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Knowledge Creep and Decision Accretion
... A substantial body of scholarship draws on Weiss's foundational work on research use in public policy (Weiss, 1980;Weiss & Bucuvalas, 1980;Weiss et al., 2005) to examine how research is actually used in schools and districts and the conditions that support use (Amara et al., 2004;Cain, 2015;Coburn et al., 2009;Farley-Ripple, 2012;Farley-Ripple et al., 2022;Finnigan et al., 2013;Honig et al., 2017;Penuel et al., 2017). This body of research identifies four main types of use: instrumental use, symbolic use, conceptual use, and imposed use. 1 Instrumental use denotes situations when educators draw on research to fill a gap in knowledge and inform a specific decision, often after considering the relative benefits and costs of different options. ...
... Extensive research draws on Weiss's typology of research use-instrumental use, symbolic or political use, conceptual use, and imposed use (Weiss, 1980;Weiss & Bucuvalas, 1980;Weiss et al., 2005)-to examine how educators (e.g., teachers, school leaders, district leaders, state leaders) use research in schools and districts (e.g., Amara et al., 2004;Cain, 2015;Coburn et al., 2009;Farley-Ripple, 2012;Farley-Ripple et al., 2022;Finnigan et al., 2013;Honig et al., 2017;Penuel et al., 2017). Indeed, a survey with Bohannon et al. ...
... We conducted 140 in-depth semistructured interviews with 67 district leaders in the four districts. We sampled district leaders across various departments related to literacy, school supervision, special education, multilingual learners, and research and accountability since decision-making within organizations is typically stretched across different departments (Coburn et al., 2009;Weiss, 1980). These interviews asked how district leaders made decisions related to early literacy professional development; whether and how research was involved; and the role of external partners, if any, in supporting their work. ...
Calls for evidence-based practice are pervasive. In response, extensive scholarship has employed four categories of research use—instrumental, symbolic, conceptual, and imposed—to examine how research is used in schools and districts. We draw on sociocultural learning theory and empirical data from one school district to newly theorize latent use as another category of research use. We define latent use as when educators participate with a research-embedded tool in ways that guide their work practice. We call this “latent” use because educators use research via their participation with tools embedded with research quotes, citations, and/or summaries rather than directly engaging with traditional research products (e.g., journal articles). We then discuss latent use's potential merits and limitations.
... However, the use of scientific evidence in policymaking has not been a smooth and linear process, but rather a turbulent and contested one. In the 1960s-1970s, UK and US policymakers experimented with improving research utilization (7,8), spurring academic literature on the science-policy relationship and models of this linkage (8,9). However, by the 1980s governments were questioning the value of research, especially social sciences, proposing budget cuts that highlighted consequences for academics with limited policy relevance (10). ...
... Within public health, evidence-based medicine (14,15) and WHO's evidence-based health promotion (16) bolstered this. Consequently, much literature emerged on research-evidence and policy links (17), often following Weiss's categorization of instrumental, conceptual and symbolic use (7). Still, even after four decades, researching the complexity of evidence use in policymaking remains challenging (18). ...
Background
The use of research evidence in policy making is a complex and challenging process that has a long history in various fields, especially in healthcare. Different terms and concepts have been used to describe the relationship between research and policy, but they often lack clarity and consensus. To address this gap, several strategies and models have been proposed to facilitate evidence informed policy making and to identify the key factors and mechanisms involved. This study aims to critically review the existing models of evidence informed policy making (EIPM) in healthcare and to assess their strengths and limitations.
Method
A systematic search and review conducted to identify and critically assess EIPM models in healthcare. We searched PubMed, Web of Science and Scopus databases as major electronic databases and applied predefined inclusion criteria to select the models. We also checked the citations of the included models to find other scholars’ perspectives. Each model was described and critiqued each model in detail and discussed their features and limitations.
Result
Nine models of EIPM in healthcare were identified. While models had some strengths in comprehension, flexibility and theoretical foundations, analysis also identified limitations including: presupposing rational policymaking; lacking alternatives for time-sensitive situations; not capturing policy complexity; neglecting unintended effects; limited context considerations; inadequate complexity concepts; limited collaboration guidance; and unspecified evidence adaptations.
Conclusion
The reviewed models provide useful frameworks for EIPM but need further improvement to address their limitations. Concepts from sociology of knowledge, change theory and complexity science can enrich the models. Future EIPM models should better account for the complexity of research-policy relationships and provide tailored strategies based on the policy context.
... Nonetheless, examples exist of instances where policymakers do use research throughout the decision-making process (Gormley, 2011;Gamoran, 2019;Ouimet et al, 2023). Studies have found that policymakers use research in a variety of ways, including to inform their decision making, persuade colleagues, earn the trust of colleagues, reinforce existing positions, and educate constituents (Weiss, 1980;Bogenschneider et al, 2019b). Prior literature has provided examples of research being used across a range of policy issues including agriculture, early childhood education, education, juvenile justice, public health, and youth and family issues (Grisso and Steinberg, 2005;Maton, 2017;. ...
... Policymakers also use research in other ways that are much more difficult to measure: conceptual use, which is research used to understand the nature or context of a topic; relational use, which is using research to earn the trust of colleagues as a knowledgeable and credible information source (Bogenschneider et al, 2019b); and political use (also called tactical use), which is research used to support a preexisting position or persuade others to a position (Tseng, 2012). These more nuanced ways research creeps into the decision-making process are harder to measure, given they often happen over time and in undocumented ways (Weiss, 1980;Bogenschneider et al, 2019a). Therefore, asking legislators, particularly those who are known by their colleagues as exemplary users of research evidence, offers a novel approach to understanding how legislators define research evidence as they use it throughout the decision-making process. ...
