7.4 Can issue definition be ‘improved’?
Given the importance we have attached to values and perception in the definition of problems, it might seem that the analyst has relatively little, if anything, to offer at this stage of the policy process. If the activity of defining issues is wholly subjective, how can anyone claim that their perception is ‘better’ that anyone else’s? Should the analyst not accept that the statement of a problem is ‘given’ and that his or her contribution will begin at the point when forecasts are being made of hoe the problem will develop?
Despite undoubted difficulties, we would argue that it is worth seeking to extend the analytical approach to issue definition: first, because ‘who defines, decides’, that is, the outcome of the issue definition stage will deeply influence the later stages of the policy-making process; and secondly, because some analysis is possible in most, though not all, cases of issue definition. We have already set out at some length (chapter6) our view that analysis is not applicable to all issue and that some ‘filtration’ is essential if analytical resources are to be used to best effect.