When I was a small child, I received a beautiful set of Russian nesting dolls. As I opened each doll to reveal the smaller replica, a process of conceptualisation began. Things are not always as they seem. What is apparent is not as important as what is hidden from view. The spoken word is not as important as what is left unsaid. Conversation also exists in the silent spaces between spoken thought. Life contains much irony. The life we live is sustained by our five sense organs. We come out of the womb expressing an opinion. The neonatal neural tracks that have formed already express two primitive fears: fear of loud noises and fear of falling. Babies quickly add to the extraneous information provided by the new environment. Our fears and our hopes are multiplied during the years of our journey. This is what we call life. This expanse we call our world is really just the cocoon of our personal reality. For a few, paranormal gifts that travel unhindered by a space-time continuum are like the unseen of the Almighty. Without substance, yet solid surface. My childhood enjoyment of Russian nesting dolls taught me everything I need to know about crafting healthy policy. So we must break free of individual cocoons and move to expanse. Pakistan has a tremendous need for ‘nesting doll’ policies to meet the growing needs of what is still a young nation. Let us look at the first doll. Research: Policy is only as good as the research that precedes it. The necessary statistics must be harvested by professional teams who remain loyal to the dictates of their discipline, totally detached from the corruption of the political process. They cannot be bought, as can be the case with government-funded think tanks and even certain ‘scholars’. They refuse to manipulate statistics and data. The statistical architecture is solid. Flawed logic is discarded. The policy-drafting table is an apolitical intellectual space. These talent pools must reside outside the tractor beam of financial enrichment. Research is evidence-based. It is analysed by individuals who are gifted and internationally recognised within their academic corridors. If the policy to be generated is to increase crop yields, it requires expertise in the field. Policies impacting education require the analysis of individuals who have already successfully accomplished goals within this arena. If the policy is to ensure a nation free of polio and smallpox, you will deny the extremist ulema (religious scholars) an active voice. They are not epidemiologists. But they do sport more doctrinal delusions than a centipede has legs. So laying the groundwork for new policy requires an apolitical team of skilled professionals with the appropriate task/talent match. It requires an investment in individuals who may present as a luxury item, based on their fees. But if their body of work is solid and reputation good, it is revenue well spent. You really do get what you pay for, when it comes to policy initiatives. Let us open the first doll to see what comes into view next. The challenge has been identified. The groundwork has been laid. The statistics are solid and paint a picture of need. The second nesting doll has a name. Her name represents a fusion of education, experience and insight. Innovation: There is a tremendous need for innovative business practice. Internal ministry documents, which look like a bureaucratic flea hopping from dog to dog, can be a fond pastime. Perpetuation of failure is the easiest of tasks. Time for a doggy dip. There is a need for innovation. Policies are needed that deploy best (government) practices steered by solid inter-disciplinary teams focused on civilian welfare. Best practice models include socio-metric considerations, which clearly identify both the corrosive and cohesive elements within society. Innovative policy is a creative force that recognises both the historical barriers and the cultural richness required for the average citizen to take ownership of the process. In other words, national and regional belief cannot be negated when formulating policy. Pakistan is a nation that can either build or implode, based on the management of her diverse and strongly religio-ethnic identities. There is the need for robust integration of exemplary socio-metric data into all policy research models. The smallest of the nesting dolls holds the key to stable governance. Her name is: generational compassion. Policies crafted by the powerful to protect personal investments and the investments of those who protect the interests of the powerful have no place in legitimate governance. It is an unholy alliance. Policies that perpetuate a sophisticated economic vulgarity must be noted for what they represent: economic immorality. Wealth, in and of itself, is not an issue of morality. But it becomes an issue of morality in the heart and hand of the one to whom much is given. National wealth that is diverted from the stream of public good for personal gain can no longer be tolerated. It is a criminal enterprise that has no place in governance. Strip the guilty of citizenship. Let them live in psychological wastelands as stateless vagabonds. Send their children with them. Daddy has taught them the vile trade of pillage. Policies must find their scope within the crosshairs of generational compassion. Allow your feet to travel to the alleys of poverty. Examine the poor man’s soup. What is he eating? What is nourishing the bellies of his children? And what hope, for his grandchildren? If policies can extend hope to the third generation, you will have done exceedingly well. Let us put the Russian nesting dolls back on the shelf. Reflect… Viable policy begins with research. Research is crafted into an innovative product that meets the needs of the population. The written words express complex thoughts, which are married to elegant simplicity. Healthy governance packages reach out to touch the third generation of the current adult population of Pakistan. Withered governmental agency arms must be amputated. Because when a man has hope for his children, the glimmer of a better future for his grandchildren, he will respond with grace to the hardships of the hour. Save yourselves. The writer is a freelance journalist and author of the novel Arsenal. She can be reached at tammyswof@msn.com