So a problem can emerge, and be ‘known about’ in elite circles, but it has not yet become an issue.
It’s once the problem becomes an issue, on the public arena, and is no longer safely in the long grass that the fun starts. It’s no longer possible to politely ignore them, since that will make your organisation look out of touch, complacent, callous, whatever.
See also Deborah Stone’s 1989 Causal Stories and the Formation of Policy Agendas.
See also
marchudson.net 