Policy Engagement Research Articles

Establishing a university-partnership model to #EliminateBookDeserts in urban communities

ABSTRACT The purpose of this theory-to-practice paper on community engagement within education is to focus on developing a new collaborative model within a university-school partnership to address book deserts. Drawing on the historical work of previous scholars regarding equity, policy, and community engagement, this article adds to the existing research regarding long-term initiatives to eliminate book deserts. The focus of this work includes details of an ongoing community engagement initiative with a community development literacy partnership model to build school and classroom libraries in underserved communities of color. Implications for scholars, activists, and community advocates who focus on social action surrounding community development are discussed and delineated.

Protocol for scoping review to identify and characterise surgery, obstetric, trauma and anaesthesia care in Ugandan health policy databases

IntroductionDiseases addressed by surgical, obstetric, trauma and anaesthesia (SOTA) care are rising globally due to an anticipated rise in the burden of non-communicable diseases and road traffic accidents. Low- and...

UKRAINIAN UNIVERSITIES AS CLUSTERS OF REGIONAL SOCIOECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT: INSPIRATIONS FROM EUROPEAN EXPERIENCE

The experience of regional cooperation of certain European universities, which occupy leading positions in ARWU, is analyzed. Based on the understanding of the experience and best practices, directions of the possible influence of Ukrainian universities on the socioeconomic development of the country's regions are substantiated.In European science and practice, the following areas of cooperation between universities and regions are developed: the role of universities in accelerating innovative regional development, the social mission of universities in regional development, strategic management of the university in the context of regional development, management of regional development partnerships. Measurable indicators of the effectiveness of regional engagement are the share of university graduates employed in the region, the share of regional sources in financing the university, students’ internships carried out in the region, and joint publications. Analysis of strategic documents of Ukrainian universities included in the international economic engagement ranking UMultirank proved the practical absence of a vision of the value of cooperation of these universities with regional stakeholders and limited practice of interaction with them.The regional engagement policy of European universities is a key element of strategies. One of the most significant strategic goals of EU universities is to increase cultural, societal and economic impact at both local and regional levels. It was determined that universities are recognized as a leading force in society that contributes to democracy and sustainable development. Their impact on regional economic development is embodied by the support of qualified jobs, improvement of the supply of trained professionals, competence provision on the regional level, fostering a knowledge-based economy. Impact on solving regional societal problems is embodied by reaching out to non-traditional learners from the community, contributing to the resolution of societal problems, and offering programs for vulnerable groups. Universities also contribute to a wider spread of innovative and management culture, decision-making processes and policy advice in sector reforms.

Global COVID-19 Policy Engagement With Scientific Research Information: Altmetric Data Study.

Previous studies on COVID-19 scholarly articles have primarily focused on bibliometric characteristics, neglecting the identification of institutional actors that cite recent scientific contributions related to COVID-19 in the policy domain, and their locations. The purpose of this study was to assess the online citation network and knowledge structure of COVID-19 research across policy domains over 2 years from January 2020 to January 2022, with a particular emphasis on geographical frequency. Two research questions were addressed. The first question was related to who has been the most active in policy engagement with science and research information sharing during the COVID-19 pandemic, particularly in terms of countries and organization types. The second question was related to whether there are significant differences in the types of coronavirus research shared among countries and continents. The Altmetric database was used to collect policy report citations of scientific articles for 3 topic terms (COVID-19, COVID-19 vaccine, and COVID-19 variants). Altmetric provides the URLs of policy agencies that have cited COVID-19 research. The scientific articles used for Altmetric citations are extracted from journals indexed by PubMed. The numbers of COVID-19, COVID-19 vaccine, and COVID-19 variant research outputs between January 1, 2020, and January 31, 2022, were 216,787, 16,748, and 2777, respectively. The study examined the frequency of citations based on policy institutional domains, such as intergovernmental organizations, national and domestic governmental organizations, and nongovernmental organizations (think tanks and academic institutions). The World Health Organization (WHO) stood out as the most notable institution citing COVID-19-related research outputs. The WHO actively sought and disseminated information regarding the COVID-19 pandemic. The COVID-19 vaccine citation network exhibited the most extensive connections in terms of degree centrality, 2-local eigenvector centrality, and eigenvector centrality among the 3 key terms. The Netherlands, the United States, the United Kingdom, and Australia were the countries that sought and shared the most information on COVID-19 vaccines, likely due to their high numbers of COVID-19 cases. Developing nations, although gaining quicker access to COVID-19 vaccine information, appeared to be relatively isolated from the enriched COVID-19 pandemic content in the global network. The global scientific network ecology during the COVID-19 pandemic revealed distinct types of links primarily centered around the WHO. Western countries demonstrated effective networking practices in constructing these networks. The prominent position of the key term "COVID-19 vaccine" demonstrates that nation-states align with global authority regardless of their national contexts. In summary, the citation networking practices of policy agencies have the potential to uncover the global knowledge distribution structure as a proxy for the networking strategy employed during a pandemic.

