We’re now in the consultation stage of the Green Paper policy development. A green paper sets out the Government’s policy proposals and then gives any member of the public a chance to feedback their views. Once this consultation process is complete the policy proposals will be finalised and eventually be rolled out and formalised in a white paper. It’s a good moment for reflection, and gives us time to develop more detailed analysis on the various policy options.
Working closely with policy gives a real insight into the process of policy development and often very interesting conversations are had – deciding on the defining objective of a policy, or discussing information that could impact policy decisions. It’s great being an analyst in this setting too – as well as getting to take part in policy debates you get to do some of the field research. Combining the skills of your analytical team to produce the research is also really interesting, as each analyst will have their own approach depending on their discipline.
On a tangent to the work, I recently went to a Government Economic Service (GES) talk on the state of economics. The GES regularly get renowned speakers to speak about various topics within the field of economics with a chance to raise questions. It is a great opportunity to place your work in a wider economic context and again to meet other economists.
For those currently going through the Fast Stream Assessment Centre, It‘s a long day, but a good insight into the types of situations you will find yourself in once on the Fast Stream. Your ability to think creatively and quickly will be tested – and it happens a lot. The last hurdle! Keep going!