Background
Understanding how policymakers define research and differentiate it from other sources of data is critical for scientists to improve how they conduct and communicate research to policy audiences. Yet, few studies have explicitly asked policymakers – particularly state legislators in the USA – how they define research evidence.
Methods
We sought to fill this gap via in-depth interviews with 168 policymakers from two Midwestern states; 32 of whom were nominated by their colleagues as exemplar research users. Findings were triangulated via interviews with experienced key informants from both states. In-depth interviews were the preferred methodology for our research question, as they offered legislators the chance to describe research in their own words and elaborate on examples when needed.
Findings
For many legislators, definitions of research largely aligned with how the scientific community might define research; both Republicans and Democrats defined research as peer-reviewed studies with specific qualities that distinguish research evidence from other types of information. However, some legislators defined research with a broader lens, including different types of information (for example, anecdotes) and qualities of information (for example, accessibility, relevance, credibility, and unbiased) as part of their definition.
Discussion and conclusions
Researchers may better engage policy audiences by referring to the types and qualities legislators mentioned because policymakers prefer evidence from rigorous studies to those that are poorly executed or politically motivated. Legislators called this ‘bogus’ research, ‘party’ research or ‘pseudoscience’. Researchers can signal their credibility by being transparent regarding funding sources and reasons or motivation for conducting studies.
... In this article we first briefly discuss issues relevant to the conceptualization of psychotherapy research use. We rely heavily on Weiss's (1980;Weiss & Bucuvalas, 1980) seminal work on the use of evaluation research and policy research. Second, we review some empirical data relevant to professional psychologists' evaluation and use of psychotherapy' research. ...
... In addition, a number of writers have emphasized the role of conceptual research utilization. Unlike instrumental use, where research results have a direct effect on concrete decisions, conceptual use entails the gradual, indirect, and diffuse effects of research studies on decision makers' awareness of problems, conceptualization of issues, consideration of options, and the like (e.g., Rich, 1977;Weiss, 1980). An example would be a clinician who increasingly employs explicit treatment contracts with clients as a result of exposure to the literature on goal attainment scaling (Kiresuk & Lund, 1978). ...
Issues relevant to the conceptualization of psychotherapy research use are presented along with a brief review of previously reported data on psychologists' evaluations of psychotherapy research studies. The results of a recently conducted interview study (N = 30 clinicians) are then reported. In general, the interview data suggest that discussions with colleagues are a more highly valued information source than research articles and research books. The instrumental use of psychotherapy research is not a frequent occurrence, but the psychologists' responses suggest that conceptual research use is more widespread. Specific factors that seem to influence the adoption of a positively evaluated treatment include a detailed description of the tested treatment, training in that treatment, and the compatibility of the treatment with a clinician's usual intervention strategy. The interview results are discussed in terms of their implications for the relationship between mental health research and practice, the graduate education of clinicians, and the future study of psychotherapy research use.
... In a recent review of research utilization literature, observe that research use in policymaking can be measured in several different ways, each with its own advantages and weaknesses. In addition to the fallibility of human memory and the possibility of social desirability bias, use of researcher self-report must also contend with the fact that researchers do not know all the uses to which their research is put and may be unaware of important use instances (Masood, Kothari, and Regan 2020;Weiss 1980). Reliance on policymaker self-report must contend with similar issues. ...
... However, we expect that 29.7% is a reasonably accurate estimate because, in the first place, many of the respondents indicated no particular interest in practitioner use of their work and, second, we decomposed use by stage of policy process and by user and the reported use rates remained relatively stable (23.3%). Perhaps most important, the question asked is in some respect conservative because it requires the respondent to report on knowledge of use and, in fact, use often occurs without the researchers' immediate knowledge of its use (Masood, Kothari, and Regan 2020;Weiss 1980). ...
... Second, Weiss described how the enlightenment function was to come about. Instead of a direct application of specific bits of knowledge, research knowledge 'crept' into policy use by a slow process of 'accretion' (Weiss 1980). Consequently, it was difficult to identify and trace the indirect applications of research results to policy decisions. ...
... In the interaction models of research impact, the research user is defined relationally at any moment by their position in the configuration of processes and actors that interact to generate knowledge and value from research. In the take-up model of Two communities (Weiss 1977(Weiss , 1980(Weiss , 1986Beyer 1997) Practitioners and policymakers research impact, users access research outputs intermediated through brokers or artefacts like publications that take up and convey knowledge from a 'reservoir' of research results. There are important differences between research users defined by their relation to other actors involved in research and users defined by their relation to research outputs. ...
Impact assessment research has developed theory-based approaches to trace the societal impact of scientific research. Impact assessment typically starts from the perspective of a research investment, organization, or project. Research users, non-academic actors involved in knowledge production, translation, and application, are well represented in many of these approaches. Researcher users are usually positioned as contributors to research, recipients of research outputs, or beneficiaries of research-driven outcomes. This paper argues that impact assessment would benefit from a more comprehensive understanding and analysis of research valorization processes from the user perspective. The first half of the paper reviews key impact assessment literature to identify how research users are positioned and portrayed in relation to valorization processes. In the second half of the paper, we use the results of this review to propose a set of principles to guide a systematic approach to constructing user perspectives on research impact. We suggest four concepts for operationalization of this approach. The paper concludes that the addition of a more comprehensive research user perspective on research valorization would complement and enhance existing impact assessment approaches.
