This paper, written by Stephen Muers, IPR Policy Fellow and Head of Strategy and Market Development, Big Society Capital, argues that culture and values need to be at the heart of thinking about public policy. Policy is more likely to be successful (however success is defined) if policymakers take these aspects into account.

The paper starts by briefly defining culture and values, before setting out four reasons why they are central to public policy. The paper then sets out some implications of these arguments for public policy practice. It considers the way values operate in political debate and how that affects accountability, the ways in which governments alter culture, and what approaches to policy implementation and learning fit best in a framework that puts culture and values at the centre. Finally, the paper considers some potential counter-arguments that require the overall story about the central role of culture to be nuanced or altered for particular contexts.