Policy Experts Research Articles

Comparing evidence use in parliaments: the interplay of beliefs, traditions, and practices in the UK and Germany

Abstract This article draws on rich qualitative data from two national parliaments—the UK House of Commons and the German Bundestag—to examine knowledge practices in political institutions. This is an important topic, not only because parliaments play a significant role in democratic decision-making, but because it sheds light on debates about how such decision-making is based on and interacts with knowledge and evidence. By adopting an interpretive analytical approach, I analyze the ways in which those practices are shaped by the beliefs and values of parliamentary actors. Indeed, in better understanding everyday practices, beliefs, and ideational traditions, it also contributes to better explaining how components of political and parliamentary cultures contribute to knowledge use more broadly. In the House of Commons, MPs draw on a highly trusted and independent parliamentary administration; meanwhile, committees have become fruitful avenues for MPs to develop policy expertise and engage with knowledge and evidence in a non-partisan way. In the German Bundestag, MPs also develop policy expertise—in fact, they interpret their role as specialists in a “working” parliament—but their knowledge practices are more openly partisan through the structuring role of parliamentary party groups and the skepticism of “neutral” advice from research services. Consequently, committees tend to be sites of political bargaining and conflict, rather than evidence-gathering. In both cases, parliaments’ knowledge practices are shaped by wider webs of beliefs about the role of MPs within the institutions. This suggests that knowledge use in political and policy settings is shaped by broader cultural factors.

Flexible Estimation of Policy Preferences for Witnesses in Committee Hearings

Abstract Theoretical expectations regarding communication patterns between legislators and outside agents, such as lobbyists, agency officials, or policy experts, often depend on the relationship between legislators’ and agents’ preferences. However, legislators and nonelected outside agents evaluate the merits of policies using distinct criteria and considerations. We develop a measurement method that flexibly estimates the policy preferences for a class of outside agents—witnesses in committee hearings—separate from that of legislators’ and compute their preference distance across the two dimensions. In our application to Medicare hearings, we find that legislators in the U.S. Congress heavily condition their questioning of witnesses on preference distance, showing that legislators tend to seek policy information from like-minded experts in committee hearings. We do not find this result using a conventional measurement placing both actors on one dimension. The contrast in results lends support for the construct validity of our proposed preference measures.

ROMPER: The RAND/USC OPTIC Method for Policy Expert Ratings

We developed an expert panel approach for identifying expert views on the effectiveness and implementability of population-level policy interventions. ROMPER—the RAND/USC OPTIC Method for Policy Expert Ratings—involves an online, three-round, modified-Delphi process:•Experts rate and comment on policies according to domains of the Grading of Recommendations Assessment, Development and Evaluation (GRADE) Evidence-to-Decision framework.•To identify consensus on policy effectiveness and implementability, expert ratings are analyzed using the Inter-Percentile Range Adjusted for Symmetry (IPRAS) technique from the RAND/UCLA Appropriateness Method and visualized using a forest plot. To explain consensus, expert comments are analyzed using reflexive thematic analysis and reported following the Standards for Reporting Qualitative Research.•To provide actionable information for decisionmakers, each policy is summarized in a “Policy Profile” adapted from GRADEPro Evidence-to-Decision tables.We validated ROMPER in two studies that successfully recruited the targeted sample size, retained experts through all three rounds, and examined consensus on which policies are (not) effective and implementable. ROMPER protocols, materials, data, and code are openly available on the Open Science Framework with Creative Commons licensing for replication and reuse. ROMPER provides a validated, replicable, open access approach for eliciting expert views on both policy effectiveness and implementability—and for summarizing (lack of) consensus specifically for policymakers.

A Typology of Social Media Use by Human Service Nonprofits: Mixed Methods Study.

