Chapter Eight: Principles of Social Policy Planning

2003

The 1990s saw a remarkable change in the rhetoric of international donor and lender agencies. The "magic of the market" paradigm of the previous decade gave way to a "balanced" strategy in which the state had a crucial role to play. The primacy of economic growth gave way to an emphasis on "poverty reduction", with poverty being defined not simply in income terms but as a "multidimensional" construct, also covering low levels of education and health, vulnerability and powerlessness. To address this broad agenda, agencies turned to experts on "social development", often providing a welcome boost to their own previously somewhat marginalised social development teams. This concern with social issues and social context lead to a greatly expanded demand for new methodologies and methods which could provide improved "knowledge" and "understanding" of social processes. A battery of "toolkits", "manuals" and "sourcebooks" were produced, each of which promised not only to meet this demand but to do so quickly, efficiently and often in partnership with local people. This Working Paper reviews some of the main methodological approaches to emerge from this period, reflecting on both their ambitious objectives and somewhat more prosaic limitations.

Teaching Social Policy: International, Comparative and Global Perspectives Elgar Guides to Teaching, 2023

Social Policy Zones, 2018

This essay searches and analyses deeper into the definition of social policy separately, looking at the different views of how it is put across by different scholars and institutions and solely looking at how the definitions complement with relevancy of social policy in the Zimbabwean realities or context. It goes further to look into how these definitions complement the relevancy of social policy in Zimbabwe in addressing the social needs, choices and ambitions of citizens. Social policy has a bearing in the Zimbabwean situation because there are special movements which are and must be addressed concerning issues to do with racism, gender, ecology, politics, economy, and all other issues which have to do with promoting social protection and equity. By the end of this essay the reader must have an in-depth knowledge of what social policy is, the change it seeks to achieve and its relevance in Zimbabwe linking with evidence of positive situations and negative situations which have transpired in the country and the response of the government and institutions in efforts to alleviate the burdens and problems as well as keeping in line with the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and a gap open for policy change.

2018

Social policy in Africa has been driven by various factors, a close assessment of the waves of social policy indicate a provision that was not inclusive through all era’s of African social policy development. From the colonial era, through to the era of nationalism and decades after saw social policy provision driven by attempts to pre- empt uprisings, nation building, political elite interests and poor social conditions on the continent. Key Words: Social Policy, Politics, Interests, Social Security, Africa

Amsterdam University Press eBooks, 2011

Getting close to policy 1 What exactly do social scientists seek to achieve when they engage in policy work? Is it dialogue with, or influence over policy professionals? Is it a way for academics to shape the formation or implementation of public policy, or is it to analyze and deconstruct policy in order to explore deeper patterns and processes pertaining to the organization of society? In short, should social scientists follow the policy gaze or seek to critique it? The answers to these questions necessarily depend on a host of other variables, including professional ethics, the nature of the policy in question, and one's own particular political disposition. These reflexive and epistemological considerations are central to social anthropology's methodology (Scholte 1972; Hammersley and Atkinson 1995; Meyerhoff and Ruby 1982; Davies 2007). But, while anthropologists excel in highlighting cultural complexity and the various sides of any argument (including their own subject-positioning), they frequently complain that government agencies and policy elites who commission research typically want simple conclusions and ' quick fixes.' For critical and interpretive social scientists, engaging with policymakers often seems like a ' dialogue of the deaf.' This has led some scholars to call for a change in the discourse and practice of the social sciences. As one prominent US professor summed it up, 'we need to learn to think and talk more like policymakers.' 2 This chapter aims to critique that argument and question its underlying assumptions. Far from offering social scientists a way forward, learning to 'think and talk like a policymaker' may be the problem that good social science needs to overcome. What gives anthropology its analytical edge when confronting policymakers is precisely its capacity to challenge received wisdom and think outside of the conventional policy box. My ambition, therefore, is to illustrate how anthropological approaches and perspectives might help us to better understand what is at stake when we confront policy processes. Social anthropologists are experienced at tracking the genealogies and flows of particular policies and their impact on people's lives and everyday behavior.

Social Policy & Administration, 1987

Unpulblished conference paper, 2005

Social Policy for adults with significant additional social needs (disabled and other disadvantaged people) will be examined with particular reference to British government policy for intellectually disabled people. The policy contexts governing the work of health and welfare services can often be difficult to 'read', especially since they are likely to contain contradictory elements that both support and confront social processes that create inequalities and oppression. In Britain, since the election of the Labour government, new social policy frameworks have emerged. In the case of intellectual disability, for example, new initiatives emphasise people's inclusion in community and society and the reversal of some of the systemic disadvantage they have experienced. However, as an uneasy mixture of the progressive and the neoliberal, the romantic and the practical, it has been difficult to evaluate in order to use its opportunities and minimise its dangers. The influence of economic strategies and the ideologies associated with the free market will be examined to try to decode current social policy emphases. It will be argued that progressive workers should engage with these contradictory policy contexts with a view to minimising their damaging aspects and beginning to construct an alternative approach to real social inclusion and support in partnership with disabled and other disadvantaged people. La lectura crítica de la política social-una base para trabajar de manera ética. Se trata de la política social para adultos con necesidades adicionales (personas discapacitadas o con otras desventajas). Esta política se considerará con referencia a la política gubernamental británica sobre personas con discapacidad intelectual (retraso mental). Los contextos de la política pueden ser difíciles de leer, especialmente ya que es probable que contengan elementos contradictorios que al mismo tiempo apoyan y enfrentan procesos sociales que crean desigualdades y opresión. En el Reino Unido, después de la elección del gobierno laborista, han surgido nuevos marcos de la política social. En el caso de la discapacidad intelectual, por ejemplo, nuevas iniciativas enfatizan la inclusión de la gente en comunidad y sociedad, y el combate contra la situación de desventaja que han experimentado. Sin embargo, como una mezcla precaria entre lo progresista y lo neoliberal, ha sido difícil evaluar la política para aprovecharse de sus oportunidades y disminuir sus peligros.

Australian Journal of Public Administration, 2008