Don't have time for research?, I am too busy to write speeches and report materials... grassroots research department reports | investigations | leaders | situations | investigations | cadres | grassroots | materials
Many departments such as political research offices or offices in counties and districts have research departments, with the original intention of inheriting excellent work styles, strengthening investigation and research, and obtaining real information from grassroots levels for leadership decision-making reference. But during interviews with reporters at the Half Month Talk, it was found that the departments at the grassroots level, which should have taken the lead in conducting research, are busy writing various speeches and report materials all day long, making it difficult to step out and bend down to conduct in-depth research.
This year, the central government is vigorously conducting investigations and research throughout the party, while some departments located at the grassroots level, whose main responsibility is to conduct research, have no time to conduct research. This phenomenon is thought-provoking.
Busy with writing materials all day, how can I have time for research?
"Although the department is called the Research Department, it is not responsible for research work, but mainly for writing speeches, situation reports, meeting minutes, drafting documents, etc. for leaders." A cadre of the Research Department of a policy research office in a western region said that there are a total of four people in the department, of which two are still seconded. There are few people and many tasks, and they often need to prepare materials temporarily when encountering situations such as superior inspections. Overtime is the norm, and there is no time to go deep into the grassroots to understand the situation.
"On average, I have to write three articles of four to five thousand words per week for my leaders," said a cadre from the Comprehensive Research Department of a county party committee in the eastern coastal area. In order to better understand my leaders' ideas, I also need to hold frequent meetings with them, and conducting grassroots research has become a luxury. "It would be good if I could go to the countryside once every three to four months.".
Due to a lack of time for research, many political research office officials can only request materials layer by layer when writing manuscripts or even drafting important documents. "Because I am not familiar with the grassroots, I often have to rely on second-hand materials from various departments." A government research office official in a certain area said that some materials are not mastered by the other party, so they continue to ask for more second-hand materials. "At the end of the year, when drafting the government work report, we did not know where many key projects mentioned in the report were.".
Some grassroots interviewees expressed that the materials created behind closed doors in the office may seem literary, but in reality, they are very hollow. Due to the lack of investigation and research, it is difficult to provide insightful insights, and their role in guiding work and solving problems is not significant.
"Our research mainly involves asking for materials from various departments, holding symposiums, and conducting online searches. Some surface situations and data also need to be coordinated with higher-level departments, and we rarely use frontline visits, surveys, data analysis, and other methods." A cadre from the Political Research Department of the District Party Committee Office said that the depth and quality of the research materials used are not enough, and in the end, only ideas are made in writing.
"Effective input is the key to better output. We also want to delve into the fields, factories, and workshops to understand the situation, but we can't even get busy with writing materials and can't leave." A district government research office official told a half month talk reporter that their annual final word count of materials exceeds one million. Including materials that are repeatedly modified and revised, the word count is even more. "Do we really need so many materials? How many people have actually seen them?" the cadre said.
Speaking, reciting manuscripts, achieving excellence through reporting, and reviewing materials through implementation
Grassroots departments that should have attached great importance to research are also difficult to conduct in-depth research, reflecting the early signs of some grassroots leaders not paying enough attention to investigation and research, and their work style not being solid enough.
——Some grassroots leaders are hesitant to speak and will read their speeches. Some "pen pens" indicate that local leaders have many activities and meetings, and whenever a leader wants to speak, they generally need to prepare a speech draft, which accounts for more than 60% of the written materials. "Some leaders have high demands and do not communicate in advance. Sometimes, speeches of hundreds or even thousands of words need to be repeatedly revised, which is very torturous," said a grassroots cadre.
The person in charge of the government office in a certain district of a city in the Yangtze River Delta introduced that in the era of self media, some local leaders are worried that speaking the wrong words may lead to public opinion incidents, resulting in the need to carefully check the speeches of leaders at ordinary activities and ceremonies, which consumes a lot of time and energy.
——In some places, the evaluation of work performance mainly relies on reporting materials. Grassroots cadres revealed that due to the lack of familiarity of higher-level departments with grassroots situations, the materials submitted are crucial for measuring the effectiveness of work. Therefore, some grassroots leaders require that the materials submitted must be innovative and outstanding.
For this reason, relevant department cadres have to rack their brains to chew on words, use new words, create new sentences, and come up with new concepts. They pay attention to parallelism and comparison, citing classics and rhymes, and talk about their achievements with great emphasis, and even exaggerate the results and inject data. However, upon closer inspection, many of the reporting materials lack substance, making it difficult to truly explain the situation, identify problems, and provide practical solutions, which also contributes to the trend of superficiality.
——In some areas, the implementation of inspection work mainly depends on materials and traces. During interviews with reporters, when asked about the implementation of work, grassroots cadres would take out a thick stack of materials and display various summaries, charts, photos, etc. to the reporters. A cadre from the grassroots political research office said that a small number of higher-level leaders and departments do not go deep into the grassroots and do not listen to public evaluations when inspecting work. The main focus is on reviewing materials, so the more prepared the materials, the thicker they become.
Daxing Investigation and Research, Grassroots Needs "Supplementary Courses"
Investigation and research are the heirlooms of our party. In March of this year, the General Office of the Communist Party of China Central Committee issued the "Work Plan for Investigation and Research in the Party's Revitalization", which shows the importance attached to research. Some people believe that grassroots cadres are located at the grassroots level, and in-depth investigation and research on the front line can definitely be carried out frequently, and the actual situation at the grassroots level can definitely be grasped clearly. It's not necessarily true.
Hou Jinxiong, a professor at the Party School of the Chongqing Municipal Party Committee, believes that some grassroots cadres and departments lack the time, energy, motivation, enthusiasm, and skills to conduct research, which indirectly reflects that grassroots opposition to formalism and improvement of work style require long-term efforts.
Leaders and cadres should lead by example and conduct solid research. Leaders and cadres only have their hands muddy and their feet on the ground, conducting both investigation and research, in order to have goods in their stomachs, avoid missing documents and unable to speak, and better guide practical work and make correct decisions.
We should not only read the report materials, but also listen to the voices of the masses. Hou Jinxiong said that the reason why some grassroots cadres and departments do not conduct research is also related to the mentality that "it is not important to conduct research, as long as the materials are written well". Reading the summary materials of the report can certainly quickly understand the situation, but only by going deep into the grassroots, listening to the truth, and observing the actual situation, can we verify whether the work is truly implemented, whether problems are truly solved, and not be blinded by various materials.
Strengthen research awareness and enhance research skills. Some grassroots cadres say that even if they are in the county or township, if they stay in the office for a long time, they will gradually become unable to speak the words of the masses and will not be able to observe the actual situation at the grassroots level. Suggest strengthening research and training for grassroots cadres, and improving their research abilities through practice, teaching, and other methods.
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