... VITAE, a United Kingdom-based organisation dedicated to the promotion of research defines two types of impact. The first is academic impact, defined as: 'the demonstrable contribution that excellent research makes to academic advances, across and within disciplines, including significant advances in understanding, methods, theory and application' (VITAE, 2022). This impact of a particular piece of research may show up in different ways. ...
... VITAE's second form of impact is economic and societal, defined as 'the demonstrable contribution that excellent research makes to society and the economy. Economic and societal impacts embrace all the extremely diverse ways in which researchrelated knowledge and skills benefit individuals, organisations and nations' (VITAE, 2022). This form of impact may be predicated upon the demand for a particular type of research, related in turn to the non-academic audience for the work. ...
Beginning with Boeren’s (2018) or Rubenson & Elfert’s (2019) claims of under-recognition of quantitative methodology in adult education, authors use the ecological niche from biology as a metaphorical and heuristic model in order to consider the mechanisms determining the viability of research methodologies in education for adults. The authors discuss ecosystem factors affecting research methodologies and consider the situations of Germany and Canada to illustrate application of the niche metaphor. The conclusion stresses the complementary relevance and integrative value of different forms of research. Addressing diverse questions requires diverse methodologies and a rich ecosystem of resources and research capabilities.
... Det finns också en omfattande diskussion kring spridningen av idéer, eller kunskap, mellan olika sammanhang och organisationer (se t.ex. Drori et al., 2013;Czarniawska & Joerges, 1996;Weiss, 1980), inklusive hur kunskap "översätts" till olika former av praktiker (Lindberg, 2014;Latour, 2005). Andra viktiga bidrag till forskningen om lärande kommer från området organisationspsykologi och litteraturen om organisatoriskt beteende (Oljemark & Törnell 2014;Granberg & Ohlsson 2018). ...
... Här finns en paradox -dels menar man att kommunen "glömmer" vad de gjort innan, men samtidigt är gamla rapporter "ointressanta" för "vi jobbar ju inte så längre"! (Och om det stämmer, så har man väl lärt sig något?) Det är lätt att som Åke Jerkedal konstatera att en utvärdering "vars resultat inte kommer till användning borde aldrig ha gjorts!" (2005), men man kan också tänka att rapporter ligger till grund för en mer ackumulerad kunskap, en typ av bakgrund av empiriska generaliseringar och idéer som "smyger" sig in (Weiss, 1980). Beslut i stora organisationer är något som växer fram gradvis och de är väldigt sällan något som entydigt kan härledas till en rapport. ...
I rapporten ”Lärande genom temporär organisering – projekt, piloter och experiment i Malmö Stad” analyseras förutsättningarna för att främja organisatoriskt lärande genom temporära organisationer, såsom piloter, testmiljöer, och projekt, inom Malmö stad.
... We found no indications that the research results were directly applied in Indonesia. This is not unusual, as studies of research use suggest that results are often not applied immediately, but only over time, in a more conceptual way, and contribute to change through a more cumulative process [42,43]. We did find that the stakeholder engagement led to several relevant developments and beneficial outcomes. ...
Background
Tackling falsified and substandard medicines requires intersectoral collaboration, impact-oriented research and the effective application of research findings. However, the best way to organize research and involve stakeholders from different sectors to ensure that results are used, remains unclear. We aimed to assess how intersectoral stakeholder engagement in research on medicine quality in Indonesia evolved, influenced the research processes and participants, and affected the uptake of the results.
Methods
For this prospective case study, we adopted an abductive approach inspired by contribution mapping and collaborative governance. We conducted 37 interviews with key informants, observed 24 meetings and analysed 121 documents to systematically map the engagement of stakeholders in a study on medicine quality, focusing on processes, influences and research-related contributions.
Results
From the outset, it proved feasible, but challenging, to effectively engage stakeholders in research into falsified and substandard medicines in Indonesia. After a cautious start and persistent efforts, stakeholders, such as the national medicine regulatory authority, became increasingly involved and developed a shared understanding of the need for intersectoral collaboration to tackle problems with medicine quality. While the research findings did not lead to a different estimate of the magnitude of the problem, the involvement of stakeholders was beneficial. After formalizing the collaboration, stakeholders provided data needed to study potential risk factors, product varieties and sales volumes, and contributed to decisions during the research and interpretation of the findings. Owing to frequent personnel changes and diverging priorities, stakeholder engagement required more effort than anticipated, and necessitated a strategic and adaptive approach. This approach had to account for the varying priorities and interests of stakeholders, the evolving framing of the problem, the implications of the findings and the nature of the field, where regulators must operate cautiously, balance interests and respond to critical incidents.
Conclusions
Intersectoral stakeholder engagement in medicine quality research is challenging but beneficial. Engagement contributed to building trust and relationships between researchers and stakeholders, helped forge an intersectoral network focused on medicine quality, exposed the medicine regulator to new methods, inspired stakeholders to take on new roles and make better use of existing data and furthered a research–policy partnership forum on pharmaceutical topics.