Nonprofit organizations are increasingly using social media to improve their communication strategies with the broader population. However, within the domain of human service nonprofits, there is hesitancy to fully use social media tools, and there is limited scope among organizational personnel in applying their potential beyond self-promotion and service advertisement. There is a pressing need for greater conceptual clarity to support education and training on the varied reasons for using social media to increase organizational outcomes. This study leverages the potential of Twitter (subsequently rebranded as X [X Corp]) to examine the online communication content within a sample (n=133) of nonprofit sexual assault (SA) centers in Canada. To achieve this, we developed a typology using a qualitative and supervised machine learning model for the automatic classification of tweets posted by these centers. Using a mixed methods approach that combines machine learning and qualitative analysis, we manually coded 10,809 tweets from 133 SA centers in Canada, spanning the period from March 2009 to March 2023. These manually labeled tweets were used as the training data set for the supervised machine learning process, which allowed us to classify 286,551 organizational tweets. The classification model based on supervised machine learning yielded satisfactory results, prompting the use of unsupervised machine learning to classify the topics within each thematic category and identify latent topics. The qualitative thematic analysis, in combination with topic modeling, provided a contextual understanding of each theme. Sentiment analysis was conducted to reveal the emotions conveyed in the tweets. We conducted validation of the model with 2 independent data sets. Manual annotation of 10,809 tweets identified seven thematic categories: (1) community engagement, (2) organization administration, (3) public awareness, (4) political advocacy, (5) support for others, (6) partnerships, and (7) appreciation. Organization administration was the most frequent segment, and political advocacy and partnerships were the smallest segments. The supervised machine learning model achieved an accuracy of 63.4% in classifying tweets. The sentiment analysis revealed a prevalence of neutral sentiment across all categories. The emotion analysis indicated that fear was predominant, whereas joy was associated with the partnership and appreciation tweets. Topic modeling identified distinct themes within each category, providing valuable insights into the prevalent discussions surrounding SA and related issues. This research contributes an original theoretical model that sheds light on how human service nonprofits use social media to achieve their online organizational communication objectives across 7 thematic categories. The study advances our comprehension of social media use by nonprofits, presenting a comprehensive typology that captures the diverse communication objectives and contents of these organizations, which provide content to expand training and education for nonprofit leaders to connect and engage with the public, policy experts, other organizations, and potential service users.

SOCIAL POLICY REGARDING VETERANS, PEOPLE WITH DISABILITIES AND OTHER VULNERABLE POPULATION GROUPS

The study focuses on evaluating and analyzing social policies designed to enhance the quality of life for veterans, disabled individuals, and other vulnerable population groups. Emphasis is placed on the effectiveness and adaptability of existing programs and initiatives, along with identifying potential directions for further development of social support for the mentioned citizen categories. The research adopts a comprehensive approach, incorporating the analysis of legislative frameworks, examination of statistical data, and conducting empirical investigations. Comparative analysis methods, surveys, and interviews with representatives of vulnerable groups and experts in social policy are employed. The social policy directed towards veterans, people with disabilities, and other vulnerable population groups is an integral component of the structure of modern society. Providing support to these categories of citizens holds significant humanitarian importance, as it reflects universal values and contributes to addressing issues of social justice. Systematic efforts to create equal opportunities for vulnerable groups foster inclusive development, promoting the construction of a more just and balanced society. The work not only addresses existing challenges in the realm of social support for veterans, disabled individuals, and other vulnerable groups but also proposes specific recommendations for improving assistance programs. This includes exploring opportunities to enhance the accessibility of social services and stimulate the integration of these groups into society. The findings of the research underscore the necessity for actively implementing innovative approaches in social policy, taking into account the individual needs and capabilities of vulnerable groups. The proposed recommendations can serve as a foundation for future policy decisions and improvements in the social support system for relevant population categories. Special attention is given to the development of professional rehabilitation and training programs aimed at integrating individuals into the workforce. In the context of vulnerable population groups, there is a highlighted necessity to expand social protection for the elderly, single parents, and individuals with disabilities. The recommendations also aim to improve mechanisms of civic participation and partnerships between the government, civil society, and businesses to ensure the effectiveness and sustainability of social programs. Overall, the study emphasizes the importance of revisiting and improving social policy in response to contemporary challenges and the diverse needs of different population groups. The developed recommendations can serve as a basis for strategic planning and enhancing the overall social system.

Breaking Barriers: An Innovative Tool to Assess the National and City-Level Physical Activity Policy Development to Practice Disconnect.

Population-level physical activity increases are improbable without intersectoral collaboration across government levels and sectors to develop and implement physical activity promotion policies. This study aims to provide information about the development of the Interaction between National and Local Government Levels in Development and Implementation of Physical Activity Policies Tool (INTEGRATE PA-Pol). A framework was created to examine the development and implementation of national and subnational physical activity policies and the (mis)alignment between government levels. The work was conducted in 3 phases: (1)a scoping review was carried out to identify local government physical activity promotion policies and instruments for assessing them, (2)an expert group designed 6 questionnaires, and (3)cognitive response testing was employed for validity testing and item modification with a panel of research and policy experts. The INTEGRATE PA-Pol Tool consists of 6 questionnaires assessing how national and subnational governments collaborate to develop and implement physical activity promotion policies. This tool can assist in better understanding the development and implementation of a public policy monitoring system that will allow for benchmarking and priority setting to comprehend how physical activity promotion policies are designed and executed.

