An Overview of Issues in Policy Decision SupportGECAFS – IGP projects

Gabriele Bammer

National Centre for Epidemiology and Population Health, ANU

Hauser Center for Nonprofit Organizations, Harvard University

Three core elements

Understanding how the policy process works

Providing the most effective evidence

Enhancing the research-policy nexus

Three types of policy

Government based (creation of public value)

Private sector based (creation of profit)

Civil society based (collective action to empower the powerless)

Focus here on government (has to take private sector and civil society into account)

Different issues are important for research-private sector and research-civil society engagement

For complex problems need to interact with all three.

Understanding how the policy process works….1

While we would like to think of policy making as a scientifically rational process (NB it is a politically rational process):

“ To retain respect for sausages and laws (policy), one must not watch them in the making” (Otto von Bismarck)

“Muddling through” (Charles Lindblom)

Messy process bringing together Best available knowledge Interests (various advocacy groups) Political considerations (popular support, impact on other policy, impact on

foreign relations etc) Values and personal biases Etc

Understanding how the policy process works….2

But there are some useful concepts:

‘hot’ versus ‘cold’ policy making, linked to windows of opportunity

(immediate vs long-term priorities)

policy cycle(Bridgman and Davis 2004, p. 26 )

Understanding how the policy process works….3

Distinguish between politicians and public servants (elected and career policy makers)

Electoral victory puts the public service at your disposal (may give frank and fearless advice, but ultimately must help government achieve its agenda)

Identify appropriate level to work at:

Eg local, state/province, national, international, global

Understand policy making ‘silos’ (ministries, departments) and difficulties of working across silos

Understand tensions within political parties as well as between political parties

Providing the most effective evidence…1

GECAFS’ strength is pulling together the best available knowledge.

What sort of evidence do policy makers find convincing? Capacity is variableNeed to raise scientific literacy of policy makers

Rarely single studies Economic analyses Systematic reviews Powerful anecdotes Randomised controlled trials Case studies Models

Providing the most effective evidence…2

Relatively unsophisticated in taking into account ignorance and uncertainty

Scenario development is a tool to allow this

This is an area where we researchers also need to improve eg bringing together approaches to uncertainty from different

disciplines and practices new taxonomies of uncertainty

(From Smithson, 1989)

Enhancing the research-policy nexus…1

Importance of role clarity for researchers: Research only Engaged research Boundary spanning Advocacy

Enhancing the research-policy nexus…2

Key elements of engaged research: Know who to engage What to engage about When How Understanding the “competition”

Enhancing the research-policy nexus…3

Knowing who to engage:

Elected or career

Local, state, national, international, global

Level in hierarchy

Enhancing the research-policy nexus…4

Knowing what to engage about:

What is the knowledge we want to convey and why?

How sure are we about the quality of our knowledge?

(be careful not to oversell or undersell – importance of peer review)

Enhancing the research-policy nexus…5

Knowing when to engage:

Stage of the policy-cycle:

Window of opportunity

Enhancing the research-policy nexus…6

Knowing how to engage: Effective communication – good visual tools, powerful

anecdotes, short papers with compelling bottom lines Building relationships (high transaction costs, but also high

learning) Using government-sponsored openings effectively eg

enquiries, task forces, summits Using commissioned research opportunities effectively Advocacy coalitions (beware politicisation)

Enhancing the research-policy nexus…7

Understanding the “competition”: All the other political factors

But especially tension between immutability of policy and irrefutability of research information

i.e. how open is the policy to being changed vs how compelling is the research information

Win-win when policy is open to being changed and research information is compelling

Most difficult when policy is not open to being changed, but research information is compelling.

Enhancing the research-policy nexus…8

Challenges: Personnel turn-over Different time-scales Different career pressures Human weakness

Conclusions

Engaged research is still relatively new, so we are learning together

GECAFS (APN grant) provides us with a wonderful opportunity

Policy change on long-term evolving problems (rather than immediate problems) is slow and persistence is essential