... They need an understanding of the ideas, motives, and concerns of others in their local policy contexts and skill in responding to them (Mintrom, 1997). If government leaders working inside state level systems can move beyond seeing themselves as simply implementers of others' decisions (cf., Weiss, 1980), to agents who can influence distributed, coordinated decision making processes to highlight and disrupt inequitable policies (Galloway and Ishimaru, 2015), the vison set forth in the Framework is more likely to be fully realized. ...
Introduction
This study was undertaken to explore the potential of developing a working theory of improvement for creating a more equitable system of science education at the level of a US state. We ask: How can tools from a long-term research-practice partnership support a state team in initiating improvement research toward promoting a more equitable system of science education?
Methods
This design study took place in winter 2024 in a single state. External partners supported leaders of a single state in the US Northeast to support a process of articulating aims, specifying primary and secondary drivers, and identifying change strategies to promote a more equitable system of science education in the state, grounded in the vision of A Framework for K-12 Science Education (National Research Council, 2012). In this paper, we rely on descriptive analyses of joint meetings and a focus group with state leaders describe the tools supporting the process of development, the team’s use of the tools to generate an early draft of the Driver Diagram, and issues surfaced while developing it with a team of interest holders in the state.
Results
Two meanings of equity emerged as significant within the series of meetings: that of the importance of universal access to professional learning and the importance of students having opportunities to experience culturally relevant instruction. The issues surfaced highlighted the need for infrastructures for professional learning to reach a diverse group of interest holders in science, including teachers, school leaders, and district leaders across the state. They also saw curriculum materials that connect to students’ everyday lives and community priorities as key drivers for equitable change in the system, around which professional learning activities should be organized. The team also surfaced several policy changes needed to implement change strategies, only some of which team members felt they had some authority.
Discussion
Where past researchers have observed that equity can disappear as a focus during implementation of reforms, this study found that developing an aim statement and driver diagram helped energize and refocus a team’s implementation efforts geared toward a vision for science teaching and learning that is focused on ensuring all students can engage in meaningful science learning that is culturally and locally relevant to them.
... For example, a survey by Amara, Ouimet, and Landry (2004) found differences in the use of academic evidence by government respondents. The study drew on Weiss (1980) three categories of evidence use: 'instrumental', which is a direct link from evidence to policy; 'conceptual', which shapes policy thinking; and 'symbolic', where evidence is marshalled to advance a political argument. For research arising from universities, respondents described it as at least moderately important for instrumental (40.4%), conceptual (59.5%), and symbolic (51.8%) purposes. ...
Academic expertise is a key pillar of governance processes around the world. A goal of policy and public sector actors is to draw on research to improve decision making, and correspondingly, a goal of public policy and public administration researchers is to provide relevant expertise. It is not clear, however, to what extent these goals are achieved. This study uses the Overton database to analyse the influence of public policy and administration research on policy documents (broadly defined as documents published by policy and public sector organizations). It considers which research is cited by policy documents and which organizations cite research more than others to justify their decisions. The findings show that measuring the influence of academic expertise is not straightforward conceptually or methodologically. However, they emphasise the role of different organization types for achieving a greater correspondence between research and policy. Specifically, our study shows that think tanks use public policy and administration research more often than government organizations when justifying decisions. The findings provide insight into the utility of new policy databases in illuminating how academic experts can influence the ideas and actions of policy and public sector actors.
... This critique is important to reach a more refined understanding of the methodological complexities and the potential pitfalls and consequences for policy decisions such as misunderstandings and simplifications. Weiss has famously termed these consequences "endarkenment" (Weiss, 1980). But endarkenment in this more methodological sense is not at the core of our discussion here. ...
How can we explain the worldwide spread of evidence-based policymaking despite continuous criticism? What are the underlying mechanisms of its persistence on a global scale? This article aims at answering these questions by focusing on the cultural constellations in which evidence is imbued with political as well as epistemic authority. Evidence cultures are discursive and institutional forces (re-)producing both the scientific validation of knowledge and its relevance in policymaking. They need to be understood as self-propagating constellations of interlinking science and policy through practices, discourses and institutionally sedimented regulations. Evidence is the product of chains of practices in which the initial knowledge struggles are gradually made publicly invisible and often inaccessible. The article reconstructs the immunization of evidence cultures from criticism and their silent politics by looking at quantifications, benchmarking and randomized controlled trials as typical cases. To overcome the circularities and closures so characteristic of the evidence culture of evidence-based policymaking, politico-epistemic diversity should be actively promoted.
... knowledge creep), które wpływa na politykę w drodze "decyzji przez nawarstwianie się" (ang. decision by accretion) (Weiss 1980). W podejściu systemowym liczy się nie to, czy każdy istotny akt komunikacyjny lub polityczny jest deliberacją, ale czy odgrywa pozytywną rolę dla całości systemu. ...
Rozdział podsumowuje doświadczenia związane z ramami prawnymi budżetu obywatelskiego (BO) w Polsce. Autor przedstawia skróconą historię rozwoju BO od jego wprowadzenia jako lokalnej innowacji w samorządach, przez jego uregulowanie, a na czasie normalizacji kończąc. Zastanawia się, co zostało z nadziei na to, że budżet obywatelski stanie się narzędziem demokratyzującym funkcjonowanie samorządu poprzez włączanie mieszkańców w dyskusję o sprawach lokalnych. Zauważa liczne błędy związane z obecną formułą i zastanawia się, z czego one wynikają. Szczególną uwagę poświęca roli przepisów krajowych dotyczących budżetu obywatelskiego, które zostały wprowadzone w 2018 r. w ustawach o samorządzie gminnym, powiatowym i województwa. Pomysł uregulowania prawnego BO od początku miał swoich przeciwników i zwolenników. Niemal od razu po ich wprowadzeniu pojawiła się też krytyka wprowadzonych rozwiązań oraz propozycje ich zmian. Autor przedstawia i analizuje różne
postulaty płynące z samorządów oraz ze środowiska osób zajmujących się partycypacją obywatelską, do którego sam należy. Czy ich wprowadzenie może pchnąć budżet obywatelski na nowe tory?
