The policy phoropter

If you have had your eyes tested, then you would have been asked to look through a phoropter. A phoropter is an ophthalmic testing device that slides over your eyes and ears, just like reading glasses. Phoropters allow optometrists to spin through multiple lenses to find the right correction for you, if indeed you require glasses. If you’re not sure what I’m referring to, look them up, they’re very cool.

Chapter 10 is about the policy phoropter. The latter will shift your focus from assumptions and biases to seeing the world around you through seven critical policy lenses which are, in no particular order:

1.??? curiosity

2.??? empathy

3.??? humanity

4.??? flat and factual / frank and fearless / truth to power

5.??? rigour

6.??? practical and pragmatic

7.??? courage.

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We won’t always meet, see, know, talk to or hear from all the people who will be impacted by the policies we are working on. The impact of policies is experienced across the geographical, political, economic and social dimensions of a jurisdiction, including the whole country and even beyond. Sometimes, it can feel like we are light-years removed from the effects of a policy. At other times, our policy work will hit home, directly impacting us or someone close to us. The policy phoropter’s seven lenses will make sure we don’t lose or dilute our focus on what’s important to every single policy — people.

The seven lenses are directly linked to our definition of policy — “a change that takes people (or people and things) from where they are now to where an organisation or a government wants them to be”. Regardless of what sector you work in or what type of policy you are working on, every single policy will have people at its core. People:

·????? decide what the policy agenda is

·????? develop policy

·????? contribute to policy

·????? implement policy

·????? evaluate policy

·????? hate, love, don’t care, sometimes don’t know about the myriad of policies that impact them directly and indirectly throughout their entire lives — from inception to the grave.

You have nearly read Rollercoaster in its entirety. You have learnt much along the way, perhaps returning to different parts of Rollercoaster to read them again and consider them from a different perspective. You have played with the action steps. Maybe you’ve done all the suggestions in the action steps (in that case, give yourself a gold star!). Perhaps you’re creating new behaviours, new habits. You’re on the cusp of doing bloody good policy work. Chapter 10 is the last piece to click into place.

Let’s kick off with curiosity, which is the lifeblood of a bloody good policy officer.

Lens 1 — curiosity

Curiosity is the fuel for everything we do. Humans hunger to learn more. We are driven to understand others. We search relentlessly (as much as time permits) to listen, read, question, explore, analyse and synthesise all the evidence we can gather. Bloody good policy officers are genuinely curious.

Our curiosity needs to be tempered by sensitivity, awareness and understanding. We must be careful not to assume people will want to share their stories, lived experience, or even their time with us. We must also be acutely aware of not harming people by seeking their engagement. By that I mean we must not trigger difficult and traumatic experiences. We must never assume that our curiosity will always be welcome, however, our curiosity must always be genuine. And our curiosity openly invites people to give us feedback about our work, the direction a policy is taking, what it’s missing, what it needs.

How to be curious

Perhaps curiosity does not come naturally to you. Perhaps you are more of a behind-the-scenes operator, comfortable with desktop research to discover what you need to know. Or you might be comfortable and skilled at connecting with a diverse range of people. You may well be a natural at both! If you are reading this and thinking, My goodness, none of this is ringing any bells, I have two questions for you.

First, can you commit to cultivating your curiosity? If yes, great — start building. Second, do you really want to be in policy? If no, then good on you for recognising it, however, I strongly recommend you find a job that suits you better. Staying in policy would not be fair to you or the people who will be impacted by the policies you would have worked on.

If you’re committed to policy and to being curious, let’s keep going! Below are some simple ways to harness your curiosity.

·????? Identify how you prefer to gather information. Is it by actively participating in stakeholder engagement, or observing stakeholder engagement? Do you prefer secondary research such as desktop research and ploughing through databases of peer-reviewed academic papers, or do you prefer getting out in the field to conduct primary research? Is it a mix of all of these or something else?

·????? Share the above with your colleagues/supervisor to identify your strengths and areas for you to develop.

·????? Ask if you can shadow someone (this means observe them doing their work) fulfilling their curiosity bent in a different way to you. For example, if you prefer primary research in the field, ask someone how they approach desktop research for something they know nothing about. Take notes, and then sit down at the computer and open up a research database. How mind-blowing is it to have a wealth of information at the tips of your fingers?

·????? Roleplay being curious in different settings. You might like to imagine you are in a stakeholder session and you have prepared two questions to ask. Imagine yourself asking the questions, the stakeholders answering, and surprising yourself by asking follow-up questions.

·????? Do your homework before all stakeholder engagement. What can you find out about them? What are they are keen to see happen in policy? What are they are most fearful of? This is a powerful exercise.

·????? Drink a full cup of courage and give it a shot — you’ll be surprised at just how hungry your inner curiosity is!