Competition for problem recognition Many of the problems of society are believed to call for initiative by local, national or international government bodies. Such bodies are held to be the focus for action decisions within society, especially given their central role in any political process. To a lesser degree, an equivalent role is played by non-governmental bodies that are a focus for deciding priorities concerning action on problems and the allocation of resources to them.
Foundations are one example.
Such focal points are naturally restricted in their resources. The restrictions generally cover availability of funds, time available to process any petition, and the expertise which can be devoted to evaluating any proposal. Consequently, advocates of action on problems are expected to compete with one another, both for the attention of the focal points and for any resources which are available through them. The problem is assessed in terms of the effectiveness of the advocates in this process and not in terms of the seriousness of the problems in their own right. The focal points are generally in a position to claim that they have appropriately performed their task if they are able to play off the different petitioners so that the most influential petitioners receive preferential treatment and the less influential are content with whatever recognition is given to the problems for which they are pleading.