... Weiss argues that many political decisions are taken in non-transparent and complex ways [43]. Many small decisions taken by different persons and organizations taken together form a larger decision. ...
The concept of policy entrepreneurs has gained increasing attention in studies of policy change, including climate policy and governance. It foregrounds the role of agency in understanding policy change. However, agency of policy entrepreneurs in the policy process is political and conceals the power that shapes how public problems and policies are framed and defined. Thus, policy entrepreneurs should be confronted with the challenge of generating legitimacy, accountability, and justice in their actions and the implementation of their targeted policy change. Drawing on political–philosophical theories of liberal and deliberative democracy as well as environmental and ecological democracy this paper outlines a conceptual framework for critical analytical as well as normative research on strategies and impacts of policy entrepreneurs on democratic governance, primarily in climate policy but also more generally. Empirical research on the strategies and impacts of policy entrepreneurs in recent policymaking on climate change mitigation in the EU and Sweden identifies several deficits related to the democratic principles of legitimacy, accountability, and justice. It is found that policy entrepreneurs from different social spheres use cultural–institutional entrepreneurship to influence beliefs and perceptions on problems and policies. In addition, it is found that public sector policy entrepreneurs use structural entrepreneurship on ideological grounds to change existing power relations in climate governance. In all, the paper brings ideology and politics into research on policy entrepreneurs. It is suggested that not only the strategies used, but also the ideologies of the actors that use them, are decisive for the impacts of policy entrepreneurs, and thus, whether their advocacy will adhere to democratic norms and facilitate or hamper a just transition to climate neutrality and sustainability. The paper ends with proposals on how policy entrepreneurs can act more democratically, how to deal with populist policy entrepreneurs wanting to erode democracy, and conditions for climate justice movements to take responsibility and act in a more entrepreneurial way.
... Are they good or bad for democracy? Weiss (1980) argues that many political decisions are taken in non-transparent and complex ways. Many small decisions taken by different persons and organizations taken together form a larger decision. ...
The concept of policy entrepreneurs has gained increasing attention in studies of climate policy and governance since it foregrounds the role of agency in understanding policy change. However, agency of policy entrepreneurs in the policy process is largely political and conceals the power that shapes how public problems and policies are framed and defined. Thus, policy entrepreneurs should be confronted with the challenge of generating legitimacy, accountability and justice of their actions and the implementation of their targeted policy change. Drawing on political-philosophical theories of liberal and deliberative democracy this paper outlines a conceptual framework for critical analytical as well as normative research on strategies and impacts of policy entrepreneurs. Empirical research on the strategies and impacts of policy entrepreneurs in recent policymaking on climate policy and governance in the EU and Sweden identifies several democratic deficits. In all, the paper brings ideology and politics into research on policy entrepreneurs. It is suggested that not only the strategies used, but also the ideologies of actors that use them, is the causal mechanism that links the policy entrepreneurs to the outcomes, and thus if their advocacy will facilitate or hamper a just transition to climate neutrality and sustainability.
... As literature indicates, there is a communication gap between the communities of researchers and decision-makers, and that gap hampers the flow of knowledge (Caplan, 1979). As C. Weiss (1980) pointed out, knowledge does not flow, it at best creeps into decision accretion. Thus, evaluation use remains a major challenge (Palenberg & Paulson, 2020). ...
This chapter addresses the challenge of persuading decision-makers to attentively consider evaluators' insights by exploring effective communication strategies. Drawing inspiration from Chinese pre-imperial political discourse, specifically the Warring States Period (453–221 BCE), we investigate how these ancient techniques can inform contemporary communication in the post-truth era. The chapter is structured into three sections. The first section justifies the selection of the Warring States Period and key texts: Zhanguoce, Zhuangzi, and the Lüshi Chunqiu, and outlines our text analysis approach. We identify three primary communication strategies from these texts. The concluding section links these strategies to contemporary literature on decision-making biases, suggesting their potential to overcome cognitive barriers and improve evaluators' influence.
... Action situations are the social arenas of decision making, where subsystem inputs interact to generate O (McGinnis & Ostrom, 2014). Although action situations can be clearly depicted in the SES framework, they are not easily delimited in situ, where a decision, or action, often results from a diffuse array of inputs without explicit systematic consideration (Weiss, 1980). For our purposes, action situations constitute the dynamic structure of subsystems interacting to generate O that recursively influence the subsystems (McGinnis & Ostrom, 2014), signifying that the SES framework deals with variables that are always undergoing change. ...
... The SRC system also tackles what remains one of the most profound trials of the REF's methodology in terms of reporting impacts typical for SSH fields: the need for "sources to corroborate the impact" (REF2014, n.d.). This is a challenge as it is recognised how SSH research shapes society through diffuse processes, where research is absorbed over longer periods, through "knowledge creep" (Weiss, 1980). SSH research can lead to gradual changes in actors' ways of thinking, which may contribute to discursive shifts and, ultimately, more profound societal changes over time. ...