Między polityką zaangażowania a pozytywną neutralnością. Libia i Tunezja wobec kwestii Sahary Zachodniej

BETWEEN A POLICY OF ENGAGEMENT AND POSITIVE NEUTRALITY: LIBYA AND TUNISIA ON THE ISSUE OF WESTERN SAHARA The unresolved issue of Western Sahara has been causing serious divisions in the Maghreb region for 48 years, which affects not only political relations, but also economic cooperation. The division into states supporting the independence of Western Sahara and those backing Morocco’s position has very strongly polarized the Maghreb region, as well as practically all states of the African continent. Moreover, during the Cold War, this dispute fed into division between states in the Western camp and those identified with the Eastern bloc and socialism, such as Libya. Tunisia was the only country in North Africa, which consistently tried to implement a policy of positive neutrality and because of that it was doomed to occupy a liminal space not only in the region – between Algeria and Morocco, but also in the bipolar world – between the West and the Eastern bloc. This article aims to present the two countries of Tunisia and Libya from the perspective of 48 years of the Western Saharan crisis. Both states, although they do not have a direct border with the territory of Western Sahara, are sometimes involuntarily, as in the case of Tunisia, involved in the largest regional dispute, which to this day casts a shadow over relations in North Africa.

Supporting Public Policy Engagement for Tenure-Stream Faculty of Color

In Short Colleges and universities can do more to support engagement in public policymaking among faculty of color. Institutional support for public policy engagement among faculty of color would increase the representation of people of color in policymaking settings and advance institutional goals (magnifying their impact and creating new opportunities for partnerships and funding). Recommendations for institutions to better support faculty of color’s policy engagement include formally valuing policy engagement, offering institutional support and protection from the consequences of public policy engagement, and providing resources for such engagement.

Wind of change? Social work students’ policy engagement and career preferences in Finland

ABSTRACT Although a general mission of social workers is to advance social justice, it has been claimed that many social workers, including those studying to become social workers, have a rather weak commitment to policy engagement (PE). It has been a common assumption that Nordic social workers lack a tradition of PE due to their primary role as public employees in the comprehensive Nordic welfare state. We address these topics by empirically analyzing Finnish social work students’ views toward PE. Do Finnish social work students perceive PE as an integral part of the social work profession? Moreover, if so, what ideological, sociodemographic and study-related factors explain their perceptions? Are views toward PE connected to future career preferences among students? Drawing on data from a nationwide survey among Finnish social work students, the results show that the majority of students perceive PE as important in social work. PE is explained by factors such as the respondent’s political party preference, previous education and personal experiences of poverty. Students who strongly support PE are less eager to engage in individual case work with clients than other students. In addition, positive views toward PE are connected to students’ preferences for working with immigrants and refugees.

On the lack of women researchers in the Middle East and North Africa

Recent gender policies in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region have improved legal equality for women with noticeable effects in some countries. The implications of these policies on science, however, are not well-understood. This study applies a bibliometric lens to describe the landscape of gender disparities in scientific research in MENA. Specifically, we examine 1.7 million papers indexed in the Web of Science published by 1.1 million authors from MENA between 2008 and 2020. We used bibliometric indicators to analyze potential disparities between men and women in the share of authors, research productivity, and seniority in authorship. The results show that gender parity is far from being achieved in MENA. Overall, men authors obtain higher representation, research productivity, and seniority. But some countries stand out: Tunisia, Lebanon, Turkey, Algeria and Egypt have higher shares of women researchers compared to the rest of MENA countries. The UAE, Qatar, and Jordan have shown progress in terms of women participation in science, but Saudi Arabia lags behind. We find that women are more likely to stop publishing than men and that men publish on average between 11 and 51% more than women, with this gap increasing over time. Finally, men, on average, achieved senior positions in authorship faster than women. Our longitudinal study contributes to a better understanding of gender disparities in science in MENA which is catching up in terms of policy engagement and women representation. However, the results suggest that the effects of the policy changes have yet to materialize into distinct improvements in women’s participation and performance in science.

