Public Policy Education
In order to be effective and sustainable, public policy requires to be built on solid foundations and the best way to ensure this is a well-informed public. After all it is the public that votes in governments and makes choices on what policies they want. It is then left to the politicians and their advisers to design and implement the optimal policies to maximise the public benefit.In a democracy however one of the problems members of the public face is getting access to well-communicated research which they can use to form their views. Certainly the government sector itself will on occasion provide that information but at times there develop gaps in that market for knowledge pertinent to those issues of the day which public policy is called to address.
We see a role for sponsoring such research and disseminating it to the public.
Examples of such material currently under preparation which the Trust is funding include;
- The science of climate change. A book that outlines the scientific evidence for and against the proposition that anthropogenic global warming is a substantial issue and requires public policy responses. Estimated publication date – early 2009
- The effectiveness of public health policy in New Zealand. Research targeted at measuring how strong the outcomes are from our public health system and where and how New Zealanders might get better outcomes from the taxpayer dollars allocated this sector. Estimated publication date – 2010
- The effectiveness of foreign aid, both private and public funded. Foreign aid that builds towards sustainable solutions and increases the capacity of its beneficiaries to achieve self-reliance, at times proves to be elusive. This report looks at how New Zealand public and private aid efforts measure up.