: Guidance for UN Country Teams retrieved from https://undg.org/document/communicating-the-sdgs-guidance-for-un-country-teams/

Sustainable Development Goals retrieved from https://www.un.org/sustainabledevelopment/sustainable-development-goals/

Lasswell described policy science as the culmination of efforts to define a discipline for producing and applying “Socially relevant knowledge” (Bhandari, 2019).

The term "policy sciences" refers to the scientific study of policies and policy making (Flor, 1991). Flor, in his article, compared development communication and the policy sciences. According to him, development communication and the policy science has something in common: they stem from the same rationale, which is the need for actively applying knowledge from and principles of the social sciences in solving large-scale societal problems under conditions of social change.

The Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), were adopted by all United Nations Member States in 2015 as a universal call to action to end poverty, protect the planet and ensure that all people enjoy peace and prosperity by 2030 (UNDP, 2019).

The SGDs and policy sciences are similar in such a way that their goal is solving large-scale societal problems through social change. The SDGs were formulated with goals that will greatly benefit people and our planet. With this, the policy sciences can be used as guide or tool in attaining the SDGs. Also, in both SDGs and the policy sciences, communication plays a great role in successfully attaining the 17 SDGs.

References

Flor, Alexander G. (1991). Development Communication and the Policy Sciences. Retrieved from https://www.academia.edu/578845/Development_Communication_and_the_Policy_Sciences

United Nations Development Programme. (n. d.) What iare the Sustainable Development Goals? Retrieved from https://www.undp.org/content/undp/en/home/sustainable-development-goals.html

How relevant are the policy sciences to the pursuit of the Sustainable Development Goals?

After doing readings on the concept of Policy Sciences, I now conclude that it is still relevant in achieving Sustainable Development Goals. With the tagline of Policy Sciences which says ‘Integrating Knowledge and Practice to Advance Human Dignity”, we can deduce that it is a tool in achieving the totality of each person making each one well-balanced individual and fully functioning men and women of the society.

The policy sciences are an approach to understanding and solving problems. Whether the problems are local, regional, international, or planetary, the policy sciences provide an integrated and comprehensive set of procedures for addressing them in ways that help to clarify and secure the common interest. Helping people make better decisions is the central objective of the policy sciences, and the fundamental goal is to foster a commonwealth of human dignity for all. (http://www.policysciences.org/)

On the other hand, the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), also known as the Global Goals, were adopted by all United Nations Member States in 2015 as a universal call to action to end poverty, protect the planet and ensure that all people enjoy peace and prosperity by 2030.

The 17 SDGs are integrated—that is, they recognize that action in one area will affect outcomes in others, and that development must balance social, economic and environmental sustainability. (https://www.undp.org/content/undp/en/home/sustainable-development-goals.html)

There are 3 major things in SDG such as poverty, planet and peace & prosperity which are congruent to the objectives of Policy Sciences-- Human Dignity. Both of them have same direction that they may join hand and hand to achieve common goals.

As described by Harold D. Lasswell in his book A Preview of Policy Sciences, his working definition of policy sciences are concerned with knowledge in the decision processes of the public and civic order. The policy sciences focus on the relevance of knowledge in as well as of decision. Further, he stated that knowledge of the decision process implies systematic, empirical studies of how policies are made and put into effect. Hence policy sciences are essential tools that should be employed by the governments in addressing the Sustainable Development Goals (SDG).

Affirming its (policy sciences) importance in achieving objectives for every SDG is an article from Jacob Assa, a policy specialist who stated that "Fundamental to these efforts is the rethinking of the role of science, finance and policy alike. But beyond progress in each of these areas separately, the interaction between science and policy is critical to tackling global challenges and achieving the SDGs."

References:

http://www.policysciences.org/classics/preview.pdf

http://hdr.undp.org/en/content/importance-science-policy-interface-achieving-sustainable-development-goals

In 2015, The United Nations Summit designed a blueprint for SGD’s with the intention to help change the world known as the 2030 Agenda. Sustainable Development Goals was aligned and expanded on the Millennium Development Goals that ended on December 2015. MDG’s focused on governments to create a backbone for improve policies and international assistance to stop poverty and to elevate the lives of the poor community. The 8 MDG’s are: 1) Eradicate extreme poverty and hunger 2) Achieve universal primary education 3) Reduce child mortality rates 4) Combat malaria and other diseases 5) Ensure environmental sustainability 6) Develop global partnerships 7) Promote gender equality and empower woman 8) Improve maternal health.

The sixth goal fall short due to negligence for not deeply finding out what really drives poverty while the seventh had set aside gender equality. The MGD’s missed to include human rights and unclear path towards economic development. This study is aimed worldwide whereas the main focuses are poor countries to met goals with the financial help coming from the rich ones.