A multi-stakeholder perspective on the development of key competencies for sustainability in Education for Sustainable Development at school

A range of stakeholder groups are involved with fostering Education for Sustainable Development (ESD). It is crucial that their views on the aims of ESD are aligned. This is a prerequisite for coordinated integration of ESD into the formal education system. However, research has not explored whether stakeholder groups have similar ideas about the aims and learning outcomes of ESD. This study investigates the differences and similarities in stakeholders’ opinions on the sustainability key competencies students should develop. We conducted 15 interviews with German experts in ESD practice, policy, and science, analyzing the results deductively using Qualitative Content Analysis within the UNESCO framework of Key Competencies for Sustainability. An inductive approach was used to identify aspects and concepts of competence that went beyond this framework. Most of the competencies mentioned could be assigned to the UNESCO framework, but we identified the additional competency of participating at the political level as being important for ESD. The experts also identified several other concepts. The three stakeholder groups emphasized different competencies and concepts, probably due to their differing professional backgrounds. However, similarities predominated, and the experts largely agreed on which competencies should be developed. Structural difficulties with integrating ESD into the education system are therefore not likely to be the result of fundamental differences in perspective between the three stakeholder groups on the aims of ESD. However, their different frames of reference might lead to miscommunication and misunderstanding, which could impede integration. This aspect needs thorough examination in the future.

Education Policies and Practices for Ensuring Quality Education in Nepal

Background: Nepal's education policies and practices focus on enhancing the quality of education by implementing guidelines, regulations, and initiatives established by the government and educational institutions. The policies and practices are carefully crafted to address various aspects of the education system, ensuring that all students can access equitable, thorough, and effective educational opportunities. Objectives: This study examines the education policies and practices implemented in Nepal to ensure high-quality education. Method: An analytical and descriptive research design has been applied to analyze the data. Data were collected through a comprehensive field survey. Questionnaires were distributed to students, teachers, and guardians, while head teachers were interviewed. Additionally, policy experts and local leaders participated in a focused group discussion. Results: The study found a strong correlation between various dimensions of quality education and the overall quality of education. Specifically, motivation, teaching-learning pedagogy, school environment, and training and development were found to be statistically significant in improving the quality of education. However, no significant relationship was found between resources and the quality of education. The regression results also showed similar findings. Conclusion: Based on the hypothesis, it can be inferred that there was a positive impact of motivation, teaching-learning pedagogy, school environment, and training and development on the quality of education, even in primary and basic education settings. The study suggests that resources do not have a significant impact on the quality of education in primary and basic education. Novelty: The researcher has expected that by implementing education acts, policies, and programs, Nepal's school education will be improved ensuring education quality.

The European Pillar of Social Rights: How strategic agency shaped the European Union's flagship social initiative

AbstractThe European Pillar of Social Rights sits at the fulcrum of EU social policymaking. This article aims to explore its legal and political character, how it was shaped in the adoption process and its place within Social Europe. The key argument is that the Social Pillar builds on but also critically modifies previous initiatives present within the broader EU governance framework, notably in the European Semester. Key political actors like Commission President Jean‐Claude Juncker and parliamentary rapporteur Maria João Rodrigues contributed to the adoption process not only through their long‐held political views but also by bringing to bear their own critical reflections on previous EU initiatives. Methodologically, the article relies on 15 interviews with policy experts and uses an interdisciplinary approach based on legal analysis, process tracing and actor‐centred constructivist theory. The contribution of the article is threefold: (1) it helps to better understand the EU's social flagship initiative and the modifications of its governance approach compared with previous initiatives, (2) it sheds new light on the tensions and opportunities of social policymaking within the EU and (3) it shows the added value of actor‐centred constructivist approaches on a theoretical level.

"There's room to do more": a mixed-methods study of the Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) diversion program and intimate partner violence in Georgia.

