Transcript Slide 1

Government Social Research Unit
HOW CAN RESEARCH CONTRIBUTE TO POLICY?
SRA, IRELAND
13 JANUARY 2006
Sue Duncan
Chief Government Social Researcher
Cabinet Office
www.gsr.gov.uk
The Policy Iceberg
Public
Commissioned
research and
evaluation
Implementation
Legislation
Policy Announcement
Sea level
Political research
(opinion polling etc)
Costing options
Reviews of evidence
Analysis of admin data
Policy Idea
Party Politics
Manifesto commitments
Elections
No 10 priorities
Cabinet/Ministerial
Public Opinion
Political careers
Political
Budgets/Resources
Priorities
Legal powers
Operational issues
Parliamentary timetables
Human nature
Practical
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The Black Box of Policy Research
Long, boring report
Inconclusive results
Irrelevant results
Results too late
Research expensive
Political embarrassment
‘Wrong answer’
Policy Question
Research Activity
?
Research findings
OR
OR
Regular feedback of results
Policy question answered
Research on time
No last minute surprises
Research useful and used
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Inside the Black Box
Policy Question
•Clarify research question
•Check existing
data
•Clarifyknowledge/re-analyse
research question
•Check
budget/procurement
rules data
•Check
existing
knowledge/re-analyse
•Design research rules
•Check budget/procurement
•Commission
research
•Design research
• Field work
•Commission
research
•Data
processing
• Field
work
•Dataprocessing
analysis
•Data
•Report
writing
•Data analysis
•Research-based
advice
•Report writing
•Publicationadvice
•Research-based
•Publication
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The Policy Research Relationship
•Last minute research involvement
•Unclear information requirements
•Changing needs
•Poor communication (mistrust)
•Junior level discussion
•Inflexible research
•No ownership
•Too busy
• Early research involvement
•Ongoing dialogue
•Senior level discussion
•Research flexibility
•Policy ownership
BAD RESULT
UNSATISFIED CUSTOMER
GOOD RESULT
SATISFIED CUSTOMER
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The Policy Iceberg
Public
Commissioned
research and
evaluation
Implementation
Legislation
Policy Announcement
Sea level
Political research
(opinion polling etc)
Costing options
Reviews of evidence
Analysis of admin data
Policy Idea
Party Politics
Manifesto commitments
Elections
No 10 priorities
Cabinet/Ministerial
Public Opinion
Political careers
Political
Budgets/Resources
Priorities
Legal powers
Operational issues
Parliamentary timetables
Human nature
Practical
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Key Uses
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Understanding client groups
Understanding problems/issues
Monitoring progress
Evaluating policy impacts
Evaluating delivery
Testing policy/delivery
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Current Priorities
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Inclusive policy making
Performance measurement and delivery
Joined up government
Strategic thinking
‘What works is what counts’
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Instrumental
Conceptual
Leads directly to decision
Leads to changes in knowledge,
making for policy and practice
understanding or attitude
Mobilisation
Wider Influence
Used as instrument of persuasion
Leads to larger scale shifts in
to legitimise action/in action
thinking
(Nutley et al 2002)
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… Government should regard policy making as a
continuous, learning process, not as a series of one-off
initiatives. We will improve our use of evidence and
research so that we understand better the problems we are
trying to address …
(Modernising Government White Paper 1999)
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… Good quality policy making depends on high
quality information derived from a number of
sources - expert knowledge; existing domestic
and international research; existing statistics;
stakeholder consultation; evaluation of
previous policies, new research …
(‘Professional Policy Making in the 21st Century’)
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… there is nothing a government
hates more than to be well informed;
for it makes the process of arriving at
decisions much more complicated and
difficult …
(J M Keynes)
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What is evidence?
• Research
• Experience
• Judgement
• Resources
• Values
• Public Opinion
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… Social science should be at the heart of policy making.
We need a revolution in relation between government and
the social research community - we need social scientists
to help determine what works and why, and what type of
policy initiatives are likely to be most effective …
(David Blunkett 2000)
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… I had hoped to find research to support or to conclusively oppose
my belief that quality integrated education is the most promising
approach. But I have found very little conclusive evidence. For
every study, statistical or theoretical, that contains a proposed
solution or recommendation, there is always another, equally
well documented, challenging the assumption or conclusions of
the first. No one seems to agree with anyone else’s approach. But
more distressing no one seems to know what works. As a result I
must confess, I stand with my colleagues confused and often
disheartened...
(Senator Walter Mondale, 1970)
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… There are significant problems with the exploitation of
social science research in government, local government,
commerce, the voluntary sector and the media. These
come about because of ‘interface management’ and
communication problems, though the caution of some
academics towards close engagement with
practitioners is a source of great disappointment to
many users of social science research …
(‘Great expectations: the social sciences in Britain’ March 2003)
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