How can you develop your critical thinking and problem-solving skills as a public policy professional?

To develop your critical thinking as a public policy professional, make a habit of looking at issues from multiple angles. One of the problems of the public sector is that leaders there often have less exposure to broad sources of information and practice. It's crucial that they learn to question assumptions and use real-world cases from the public AND private sector to anticipate potential outcomes.

It is very important that you must understand the political context too. Public policy is not a science completely. It is important to understand the mind of the populace. Hence, the policies made with true scientific method may see more failures. It is important to think through if the time for a policy intervention is right. Policies for which the need has not been felt, probably, is not the right policy.

Sur that the contexte is crucial for understanding the problem but many experts did errors related to contexte. We must be very vritical regarding context. The context can manipulate our vision. A context is not an introduction or a prelude for something more important. We have to develop more tools to contextualise very well.

Utilizar el método analítico ayuda (dividir el problema en partes para entender como se enlazan y relacionan). Me ayuda mucho ver las siguientes perspectivas: económica, política y social. Hay otros elementos que se irán sumando según hagas el ejercicio de ver la mirada desde otros enfoques, ej.: desde el punto de vista de los stakeholders.

OK, an issue in many first degree courses is why many students fails in first year units. What factors prevent so many students from effective learning so they don't fail. Issues of context might well be: - the disappointment and suffering, even mental health damage, from failing; - the cost to the system of having say 30% of bums on seats in first-year classes filled by repeating students; - improving the quality of learning done by the students, their conceptual understanding of the curriculum content; - understanding what factors in curriculum design and teaching will foster students' understanding of the subject matter. The first 2 points are broader contexts of an investigation. The other 2 are the educational nub, seeking solutions.

I've begun to incorporate Generative AI platforms like ChatGPT into my workflow to gain fresh insights on various matters. Although the suggestions I receive are typically in line with what you might consider after dedicating some time to an issue, some ideas and reasonings also offer the opportunity to delve deeper into different aspects of the problem.

Critical questions are important butt what is more important is to adapt questions to the reality of the person we question. To have a good questionnaire is not a mantra it's not the goal. What we have to reach is to act to make people gave us the answers at least the more close to the reality.

The point of asking questions it not to begin by compiling a questionnaire to quantify responses, conduct a factor analysis on the responses to group them according to what correlates with what. All that quantitative stuff will be useless if the questions stem from one mind or even a team of minds. Quantitative research is only of any value after the qualitative groundwork is done. And the way to find out what matters to a given sample of people is to ask them either in focus groups or in single individual interviews, about their perceptions and experience. Our questions need to be few, and open ended. Our task is to ask questions that elicit free responses, and to record and transcribe the results to gather the issues that arise.

A good expert had feelings. Brainstorming is good to have many options is seen as a richness but its important to mention that the objectif is not to have many options but tu have the options the most adapted to the situations the most feasible and the most appropriate.

Again I'm for the expert who fell solutions. The master their topics as a point they can predict how things are evolving. Of course the tools are important but the tools must serve the expertise and the deep sought of the expert.

Aquí podría detenerme brevemente a considerar que estas posible soluciones pasen el filtro de ser alcanzable (realista), medible (para saber si se logra el objetivo en el tiempo) y delimitado en el tiempo para tener una perspectiva adecuada de los tiempos.

Remember, effective communication is not just about what you say, but also how you say it. Consider incorporating storytelling elements into your communication strategy. Narratives have a unique power to captivate audiences, making your solutions more relatable and memorable. A compelling story can bridge the gap between data and emotions, helping your audience connect on a deeper level with the proposed solutions. So, weave a narrative that not only outlines the benefits of your ideas but also resonates with the values and concerns of your audience, creating a stronger impact.

Emphasis must be put on the following 1. Cost of doing the idea or strategy and the benefits in terms of quality and quantity and reflected in $ . 2. Communication means effectively identifying and clearly define the pains or reasons why the strategy or policy or action items and results expected which is preferred. 3. Who benefits what and who is affected and why, and who is doing it and what’s their interest. In short - transparency . And then satisfaction level on maybe 2 or 3 aspects of the policy Tweaking a policy may take time and go through another round of arguments and most likely will end up in a stalemate hence there is a need to what’s acceptable and not . In short, boundary or limits, scope must be clearly defined.