The continuation of policy research and analysis from the point of definition of issues in the field will again be largely a matter of individual style. However some general recommendations may be made. The field work operates from selected sites only, presumed to be representative of a larger universe of ecosystem problems, adaptive strategies, and sustainable livelihoods. The policy analysis should address the larger issues, not the specific and peculiar concerns of one or two local communities. Thus the policy analyst must be satisfied that the issues raised from the field are sufficiently representative of a wider problem and wider solutions.
Policy operates at different levels.
It is important to touch base with each level from the local situation to the national or international. In view of the local definition of the issues, the policy team should consider tracking the issues from the field outward and upward, meeting first with local administrators to understand the constraints they face. Policy research should focus first on understanding the mentality and position of the policy makers, major external stakeholders, and institutional incumbents indeed many of the PRA methods and approaches are not inappropriate at this level also. The aim of policy research is to devise and promote solutions, an end seldom served by hostile confrontation. At the same time, the policy analyst must ensure objectivity and keep a necessary distance from the policy makers, relating the evidence all the time to the issues from the field, and being able to distinguish genuine reasoning from rhetoric, wishful thinking, self-justifications, excuses and special pleading all skills well represented in the policy community.