Science, knowledge and policy
What is the relationship between science, knowledge and policy?
Not least following the outbreak of a global health pandemic, Covid-19, are questions about the role of science in politics high on the agenda. However, questions about the role of different types of ‘knowledge’, ‘evidence’ and ‘expertise’ in the political arena has a much longer and deeper academic history. I find this topic fascinating, particularly with reference to parliaments, and have endless questions about how knowledge affects decision-making.
The role of ‘knowledge’ in parliaments
One of my biggest preoccupations at the moment is to gain a better understanding of how science, knowledge and evidence are used in parliamentary settings. While the literature on evidence in policy has grown considerably in recent years (and owes a large debt to a much bigger pool of work on science and technology studies (STS)), it seems that parliaments have not been a focus of attention. I have sought to fill this gap through previous research on the UK Parliament’s committees. But I am now embarking on a much bigger project - find out more here:
What is ‘good’ evidence?
In 2021-22, I undertook a 12-month fellowship with the UK House of Commons to examine how evidence is gathered, analysed and used by select committees. The aim of this project was to support committee scrutiny of government by reviewing and evaluating good practices of evidence use.
The research project raises all sorts of questions, not least what we mean by ‘good’ evidence use. I am currently in the process of editing the final report, which was published in January 2023 (here).
Opening up evidence-based policy
If policy should be made on evidence, it follows that it should be made on the best-available evidence out there. However, if we look at who is involved in policy advice, it tends to be that evidence is drawn from a fairly narrow base - as shown in my previous research looking at who is involved in evidence-giving in the UK House of Commons.
In addition to opening up evidence-giving to political institutions, there has been a growing call for greater diversity in evidence-based policy-making generally. Colleagues and I guest-edited a Special Issue of Evidence & Policy to examine these questions and issues.
Relevant publications
(2023) Good Evidence: How do select committees use evidence to support their work?. Edinburgh: University of Edinburgh.
(2021) 'The webs of belief around 'evidence' in legislatures: The case of select committees in the UK House of Commons'. Public Administration 99:1, pp.40-54.
(2020) Evaluating Academic Engagement with UK Legislatures: Exchanging knowledge on knowledge exchange. Edinburgh: Edinburgh University. Co-author: D. Beswick.
(2020) 'Opening up evidence-based policy: exploring citizen and service user engagement', Evidence & Policy 16:2, pp.199-208. Co-authors: E. Stewart, J. Smith-Merry and J. Bandola-Gill.
This article is the editorial of a fully open access guest-edited special issue of Evidence & Policy by E. Stewart, J. Smith-Merry and M. Geddes.
(2020) Dramas at Westminster: Select Committees and the Quest for Accountability.Manchester: Manchester University Press. See Chapter 6.
(2018) 'Committee Hearings of the UK Parliament: Who gives evidence and does this matter?', Parliamentary Affairs 71:2, pp.283-304.
(2018) 'A Recipe for Impact? Exploring knowledge requirements in the UK Parliament and beyond', Evidence and Policy 14:2, pp.259-76. Co-authors: K. Dommett and B. Prosser.
(2016) A Recipe for Parliamentary Impact? An academic guide to effective engagement. Sheffield: Sheffield Solutions Policy Briefing. Co-authors: K. Dommett and B. Prosser.