Editors’ panel discussion
※This article is an English translation of the panel discussion conducted in Japanese.
| Date and Time | Sunday, November 20, 2022, 11:00-12:30 |
|---|---|
| Place | Ω21 |
| Exhibitor | SFC30 Faculty of Policy Management Book Project |
| Purpose | At SFC, thinking about the future is the cornerstone of education and research, and in the Faculty of Policy Management, learning has been focused on thinking about policy that will carry us through the future. We have always aimed to nurture in our students the skills to visualize the future, analyze situations, design policies, argue and persuade others of the significance of policies, implement policies, and finally, the ability to integrate all these aspects of policy management. Policy management is a discipline in which we must continuously question what it should be. In 2003, a little over ten years after the founding of the Faculty of Policy Management, the book series The Cutting Edge of Policy Management was published. About twenty years after that in 2022, we initiated a new policy management book project, and the resulting five-volume book series Exploring New Horizons in Policy Management will be published in Spring 2023. In this session, we will present how this book project will convey to the world the present and future of policy management at SFC. |
| Panelists |
 KAMO, Tomoki Dean of the Faculty of Policy Management  YAMAMOTO, Kaoru Assistant Professor, Faculty of Policy Management  KOTOSAKA, Masahiro Associate Professor, Faculty of Policy Management  WADA, Tatsuma Professor, Faculty of Policy Management  SHIMIZU, Yuichiro Professor, Faculty of Policy Management |
What is "reality" in policymaking?
Kamo: I believe that "reality" is a crucial component in thinking about what policy management is. When I became dean, one of the challenges I immediately faced was how to do PR for the Faculty of Policy Management. You know that some key phrases used to describe our faculty and campus are "identify problems and create solutions to resolve them," and "interdisciplinary academic areas." I had always thought that SFC had a stronghold on these concepts, but I was mistaken. In the "Keio University Student Guidebook" which gives an overview of the faculties at Keio, I found that other faculties within Keio also use the phrase "identify problems and create solutions to resolve them." I thought these words belonged to SFC, but other faculties are using them. I was greatly surprised. It means that now we must go further and beyond.
The book project that we have in the works is one of the ways we are exploring how to move forward. And it is here that the word "reality" arises.
I think having a grasp of reality is an important concept when thinking about policy. When considering policy, it is essential to keep in mind that you are the one taking the initiative in implementing policy. Of course, creating policy is important, but it must be understood that you will be the one implementing policy to solve an issue. Policy must be considered a matter that concerns you, and not someone else. On top of that, you need to visualize the environment in which policy decisions are being made. Under what circumstances are issues being identified, policies being formed, and further, policies being implemented? This is what it means to think about the realities of policy. For example, we must realize that a person making decisions is not able to have a complete grasp of all information. Decisions must be made where only incomplete information is available. This is an issue common to all types of organizations, and in most cases, it is difficult for leaders to have total and complete information when they are called upon to make decisions.
As another example, there are no policy decisions that satisfy all actors involved. Of course, policy decisions should be made with the aim to bring benefits to all, but this cannot be guaranteed. There is always the possibility that someone will feel it to be unfair in some way. How to deal with such situations is a point of reality for people who create policies.
As such, although it is important to think about policy, we must take a step further and be aware of the realities of policy. I would like to ask everyone for their thoughts on reality and make this the starting point of our discussion.