Intimate partner violence (IPV) is a risk factor for homicides and suicides. As poverty is both a predictor and a consequence of IPV, interventions that alleviate poverty-related stressors could mitigate IPV-related harms. Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF), a monthly cash assistance program, is one such potential intervention. In the state of Georgia, the TANF diversion program, which provides a non-recurrent lump-sum payment to deter individuals from monthly TANF benefits, is an understudied component of TANF that may influence the effectiveness of state TANF programs in supporting IPV survivors. This study quantifies and qualifies the role of Georgia's TANF diversion program in shaping IPV-related mortality. This study relies on a mixed-methods sequential explanatory design. Using data from the Georgia Violent Death Reporting System (GA-VDRS), an interrupted time series analysis was conducted to estimate the effect of TANF diversion on IPV-related homicides and suicides. Semi-structured interviews were then administered with TANF policy experts and advocates, welfare caseworkers, and benefit recipients (n = 20) to contextualize the quantitative findings. The interrupted time series analysis revealed three fewer IPV-related deaths per month after implementing TANF diversion, compared to pre-diversion forecasts (coefficient = -3.003, 95%CI [-5.474, -0.532]). However, the qualitative interviews illustrated three themes regarding TANF diversion: (1) it is a "band-aid" solution to the access barriers associated with TANF, (2) it provides short-term relief to recipients making hard choices, and (3) its limitations reveal avenues for policy change. While diversion has the potential to reduce deaths from IPV, it may be an insufficient means of mitigating the poverty-related contributors to IPV harms. Its limitations unveil the need for improved programs to better support IPV survivors.

Uneven internationalisation of higher education in the European Union: a case study of two universities in Czechia and Slovakia

AbstractThis article presents the rationale for having a symposium on internationalisation of higher education (IHE) and introduces the collection of articles. It details examples of two universities from Central Europe to illustrate uneven development in internationalisation, including the achievements in and barriers of internationalisation. The paper sets these examples into the context of existing publications on IHE and suggests that teaching faculty members are key for enhancing internationalisation, in particular their teaching abilities and commitment to support internationalisation. It warns that IHE may divide Europe into two profoundly different parts, contrary to the expectation of policy makers and experts. It concludes by recommending academic development as an effective way to increase academic teachers’ competences and willingness to advance internationalisation in higher education.

Framing Long Covid through Patient activism in the United States: Patient, Provider, Academic, and Policymaker Views

In 2020, when COVID-19 patients first recognized their complex and progressive symptoms, patient activists defined “Long Covid” on social media. While patient support groups are by no means new, the predominance of online support groups and those leveraging the power of social media has become a defining characteristic of Long Covid. In this article, we argue that naming Long Covid served as a powerful conduit of legitimacy for patient activists in media, medicine, and policy. We conducted 57 in-depth qualitative interviews with patients (n = 22), clinicians (n = 20), and policy and academic experts (n = 15). We found naming was not a primary area of contention. In contrast, patients found pride and a sense of identity within the terms. Many clinicians struggled with diagnostics because Long Covid lacks clear biological tests, while patients were consistently disappointed by the lack of positive tests and clarity around their symptomatology. The heterogeneity of the Long Covid experience, as well as the diversity of symptoms, further provides opportunities for contestation and disbelief among clinicians and policymakers not only in diagnostics but also in disability rights. Thus, the power of patient activism has transformed how the condition is perceived among and between patients, clinicians, policymakers, and the media in unprecedented ways that will likely have longstanding impacts on how IACCs are viewed in medicine and the public alike.

Expertise, policy advice, and policy advisory systems in an open, participatory, and populist era: New challenges to research and practice

AbstractThis article examines the themes of policy advice, expertise, and policy advisory systems. It argues that persistent challenges and more emergent trends involving their intersection can be effectively understood through the lenses of instrumentality, authority, and adaptability. In the wake of renewed questions about the continued viability of longstanding public administration advisory arrangements, these themes help locate new pressures on those arrangement such as those linked to technological developments, shifting conceptions of expertise, and growing recognition of the challenges of managing systems of advice. These themes help facilitate continued engagement with persistent challenges linked to adequate policy capacity, the role of the public service advice, and question of rigour, legitimacy, and the democratic contexts of policy advising.Points for practitioners Technological innovations and turbulent governance arrangements have renewed debates around technocracy, democratic control and participation, the role of evidence, and normative and ethical considerations inherent in the generation and use of policy advice. Policy capacity remains important for well‐functioning policy advisory systems. It has itself become multifaceted reflecting not only important differences in types of expertise and policy advice, but also concerns around its management and deployment in varying governance contexts. The competencies required for policy workers inside and outside of government should reflect changes in the role of expertise and evolving systems of policy advice.

Developing a Common Global Baseline for Nucleic Acid Synthesis Screening.

