Policy without (much) pain - University of Ballarat

Policy without (much) pain16. ApprovalSound planning of the project (section 11), and effective consultation (section 13), will assist youin the approval phase. If you have included members of the approving committee in the steeringgroup and/or workshops, these members will be able to vouch for the quality of the work andanswer the committee’s questions about it. If you can demonstrate that consultation wasthorough, this will reassure the approving committee or senior managers.The committee executive officer is a useful contact. Depending on the type of committee, youmay have opportunities to familiarise them with the project so they can also explain it to thecommittee if you yourself are not permitted to attend. If there is urgency, they may be able torelax agenda submission deadlines.Increasingly, university policy development processes require a cover-sheet or briefing paper thataccompanies the policy draft to the committee. This will generally have sections to explain thecontext, the need for the policy, key points or (for an amended policy) key changes, and details ofthe consultation process followed. If such a documentisn’t required, provide one anyway.The motto of the policydeveloper might be‘passionate detachment’.Respect the committee and it will respect you. Thecommittee is part of the institution’s governancestructure; its collective experience of tertiary educationmanagement is far greater than yours alone.Remember that although the policy draft is your work, it doesn’t belong to you: it belongs to thecommittee, and the committee has the right to change it. If you attend the committee to speak tothe policy, bearing these facts in mind may help you to present the draft in a manner that willappeal to the committee. If you approach the committee over-assertively, they may requireamendments to the draft as a way of reminding you of the proper order of things.The motto of the policy developer might be ‘passionate detachment’ (a phrase coined at the firstATEM Institutional Policy Network Forum held in Melbourne in 2006). That is, policy developersshould care passionately about the project, while accepting that they do not have full control overthe process or outcome: it is a collective endeavour which they are merely facilitating.~ 30 ~