This chapter explores the question of how societal impact of research is evaluated in
Finland. The main focus of the analysis will scrutinise how evaluation criteria and
procedures take into account the characteristics of impact creation in the social sciences and
humanities. As there is no national research evaluation protocol, societal impact is
considered in different ways in various evaluation procedures, all of which influence the
Finnish academics’ work by creating steering effects. By breaking down these processes
into levels - namely at a national, university, project, and researcher level - and identifying
case study procedures for each, we reveal the ways in which societal impact evaluation
works in Finland.
... Despite a plurality of burgeoning methods, including the "productive interactions" approaches discussed above, assessing the societal impact of research remains notoriously Table 4 Respondent ratings of their own impacts on public policy or public administration through different activities, ordered descending by mean value A rating of 3 corresponded to "the single most important" activity for impact, 2 to a "very important" activity, 1 to a "somewhat important" activity, and 0 to a "not important" activity Full question: "There are many ways, not just publishing, in which people can have a significant impact on policy and administration. (Masood et al., 2020;Weiss, 1980). If this form of common source bias is present, it could inflate association between impact mechanisms involving direct contact (see generally George & Pandey, 2017;Richardson et al., 2009). ...
Using data from an original survey of 409 authors of recent articles in major public administration and policy journals, we investigate the mechanisms whereby academic public administration and policy researchers influence practice and the factors affecting their magnitude of impact through different mechanisms. Through factor analysis, we elucidate four broad “impact channels” through which such researchers influence practice: research uptake, teaching, media engagement, and expert consultation. While researcher motivation to achieve research use by practitioners is significant for most of these channels, demographic characteristics including researcher productivity, rank, career length, gender, and race are less significant. Superior university quality associates positively with achievement of impact through all channels save teaching. Results validate functional grouping of societal impact mechanisms and extend previous findings about associations between motivation, productivity, university quality, and impact of research.
... In cases that were ambiguous or contested, we returned to the original transcript to obtain the fullest possible context, while also leveraging the longitudinal nature of our data by examining the evolution of respondents' views and understandings over time. We also distinguished "conceptual learning," in which the primary evidence is at the individual level and verbal in nature, from purely organizational forms of learning that are reflected in policies, routines, or materials (Coburn et al. 2009;Weiss 1980). ...
... Även om källan till kunskap har betydelse för specifika domänkunskapers validitet, reliabilitet och relevans, får den mindre betydelse så snart man accepterar att kunskap från olika källor integreras i praktiken (se ovan), och i den processen troligen också modifieras. Därjämte har studier om kunskapsanvändning visat att beslutsfattare har svårt att identifiera sina domänkunskapers faktiska ursprung (se exempelvis en klassisk studie av Weiss 1980). I det här sammanhanget är det centralt att påminna sig om att kunskapens källa inte är liktydig med dess innehåll. ...
... Även om källan till kunskap har betydelse för specifika domänkunskapers validitet, reliabilitet och relevans, får den mindre betydelse så snart man accepterar att kunskap från olika källor integreras i praktiken (se ovan), och i den processen troligen också modifieras. Därjämte har studier om kunskapsanvändning visat att beslutsfattare har svårt att identifiera sina domänkunskapers faktiska ursprung (se exempelvis en klassisk studie av Weiss 1980). I det här sammanhanget är det centralt att påminna sig om att kunskapens källa inte är liktydig med dess innehåll. ...
... Även om källan till kunskap har betydelse för specifika domänkunskapers validitet, reliabilitet och relevans, får den mindre betydelse så snart man accepterar att kunskap från olika källor integreras i praktiken (se ovan), och i den processen troligen också modifieras. Därjämte har studier om kunskapsanvändning visat att beslutsfattare har svårt att identifiera sina domänkunskapers faktiska ursprung (se exempelvis en klassisk studie av Weiss 1980). I det här sammanhanget är det centralt att påminna sig om att kunskapens källa inte är liktydig med dess innehåll. ...
... Även om källan till kunskap har betydelse för specifika domänkunskapers validitet, reliabilitet och relevans, får den mindre betydelse så snart man accepterar att kunskap från olika källor integreras i praktiken (se ovan), och i den processen troligen också modifieras. Därjämte har studier om kunskapsanvändning visat att beslutsfattare har svårt att identifiera sina domänkunskapers faktiska ursprung (se exempelvis en klassisk studie av Weiss 1980). I det här sammanhanget är det centralt att påminna sig om att kunskapens källa inte är liktydig med dess innehåll. ...
... Även om källan till kunskap har betydelse för specifika domänkunskapers validitet, reliabilitet och relevans, får den mindre betydelse så snart man accepterar att kunskap från olika källor integreras i praktiken (se ovan), och i den processen troligen också modifieras. Därjämte har studier om kunskapsanvändning visat att beslutsfattare har svårt att identifiera sina domänkunskapers faktiska ursprung (se exempelvis en klassisk studie av Weiss 1980). I det här sammanhanget är det centralt att påminna sig om att kunskapens källa inte är liktydig med dess innehåll. ...
This chapter depicts development evaluation as a theory of social practices, basically based on values and power. It aspires to some impartial building of new knowledge but sometimes with a transformative assumption as well. The community of practices and the more complex triangular interaction between the evaluator, the commissioner and the assesses also participate in the construction of an identity as an industry and the assignment of dedicated roles accordingly, in particular as far as development brokering is concerned.