Nucleic acid synthesis is a powerful tool that has revolutionized the life sciences. However, the misuse of synthetic nucleic acids could pose a serious threat to public health and safety. There is a need for international standards for nucleic acid synthesis screening to help prevent the misuse of this technology. We outline current barriers to the adoption of screening, which include the cost of developing screening tools and resources, adapting to existing commercial practices, internationalizing screening, and adapting screening to benchtop nucleic acid synthesis devices. To address these challenges, we then introduce the Common Mechanism for DNA Synthesis Screening, which was developed in consultation with a technical consortium of experts in DNA synthesis, synthetic biology, biosecurity, and policy, with the aim of addressing current barriers. The Common Mechanism software uses a variety of methods to identify sequences of concern, identify taxonomic best matches to regulated pathogens, and identify benign genes that can be cleared for synthesis. Finally, we describe outstanding challenges in the development of screening practices. The Common Mechanism is a step toward ensuring the safe and responsible use of synthetic nucleic acids. It provides a baseline capability that overcomes challenges to nucleic acid synthesis screening and provides a solution for broader international adoption of screening practices. The Common Mechanism is a valuable tool for preventing the misuse of synthetic nucleic acids. It is a critical step toward ensuring the safe and responsible use of this powerful technology.

555 Design Lab Methodology Supports Innovation in Clinical Trials

OBJECTIVES/GOALS: Since 2017, we have used the Design Lab methodology to support investigators taking innovative approaches to clinical effectiveness trial design. To date we have held 12 Design Labs and this year we are creating a handbook that will support dissemination of this approach across the Clinical and Translational Science Award consortium. METHODS/STUDY POPULATION: The Clinical Trial Design Lab brings together a multi-stakeholder group to consider innovative and impactful clinical trial designs. An investigative team is selected from a competitive pool of applicants, after which expert-led consultations support the investigator team to think about evidence generation in the context of the full treatment development pathway. Teams map the stakeholders at each step of this pathway (e.g. clinicians, patients, researchers, funders, industry experts, policy experts, regulatory experts, payers) and consider innovative design solutions. These consultations prepare investigators for an event that involves all stakeholders in a structured and facilitated discussion about trial designs that generate the best evidence and increase potential for health impact. RESULTS/ANTICIPATED RESULTS: The result of our work will be a set of Design Lab principles, a handbook with templates that support stakeholder mapping and structured discussions, and educational resources to accompany the handbook. The work is supported by a literature review that characterizes the multi-component processes included in the Design Lab, situates them within the larger context of team science interventions, and lays groundwork for the development of process metrics and impact evaluation criteria to assess the Design Lab method. In this poster presentation, we will share our multi-component broadly engaged team science approach, provide a brief outline of the principles and educational resources, and include an early version of the evaluation criteria. DISCUSSION/SIGNIFICANCE: Broadly engaged team science supports innovative thinking about study design and is especially important in the development of clinical trials. We have grown the Design Lab program of work over the past seven years and are now able to characterize our team science methodology and support others to use this approach to innovate for health impact.

강원특별자치도 무장애 관광 활성화 방안 연구

Purpose - Focusing on the FGI research method, the current status and issues of barrier-free tourism in Gangwon State were identified, and specific activation plans were derived Design/methodology/approach - This study conducted in-depth interviews with 20 experts related to the tourism industry. The issues, current status, and activation plan of barrier-free tourism in Gangwon State recognized by experts in tourism policy, tourism administration, tourism management, and tourism service industry were derived. Findings - First, the tendency of businesses to be promoted based on the non-disabled by not recognizing the weak as the main tourism demand group, second, confusion caused by the unification of terms related to barrier-free tourism, third, lack of finding tourism constraints subdivided according to the type and degree of disability, fourth, tourism information and evaluation indicators provided by prioritizing the convenience of suppliers rather than consumers, and fifth, the nature of the project focused on improving access to physical infrastructure. Subsequently, the results of the analysis of the plan to revitalize the barrier-free tourism industry in Gangwon State were as follows. First, education and programs to improve disability awareness appropriate to local conditions were activated, second, related information was unified and project sustainability was improved by creating a control tower for the barrier-free tourism industry at the provincial level, third, to overcome the employment crisis based on finding locally tailored jobs related to tourism care professionals, and fourth, to continuously secure quantitative and qualitative data and establish utilization plans. Research implications or Originality - First, it presents theoretical implications for related fields by providing issues and activation measures related to barrier-free tourism from the perspective of experts who are still lacking in research in academia. The practical implications are that based on the opinions of experts working in the tourism field, more specific issues of the barrier-free tourism industry in the province were presented, and policy and practical solutions were presented accordingly, suggesting realistic alternatives that can be carried out in the actual field.

