In considering the widely held view that we have experienced an era of qualitative decline in policy provision, this paper briefly reviews four questions that appear to underlie such a view. Have there been identifiable transitions in deliberative processes, political practices and policy capacity in recent decades (and if so, what were the catalysts)? Has the relationship between policy practitioners and expert providers of policy advice changed (and if so, how)? Have channels of communication between the political/policy community and the research community deteriorated (and if so, why)? Has the political appreciation of public concerns and the public understanding of policy imperatives diminished? We use these to frame the results of a workshop in which researchers, policy practitioners and service providers participated. Our objective is to identify systematically the origin of contemporary policy problems, foreshadowing four articles that illuminate instances of success and failure in disruptive times. 人们普遍认为，我们经历的这个时期在政策供给上有质的下滑。这种观点背后有四个问题：审查过程、政治实践以及近几十年的政策能力上有过明确的变化么（如果有，促成因素是什么）？政策实践者与专业政策建议提供者之间的关系有过变化么（如果有，是怎么变的）？政治/政策群体与研究群体之间的沟通是否劣化了（如果是，为什么）？对公共关注的政治认同以及公众对政策决断的理解减弱了么？本文以此总结了研究者、政策实践者以及服务提供者共同参与的一次工作坊的探讨结果。我们的目的是系统地指出当前政策问题的根源，将会有四篇文章讨论断裂时期的成功与失败。