The idea of evidence-based policy-making is in crisis. On the one hand, it is being disrupted by agonistic partisan polarization and post-truth politics. On the other hand, despite some nostalgia for technocracy, converging trends in political science and theory downplay the authoritative role of expertise, while emotions and self-interest receive positive reappraisals. This is most clearly visible in the evolution of deliberative democratic theory. In order to synthesize these developments, we present an integrated framework of the three inputs of governance: expertise, self-interest and emotions. We discuss and systematize nondeliberative and deliberative ways of considering these three inputs. The latter include: meaningful and contextualized representation of expertise; deliberative negotiation on parties’ self-interests; as well as emotional testimonies, storytelling, bridging rhetoric etc. The framework highlights the composite nature of political discourse (as an interplay between the three inputs), serving as a comprehensive tool for policy analysis and a guide for institutional design.
In Ireland, as elsewhere, there has been growing recognition around the importance of using research evidence to inform educational policy and practice at both a national government and individual school level. Despite such importance, there is currently a dearth of empirical, peer-reviewed studies regarding the use of research evidence in the Irish education system. With this in mind, we conducted semi-structured interviews in Autumn 2023 with seven educational researchers based in higher education and ten teachers based in both primary and secondary schools. The purpose was to examine how research is utilised at both the individual- and systems-levels in Irish schools. In terms of findings, researchers and teachers noted there was insufficient dissemination, access, and utilisation of research in schools. Participants suggested that the use of research evidence in Ireland focused on the dissemination of the research process (e.g., how to conduct research as part of self-evaluation processes) rather than the dissemination of research findings (e.g., results from efficacy studies). However, all participants acknowledged that the use of research evidence to inform practice is nuanced and complex, and is dependent upon many factors such as the type of research (e.g., methodology, subject area) and the context (e.g., national policies in Ireland). Implications for research and practice, as well as potential pitfalls when using research to inform policymaking, are discussed.
Academic expertise is a key pillar of governance processes around the world. A goal of policy and public sector actors is to draw on research to improve decision making, and correspondingly, a goal of public policy and public administration researchers is to provide relevant expertise. It is not clear, however, to what extent these goals are achieved. This study uses the Overton database to analyse the influence of public policy and administration research on policy documents (broadly defined as documents published by policy and public sector organisations). It considers which research is cited by policy documents and which organisations cite research more than others to justify their decisions. The findings show that measuring the influence of academic expertise is not straightforward conceptually or methodologically. However, they emphasise the role of different organisation types for achieving a greater correspondence between research and policy. Specifically, our study shows that think tanks use public policy and administration research more often than government organisations when justifying decisions. The findings provide insight into the utility of new policy databases in illuminating how academic experts can influence the ideas and actions of policy and public sector actors.
Varför påstår människor saker om hur tillståndet i samhället är och borde vara? Mot vilken bakgrund görs anspråk på att veta vilken väg som är den rätta?
I Den svenska berusningspolitken undersöker författarna detta genom att gräva djupt i över hundra års historia. Vi får följa utvecklingen från förbudsomröstningar, forskning, styrning, experimentell narkotikaförskrivning till nutidens debatter om Systembolagets framtid. Dessa exempel belyser hur Sveriges restriktiva syn på berusningsmedel har varit allt annat än enhetlig. Innovativa lösningar har prövats och berusningsproblemet har betraktats på olika sätt beroende på substans och tidens normer.
Boken visar att kunskap oavsett om den är erövrad, påstådd eller erfaren ofta gynnar dem som har en agenda för sitt agerande, vilket synliggör att kunskapsbaserad politik ofta består av politikbaserad kunskap. Det här är en bok som manar till eftertanke om hur vi hanterar kunskap om berusning och samhälle.
This chapter reviews the relevant discourse among Sub-Saharan African universities, particularly the connection between the universities and society. Drawing from (Reading’s typology, 1996), this chapter proposes that African universities, similarly to their global counterparts, have entered a phase where the University of Culture and the University of Excellence are unified through the knowledge economy discourse. Manifested in a renewed interest in social relevance and responsibility, universities have entered the age of Relevance: a relevance that is broadly conceived, striding economic, social, political, environmental, and cultural concerns. This relevance discourse has also permeated all pillars of university functions—teaching, research and service—as well as management styles and ethos. This chapter proposes that this broad notion of relevance is particularly appropriate for this context, aligning with the continent’s deep roots in a collective culture.
While policy information utilization in the Public Service has been the subject of investigation, little is known in Canada about how legislators seek out knowledge or respond to information provided by external actors. Often described as lacking influence within the policy process, the average Canadian MP is assumed to engage little in policy-making. Based on a survey conducted amongst Members of the Canadian Parliament in April 2013, this paper investigates how MPs engage with both internal and external sources of information and what are some of the potential factors that explain MPs’ utilization of policy knowledge. Findings indicate that internal sources of information are the most regularly consulted, yet that amongst external providers, academic research is valued most highly. In line with recent literature on policy networks, results suggest that personal contact between policy actors is one of the most important mechanisms to ensure a positive reception of information. The overall conclusion is that MPs continue to have a strong interest in policy and respond positively to lobbying, whether these are the efforts of industry associations or academics disseminating their research.