After MGD’s comes the SDG’s. The 17 Goals are: 1) Stop poverty globally 2) Stop hunger, enough food supply, proper nutrition, and continues agriculture 3) People of all ages will live a healthy and alleviated living 4) Good quality education and encourages long term learning opportunities for everyone 5) Gender equality an empowerment to all girls and woman 6) Proper management of water and sanitation should be met 7) Modern energy should met one’s budget, trusted, and continues 8) Stable economic growth, productive employment and a good workplace environment 9) Infrastructures ability to recover quickly from difficult situations, encourage all in and continues industrialization and to bring out new ideas 10) Inequality towards other countries be minimized 11) Cities and human community need should be covered, secured, able to withstand and be maintained 12) Goods and services should be everyone’s demand 13) Fighting climate change by immediate action based on the outcome 14) Ocean, seas and marine life should be protected and maintained 15) Balance of nature should be protected and maintained against the decline in numbers of animals, living species and forest deforestation 16) Community living in peace in harmony as a factor for economic growth, justice for everyone, all institutions (private/public) should be successful, responsible, and cover all the needs of the people 17) Global partnership for growth should be maintained and reinforce the execution of its plans into effect.

The Lasswell and Lerner published a literature for The Policy Sciences. Drastic change or the turbulent field of environment cited that theoretical methods were no longer applicable at present due to Societal Issues https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Social_issue .

Policy resolution issues were made to counter and match up with the changes especially to the third world countries. Other factors include the digital divide, lack of privacy, societal information overload, etc. Scientist from 23 countries collaborated during a workshop in Italy. They discussed effective linking of the policy science to the SGD’s. Whereas the said policy needs to inform the design and monitor the SGD’s and offer technical and social solutions towards implementation. They come up with a basis such as translation, trade-offs and transparency. The Scientific Community will serve as the core to identify the benefits and accelerate progress as part of the implementation process for the SGD’s.

https://www.undp.org/content/undp/en/home/sustainable-development-goals.html

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Millennium_Development_Goals

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sustainable_Development_Goals

https://en.wikiversity.org/wiki/Social_problems

1991 DevCommandthepolicysciences – Flor

https://www.theguardian.com/science/political-science/2015/oct/09/how-can-science-policy-help-to-deliver-the-global-goals

The Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) were formed at the United Nations Conference on Sustainable Development in 2012. The main objective of SDGs was to produce a set of universal goals that meet the urgent environmental, political and economic challenges facing our world. It is an ambitious plan created by world leaders around the world where different countries are expected to establish a national framework for achieving the global goals, implement sustainable development policies, plans and programmes.

But how policy sciences relevant in pursuit to the global goals? Policy sciences come hand in hand in achieving global goals. It is essential to achieving global goals because it establishes the process of identifying and evaluating relevant data or evidence to solve a particular problem. Making important decisions based on knowledge is vital in presenting outcomes to stakeholders. Policy sciences define the strategies in understanding social behaviours, outcome and effects, decision-making process, monitoring, evaluating and projecting developments of the SDGs.

According to the Global Sustainable Report 2019, modes of scientific engagement with the Sustainable Development Goals are the ff:

Referring to the 2030 Agenda

– Assessing the impact of human-environmental dynamics

and providing a better understanding of complex causal chains driving the phenomena that affect multiple dimensions of sustainable development.

Guided by the 2030 Agenda

– Exploring solutions and possible pathways to achieve the Goals. Scientists take the Goals and their interactions as a starting point and identify promising measures and interventions to realize the objectives of the 2030 Agenda

Conducted in accordance with the 2030 Agenda – Some development issues are both highly contested and poorly understood, as when citizens dispute the environmental and social impacts of foreign direct investment in agriculture.

Indeed, policy science is an essential tool in the pursuit of the Sustainable Development Goals because it provides science-based evidence through improved coordination and more inclusive engagement from all policy scientists around the world towards advancing global goals. To successfully implement the goals and objectives of the SDGs, it is imperative to adapt policy sciences and bring together policy scientists, scientific organizations, including academies and research council to integrate effectively science into policy and public action.

References:

Science for the SDGs – Part 16: Science for sustainable .... https://www.iybssd2022.org/science-for-the-sdgs-part-16-science-for-sustainable-development-4-6/

GLOBAL SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT REPORT 2019 https://sustainabledevelopment.un.org/content/documents/24797GSDR_report_2019.pdf

Enhancing Science-Policy Links for Global Sustainability https://sdgs.un.org/publications/enhancing-science-policy-links-global-sustainability-17197