Use case cards: a use case reporting framework inspired by the European AI Act

Despite recent efforts by the Artificial Intelligence (AI) community to move towards standardised procedures for documenting models, methods, systems or datasets, there is currently no methodology focused on use cases aligned with the risk-based approach of the European AI Act (AI Act). In this paper, we propose a new framework for the documentation of use cases that we call use case cards, based on the use case modelling included in the Unified Markup Language (UML) standard. Unlike other documentation methodologies, we focus on the intended purpose and operational use of an AI system. It consists of two main parts: firstly, a UML-based template, tailored to allow implicitly assessing the risk level of the AI system and defining relevant requirements, and secondly, a supporting UML diagram designed to provide information about the system-user interactions and relationships. The proposed framework is the result of a co-design process involving a relevant team of EU policy experts and scientists. We have validated our proposal with 11 experts with different backgrounds and a reasonable knowledge of the AI Act as a prerequisite. We provide the 5 use case cards used in the co-design and validation process. Use case cards allows framing and contextualising use cases in an effective way, and we hope this methodology can be a useful tool for policy makers and providers for documenting use cases, assessing the risk level, adapting the different requirements and building a catalogue of existing usages of AI.

Improving strategic planning for nature: Panacea or pandora’s box for the built and natural environment?

This paper assesses how strategic planning for nature can be improved for England’s built and natural environment using mainstreaming and landscape-scale concepts. Whilst both concepts feature in academic literature, there has been limited attention on their role as catalytic agents for strategic planning. Addressing this gap, evidence is used from two stakeholder workshops involving 62 senior policy experts managing a range of operational and hypothetical strategic spatial planning challenges. The results reveal a significantly weakened strategic planning arena characterised by policy disintegration, short termism and uncertainty. Key findings highlight the fallacy of pursuing strategic planning for nature in isolation from wider policy integration fusing environmental, economic and social components from the outset. Current barriers to progress include institutional inertia, technocratic vocabularies and neoliberalist priorities exacerbated by a weak underlying theory. Conversely opportunities for mainstreaming processes may help knowledge generation and exchange within transdisciplinary partnerships, whilst landscape scale thinking can improve understanding of issues using natures inherent geometry transforming processes and outcomes. The paper recommends the adoption of strategic planning pathways using mainstreaming and landscape-scale approaches working in tandem. Whilst focused on the English context, our findings are transferable to other planning systems in the Global North, especially those championing neoliberal market led policies.

Cheap Tweets?: Crisis Signaling in the Age of Twitter

Abstract World leaders are increasingly turning to social media to engage in crisis signaling. This raises important questions about the effects of emerging communication technologies on international politics. In particular, are threats issued via social media seen as more or less credible than those issued through traditional channels such as government press releases? Using survey experiments fielded both on unique samples of foreign policy experts in the United States, India, and Singapore and on US public samples, we find that threat medium generally generates no significant difference in perceived credibility among national security experts and members of the public. Put differently, tweeted threats are not seen as “cheaper talk” than threats issued through more traditional channels. This project extends work on crisis signaling, elite decision-making, and the domestic politics of international relations by taking into account an increasingly common technology.

Mainstreaming social sciences expertise in UK environment policy and practice organisations: retrospect and prospect

Building upon the concept of mainstreaming social sciences within conservation, we consider their mainstreaming, and so integration, within UK environment policy and practice (EPP) organisations. The paper responds to increasing calls to recognise the essential role of social sciences in addressing global environmental crises across policy, practice and research. An actor-oriented approach was deployed, producing empirical information from a multi-stage, co-designed, collaborative study involving 19 social scientists from a range of EPP organisations, to understand how they experience the mainstreaming of social sciences. The findings contribute to debates about the politics of knowledge in organisational domains other than those focused on research, specifically EPP organisations. Evidence was found of recent positive changes in how social sciences are perceived, resourced and utilised within EPP, as well as examples of positive impact. However, although EPP organisations are recognising the opportunities that social sciences expertise brings, in practice social sciences still face barriers to effective integration. Many of the challenges faced by the social sciences within academic multi-discipline research (e.g., late, narrow, or selective enrolment) were also experienced in EPP organisations, along with some unique challenges. Informed by the findings, the paper proposes a set of integration indicators designed to assess organisational progress toward addressing the observed challenges. It is recommended that these indicators are employed at a strategic level by EPP organisations seeking to better integrate social sciences expertise into their work.