My Big Political Idea

This definitely sounds a bit esoteric, but will be of interest to any fellow policy wonks out there...this weekend, at the NUS Wales conference in Llandrindod Wells, and subject to debate time, I have put forward a motion on the subject of 'sustainable development in Welsh higher education'

The thrust of the motion is to call for the National Assembly for Wales to hold an inquiry into sustainable development in the Welsh higher education sector. If my basic understanding of assembly procedures is correct, this would be in the form of a select committee inquiry to assess the extent to which 'sustainable development' is being supported through the twelve higher education institutions in Wales. This would include expert testimony, the public being invited to submit responses, and a report and recommendations being set out by the relevant committee.

I think there can be a more diverse approach for students to lobby the Assembly other than on tuition fees, and this area seems to be to be a comparatively under-emphasized area of policy and strategy. This inquiry would be partly an assessment of where SD in Welsh HE institutions is and setting out a direction for the future - so the idea of such an inquiry is really policy-neutral in that it doesn't say 'do this' or 'do that'; rather, 'let's see where we are and what we need to do to meet our sustainable development objectives'. At the very least, it would hopefully place the issue on the political agenda.