The measuring social service organization – the use of individual-based systematic follow-up of interventions For the past two decades, national policy in Sweden has repeatedly argued that social services should follow the principles of evidence-based practice (EBP) and that intervention effects should be informed by research. Conversely, there is a recurring critique against the “EBP movement” concerning a too narrow view of evidence and limited applicability in social services. Despite these differences, common perceptions advocate a need for local and systematic production of knowledge about the significance of interventions for service users. Individual-based systematic follow-ups (ISF) of interventions aggregated at group level could be a relatively undisputed path towards an increased knowledge base of social services. Therefore, the article examines and problematizes different dimensions of how ISF is practiced and how results come into use in social services. The research was conducted within social service units providing non-institutional treatment for children, young people, and families in two Swedish municipalities. Both have several years of experience using the ISF models LOKE (Local Evidence) and FIT (Feedback-Informed Treatment) respectively. The empirical material consists of 8 observations, 45 documents, and 21 interviews with family therapists, heads of units and departments, executive directors, and development officers. The findings reveal a wide range of types of use of ISF, which both overlap and presuppose each other and where the use differs depending on the user’s organizational level and role. Although the results are rarely used for development purposes in distinct ways, it is noted that the ISF models and their results play important roles within the organizations, for example strategic, legitimacy-enhancing and conceptual perspective-giving, which also affect work within the units.
The science of human development informs our thinking about children and their development. The Brain Development Revolution asks how and why has brain development become the major lens for understanding child development, and its consequences. It describes the 1997 I Am Your Child campaign that engaged public attention through a sophisticated media communications effort, a White House conference, and other events. It explores the campaign's impact, including voter initiatives to fund early childhood programs and a national campaign for prekindergarten education, but also several missed opportunities. The study examines why brain development compels our attention, why we are – but shouldn't be – neurodeterminists, and the challenges of communicating developmental brain science. This book examines the framing of the brain development story, the selectivity of the messaging, and overpromising the results of early programs. Lastly, it discusses proposals for how science communication can be improved to better serve children and the public.
In this article, we present a conceptual framework for studying research impact focusing on the foundations that need to be in place to accelerate an observable change of policy, practice or behaviour. The article investigates the relationship between micro-impacts and societal change, and how smaller impacts scale into larger cascades of end effects and value creation. We define micro-impacts as interactions and connections where information is exchanged between a researcher or research group and external audiences, stakeholders or co-producers. Micro-impacts are elements in highly complex causal relations between research activities and larger societal macroshifts. We argue that even though these causal relations are complex, micro-impacts are tangible and observable and should be integrated in research evaluations as constitutive elements of causal impact relations leading to larger macroshifts. We suggest a working model for studying micro-impacts and for reflecting on the causality of impacts by drawing on contributions from philosophy of causation. A proper understanding of causation is a prerequisite for eventually understanding and capturing research impact, which itself is a prerequisite for responsible research assessment and planning.
The article deals with two questions: (1) Is scientific knowledge from the fields of human resource management and organisation science used in an instrumental mode to solve a knowledge problem or is it used in a political and legitimising mode to solve conflict in collective decision making processes? (2) What determines the character and the extent of knowledge utilisation? Based on a model of individual and collective decision making processes, the following propositions are made: in most cases practitioners do not demand scientific knowledge because they see their own knowledge as sufficient for solving the knowledge problem. But on the other hand scientific knowledge is often functional in solving the conflict problem. Under the condition that science does not produce cognitive dissonance it makes a contribution especially by irrefutable, legitimising theories and data conforming to the users interests. The theoretical propositions will be exemplified by empirical results reported in the literature. ______________________________________________________________________ * Professor Dr. Werner Nienhüser, Jg. 1953, Lehrstuhl für Allgemeine Betriebswirtschaftsleh-re, insb. Personalwirtschaft an der Universität-GH Essen. Arbeitsgebiete: Theoriefundierung der Personalwirtschaftslehre und-forschung; Macht und Personal, Personalstrategien, Organisationsdemographie. ** Artikel eingegangen: 12.11.96 / revidierte Fassung eingegangen und akzeptiert: 25.6.97.
The challenges of transforming our educational systems to fulfill enduring needs for equity, justice, and responsiveness will take a multitude of partners. Research-practice partnerships (RPPs) arrange collaboration and engagement with research to bring about shared commitments and resources to tackle these challenges. Just as sociocultural and political dynamics can shape educational politics generally, without close and intentional attention to the politics of starting, operating, and sustaining RPPs, those political dynamics can potentially derail a partnership. In this article, we consider the emerging research on the politics in and around RPPs pursuing educational transformation and propose a framework to reflect these dynamics. To introduce this special issue, we also deconstruct RPP politics into four major phases of RPP work, and describe the articles addressing each phase. This compilation of articles contributes a wealth of expertise and evidence illuminating how politics can shape both RPPs and their goals of equity and transformation.
Knowledge‐based policy influence organizations such as think tanks or policy hubs seek to develop public value through the kinds of knowledge utilization activities in which they are engaged. But what exactly do they do, how do they do it and how does this result in public value? While historically public managers have long been assumed to be the principal purveyors of public value, now many policy actors in their various activities claim to seek to enhance public value and can do so in a number of distinct ways requiring a reassessment of the kinds of activities and efforts they are engaged in. This paper looks at key differences between long-established organizations like think tanks and newcomers like policy labs to see how they differ in focus upon co-creation, co-design, and co-production in their search for public value
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