Section One: Describing the Discourse Community

The Policy and Political Science discourse community is composed of experts in policy who share the same public objective to create, evaluate, and improve upon policies relating to social, economic, and political issues. Thinktanks, government agencies, universities, and non-profit organizations focused on policy research and analysis are all part of this community and strive to make evidence-backed policy decisions and inform the public on the importance of these policies.

Prominent Participatory Mechanisms: 

1. Social Media: Actors in this space use platforms like Twitter and LinkedIn, and Substack to share their ideas and engage in conversations with others who are also interested in policy topics.

2. Thinktanks: Organizations like the Brookings Institution, the Heritage Foundation, Center for American Progress, People’s Policy Project, and the Cato Institute create documents, reports, and other materials related to policy issues, like child benefit policies.

3. Op-Eds: Policy analysts and experts publish opinion pieces in newspapers and on websites to share their views and aim to impact public opinion.

4. Conferences: Events like the American Political Science Association annual meeting and the annual conference of the Association for Public Policy Analysis and Management give policy analysts a chance to display their research and converse with others in the field.

5. Databases: Useful tools such as CQ Researcher and Gale Opposing Viewpoints In Context provide an abundance of data on policy matters, making them an important resource for policy analysts and researchers. 

Contemporary Major Conversations:

1. Child Benefit Policies: A key discussion topic in the policy science and policy analyst community is child benefit policies, which strive to make having children more economical for households. This subject is extensively discussed in a variety of circles, including online media, think tanks, and policy conferences. 

2. Income Inequality: Another highly discussed issue is income inequality and its implications on society. Policy analysts and experts debate the efficacy of various policies intended to reduce income inequality and enhance economic mobility.

3. Climate change is another oft-discussed topic among policy specialists. These experts debate the efficacy of different policies to address climate change. When discussing policy options, they often use terms like Child Benefit Policies, Income Inequality, Evidence-Based Policymaking, while making reference to White Papers and Policy Reports.

In recent times, the Policy Science and Policy Wonk discourse community have been engaged in discussions around Child Benefit policies, such as their design, effects on families and children, and the political and economic elements that shape their production and enforcement. In the last 5-10 years, acknowledgment for the significance of early childhood interventions and the role of Child Benefit policies in improving child health and cutting down poverty has grown. Additionally, the call for evidence-based policy making has been stronger, with policy analysts encouraging the utilization of data and research to guide policy decisions.

Ultimately, this has sparked a heightened interest in using rigorous evaluation methods to investigate the effect of these policies. Additionally, there have been ongoing debates about the role of the government in providing support to families and the balance between individual responsibility and government support. There have also been discussions about the best ways to target support to those who need it most and the potential trade-offs between universal adoption vs more targeted implementation. Overall, the discourse in this community has evolved to become more focused on the use of evidence to inform policy decisions and the need for policies that are effective, efficient, and equitable.

Sources:

• “Policy Science.” Oxford Research Encyclopedia of Political Science, Oxford University Press, 2017, doi:10.1093/acrefore/9780190228637.013.37.
• “Child Benefit.” CQ Researcher, CQ Press, 2021, cqpress.com/cqresearcher/document.php?id=cqresrre2021050500.
• “Child Care Subsidies.” Opposing Viewpoints In Context, Gale, 2021, link.gale.com/apps/doc/EJ3010976317/OVIC?u=wikipedia&sid=