GFDD’s Honorary President examines the impact of social sciences in the design of public policies with international experts

On Monday, the former President of the Dominican Republic and Honorary President of Global Foundation for Democracy and Development (GFDD) and Fundación Global Democracia y Desarrollo (FUNGLODE), Dr. Leonel Fernández, discussed with renowned French and foreign sociologists and politicians how social sciences can nurture and guide public policies.

This event was part of the opening of FUNGLODE’s new office at the United Nations Educational, Scientific and
Cultural Organization (UNESCO) headquarters, located in the city of Paris — France’s capital.

The FUNGLODE – UNESCO roundtable examined the topic "From Social Sciences Research to Implementing Public Policies."

In addition to the former head of the Dominican State, Alain Touraine, founder of the Center for Studies on Social Movements (EHESS) and Director of Studies at the École des Hautes Études en
Sciences Sociales in France, also participated as a speaker.

"I would say that the political players must embrace social sciences from an interdisciplinary perspective, because they have to do with the economy, with political sciences, with international relations and, in some cases, even with the anthropological interpretation in order to understand the problem of chronic poverty," former President Fernández stated during his
speech.

The former Dominican leader said that political power has become "a diffuse power" because there are many representatives in society with whom leaders see the need to enter into constant negotiations to safeguard political governance.

Fernández stated that this reality makes the State, as the key player in the political work, to be practical, an element that is acquired through the knowledge it should have about its
environment.

For his part, prominent French sociologist Alain Touraine referred to the phenomenon of globalization, which, he said, defines everything.

Likewise, he advocated for the application of social sciences research to development issues, global challenges and to reducing the gap between researchers, civil society and the policy makers.

In turn, Michel Wieviorka, Director of the Foundation Maison des sciences de
l’homme (MSH) and Jean-Michel Blanquer, President of the Institute of the Americas (IDA), also participated as speakers. They exchanged ideas and experiences with regard to the application of social sciences in the design of public policies.

Other issues that were addressed
Each of the speakers had a ten-minute presentation which then gave way to a debate with the public. The presentations addressed different
perspectives and dimensions of the impact that social sciences must have in the formulation of public policies.

One of the three main topics on which the roundtable focused was how can political theorems produced by social scientists acquire significant political meaning and force politicians to act accordingly.

Likewise, there was discussion regarding how to apply statistical work and quantitative and qualitative analysis to public policies.

The third aspect of the discussion revolved around whether researchers should participate directly in the political arena in the design of strategies and tactical actions associated with the transformation of social research into public policies.

The event was designed to help stimulate further reflection on the process of conflict and cooperation that exists between scientific research and the needs, expectations and the discretionary power of the authorities,
including the multifaceted dynamics between objectivity and subjectivity, which regularly play an important role in the design of public policies.

In addition, the agencies involved in the preparation of the debate suggested that, because of its purpose and the quality of the speakers, it should also contribute to the work of UNESCO”s Management of Social Transformations (MOST) Program, which aims to strengthen the interactions between social science research and public
policies.

The event
The roundtable was organized by FUNGLODE/GFDD in collaboration with the Delegation of the Dominican Republic to UNESCO.

UNESCO”s Management of Social Transformations (MOST) Program also participated in the organization and implementation of the event.

It was designed taking into account the experience of the most famous French sociologists, as well as that of former
President Fernández who UNESCO considers to be a politician and intellectual who has always believed in the synergy between science and politics.

The welcoming remarks were offered by Ángela Melo, UNESCO’s Director of the Division of Social Inclusion and Youth, of the social sciences sector, and Ambassador Laura Faxas, Representative of the Dominican Republic to UNESCO.

It is worth noting that, FUNGLODE is a non-governmental organization dedicated to
training and research in social and human sciences, in particular through its Global Institute of Higher Studies in Social Sciences.

Since 2009, FUNGLODE maintains an inter-agency partnership agreement with UNESCO, through which they implement a variety of initiatives aimed at promoting the intellectual and cultural development of the Member countries of the United Nations system, but mainly of those of Latin America and the Caribbean.