Policy changes are the adaptation, amendment, or creation of policies to reflect society’s continually evolving values and norms. Policy change efforts require a wide range of skills and perspectives, including an understanding of the complex interplay between evidence and power that shapes policy-making.
Policy change often takes a long time, and success is highly variable. The process requires patience, sensitivity, and careful planning. It is also important to recognize the many obstacles and barriers that can hinder progress, including the unspoken assumptions that guide people’s beliefs about what policies should look like. Examples of these unspoken assumptions include the idea that women and minorities can only advance so far in government or corporations, or the notion that certain problems are intractable, despite clear evidence to the contrary.
The best policy change agents are broad-based coalitions. Organizations that work directly with those affected by the issue have both credibility and technical knowledge (statistics, study results, an understanding of root causes) that can make them effective leaders in a campaign for policy change. Grass roots community initiatives, concerned professional groups, and determined individuals can also be helpful in the right circumstances.
It is helpful to focus on tactics that emphasize the positive elements of a proposed policy. For example, incentives such as tax breaks for those who follow the rules, or penalties such as special taxes for those who break them, can help soften the blow of a change to existing rules.