What happens if we turn the question around? How do we make sense of what appear to be nonsensical policies?

The Conservative government is not stupid

The more I think about what they are doing the more I think there is a genius at work. Possibly an evil genius but a genius nevertheless.

Any government can ignore evidence when they make policy. Any government can make ideologically based policy and then look for the evidence that would support it.

This government not only ignores the evidence (e.g. in their crime policy) but is systematically destroying the ability of future governments to use evidence even if they wanted to by cutting inter alia

• long form census
• First Nations Statistical Institute
• National Roundtable on the Environment and Economy
• University and College Academic Staff System (a StatCan survey of HE issues)
• the budgets for basic research at the research councils (CIHR, NSERC, SSHRC)

Not only does this tie the hands of future governments, but it also makes it very difficult for anyone to challenge policy directions or make policy proposals based on evidence.

For example, in his post about the UCASS cuts, Leo Charbonneau points out

Much of the faculty chapter in Trends in Higher Education, published by the Association of Universities and Colleges of Canada, is derived from UCASS data.

AUCC uses their Trends in Higher Education document to influence policy. As the organization of University and College presidents they might be in a better position than most to find other ways to collect this data, but that is not the case for many private and non-profit organizations.

What can be done?

I have no idea, really. What I do know is that arguing that we need this evidence for policy-making to someone whose agenda is precisely to prevent the use of this kind of evidence in policy debate is not going to be effective.

Somehow we need to start from a recognition of the enormity of what is happening. The legacy of these cuts will be significant.

What would it mean to you for your job to be “better”?

Is there anything you have control over that might make a difference?

What is the smallest thing you could do?

If thinking about your job feels like a dead-end, try going bigger (what would make your life better) or smaller (what would make next semester better, or what would make next week better).

Image by Amy Crook, Antemortem Arts, used with permission

If this little guy turns up…

… try being curious.

Write down what he says without judgement. Just listen.

Then go back to the other questions, but maybe phrase them this way:

Even if it’s impossible to change anything, what would “better” look like for me?

Even though I don’t have control over anything significant, is there anything, however small, that I do have control over that might make a difference?

Even if small things feel thoroughly insignificant, what is one small step I could try?

You can replace the part between the “Even though” and the comma with whatever it is that your gremlins are particularly overwrought about.

If you need help dealing with the gremlins, I recommend the Monster Manual & Coloring Book from The Fluent Self.

Sometimes there are things you want to write about that are really hard to articulate. I’ve been engaging in some important topics on Twitter (which is never more than scratching the surface) that I want to write about in more depth here but it seems that the move from 140 chars to 750 words is hard.

I’m scared to start writing because I don’t know where to stop or how to break it up into manageable chunks (manageable for you to read as much as for me to write; you are busy; you don’t need a monograph from me).

Here are some of the issues I’m mulling over. I’m going to try to write about them. Expect multiple posts on each. Possibly a lack of coherence. I want to contribute to a conversation. I’d love to hear your thoughts (in the comments, in an e-mail, in your own blog post linked back here through a comment, …)

• women and leadership (new Twitter hashtag and chat coming #femlead; not my idea but I’m on board)
• a different take on service, saying no, saying yes, and how that might link to leadership
• actively managing your career, promotion, and related stuff

When I write it like that it all looks like the same thing. Or, aspects of the same thing. Maybe that helps you see why it hasn’t been written as posts.

When I think about those issues I also realize that it isn’t just about women though it is about gender. Patriarchy is also a system of power amongst men, after all.

I’m also thinking that there is something in here about asking the right questions. My frustration with some debates around higher ed and about women and leadership is that the questions might not be helping us find solutions or ways forward.

There is also the question of perspective. If I’m giving you, as an individual, advice about how to navigate the system, then there are certain things about the system that we just have to accept as given (at least for now). If I’m talking about how the system could be better and how we can act to bring about that kind of change, my perspective is different.

Complexity. It’s all about complexity.

I’m going to stop there. If you have thoughts, ideas, a wish list of where you’d like me to try to start, let me know.

I live in a rural area and have wireless internet (yes, from the house to the world). It’s down for some reason. I hope it’ll be back soon, making this note redundant.

Bear with me. I can go in to town and check e-mail but am unlikely to do that more than once a day.

Update August 20: I have a site visit scheduled for Monday. Hopefully that fixes it and I’ll be back online sometime Monday. If not, I’ll check e-mail next on Tuesday sometime and update the blog about the situation.

In other news, my appointment schedule is full for the next week or so and draft grant proposals are going to start coming in on Tuesday for the clients I am helping with Grant Proposal Development for the October SSHRC Insight Competition.

I do have capacity for new coaching clients and for Grant Proposal Development clients preparing for the SSHRC Insight Development Grant competition in February (conversations in September/October with a view to getting me a draft proposal by 2 December) and other grants in 2012.

I also plan on reviewing my pricing before the New Year so if you have been thinking of working with me it might be a good idea to get started on that this fall as I’ll probably grandparent existing clients for a bit.

I’m not actually fishing. More like hanging out in a theatre and visiting relatives.

I’ll be back soon.