Changing the Relationship Between Social Science and Policymaking Gerry Stoker

Starting points Social science and policymaking can appear not be natural “best” friends Policymakers express frustration that social science often appears to have little of relevance to say Social scientists will regularly complain that policymakers are not interested in using their evidence

Towards useable knowledge But there are demands to play nice “useable knowledge” refers to the production and exchange of knowledge that enables a society to move from one position to another that is more desired Reasons for caution and but also optimism

Requires more understanding Building a better relationship between social science and policy will require a degree of learning or relearning from each side of the fence The challenges of evidence-based policy making are considerable

The Context is Complexity Social science has grown in the variety and range of the methods it uses and many policy makers are not aware of the options that might be open to them. What they are increasingly aware of is the complexity of many of the social and economic problems they must deal with

The richness of social science New Quantitative techniques A growing role for RCTs New methods of data collection New roles for qualitative methods All will be revealed!

Policy issues are “wicked” Multi-causal Crossing boundaries Considerable morphing capacity Timelines for understanding and demand for solutions not in synch

And policy choice is complex too The first question is: Why should I pay attention to this problem? * The second question is: Can I do anything to address the issue?* The third question is: Will it work here? The fourth question is: Should I do anything about the issue? The fifth question is: Will I do anything?

The pluralism of SocSci Can help address that complexity Using quantitative and qualitative skills Evidence about what works Evidence when data is rich and evidence when data is in short supply Evidence about what might work here

The watchword should be pluralism as authoritative claims problematic The lure of the authoritative “I know the answer” is a powerful card for social scientists and….. Maybe it tailors the choice about bits of social science taken up

New forms of discovery Discovery rather than making an authoritative claim is the key ‘No one engaged in social problem solving or in observing the process as ordinary citizen, official, or expert can claim to know, to be able to demonstrate, or to command agreement on how problem solving can best be done’ Lindblom

How methods should be understood Many tools are valuable But none can claim a special relationship with “the truth” All built on a web of assumptions and premises that need to be both understood and respected but not venerated or worshipped.

Let’s do a survey : Ask the people! Government by public opinion A representative survey? Problems with public opinion Problems with knowing public opinion

Opinion Surveys: Issues Phrasing of questions Complexity of questions Ordering of Questions Acquiescence bias Social desirability response bias Attitude recall The problem of asking why? Challenges of practice not principle

Let the experts decide : Ask the Technocrats! We should only take an action if the benefits outweigh the costs So lets calculate both and come to a judgement Cost benefit analysis

Cost Benefit Analysis: limits Complexities caused by human cognition Too much weight for current and too little for future? Status Quo bias? How complete is our thinking? Not number led but deliberative cost-benefit analysis Yet maybe moral values can outweigh consequences in some decisions ? Some judgements better made without cost benefit analysis Not the principle but challenges of practice

And so The policy process is best supported by continuous acts of exploring, investigating and yes discovering. Social scientists, policy makers and citizens should be working alongside one another in these tasks. ‘Society’s probe of a social problem is at best open-ended and pursued by a multiplicity of methods’ Lindblom Social science has “hidden” riches

Go forth and engage in new forms of discovery