The Cult of the Relevant: International Relations Scholars and Policy Engagement Beyond the Ivory Tower

Over the past fifteen years, a narrative has developed that IR scholars have become a “cult of the irrelevant,” with declining influence on and engagement with policy debates. Despite these assertions, the evidence for limited policy engagement has been anecdotal. We investigate the extent of policy engagement—the ways in which IR scholars participate in policy-making processes and/or attempt to shape those processes—by surveying IR scholars directly about their engagement activities. We find policy engagement is pervasive among IR scholars. We draw on theories of credit-claiming to motivate expectations about how and when scholars are likely to engage with practitioners. Consistent with our expectations, much of this engagement comes in forms that involve small time commitments and provide opportunities for credit-claiming, such as media appearances and short-form, bylined op-eds and blog posts. However, sizable minorities report engaging in consulting activities not for attribution/publication and writing policy briefs, and a majority of respondents indicate they engaged in these activities several times a year or more. We find only small differences in engagement across gender and rank. Our results demonstrate that, for IR scholars, some form of policy engagement is the norm.

Stakeholder Engagement and Perceptions on Water Governance and Water Management in Azerbaijan

To undertake the modernization of Azerbaijan’s water sector, the government of Azerbaijan collaborated with the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) of the United Nations (UN) in a comprehensive initiative to explore stakeholder perceptions on in-country water governance. The research approach, designed by national water experts and the authors, resulted in the development and administration of a stakeholder engagement and perception survey. The survey, implemented in 2022, elicited responses from a total of 219 state and non-state actors. To enrich interpretations of the survey, this study furthers the analysis of the government commissioned FAO stakeholder survey results and sheds additional insights as to where stakeholders see problems in water governance processes. This independent study informs the broader FAO project and generates supplemental recommendations to the Azerbaijani government for legislative and executive-level action to make Azerbaijan’s water sector more resilient as the climate changes and water insecurity increases. Even though an impressive number of 219 stakeholders participated in the survey, 80% of the responses were from state stakeholders, thus introducing significant bias into the dataset. In order to cope with the bias and make the best of the dataset, the authors analyzed the responses with a customized categorical methodology. Stakeholders were categorized into state, non-state, decision-maker, or executive groups and were examined for trends using various Pareto analyses. Interpretation of the survey responses reveals that, while stakeholders in the water sector interact through informal and formal means, stakeholder groups, to a large extent, lack an understanding of the barriers to stakeholder engagement in water-related policy matters. The stakeholders that indicate understanding of challenges accompanying water policy engagement note a lack of data, a lack of human and institutional capacity, and a lack of financial support to be some of the most common obstacles encountered in the sector. Furthermore, perceptions differ regarding the need for governance reform, the criticality of climate change, institutional resistance to change, policy or practice gaps, transparency, and variables needed for successful stakeholder engagement across all sectors. Such variations in perceptions illustrate the need for restructuring stakeholder interactive platforms and financial channeling to lead to better water governance and water management.

Misrepresentation and migration

AbstractIn a representative democracy, politicians should either implement policies that voters want or policies that politicians believe are in voters long‐term interest, even if voters currently oppose them. The exact balance between these goals is debatable and politicians' policy engagement can tempt them to dismiss voters' preferences and resist information counter to their own policy position. In this paper, we discuss Sweden's generous migration policy and how it can serve as an example where politicians' policy engagement led them to a overly optimistic view of the implications of welcoming a large influx of refugees. Using detailed, repeated, survey data on members of parliament, we show that Swedish politicians favored a much more generous policy toward accepting refugees than voters for a long period of time. Neither observable factors nor expert knowledge can explain this difference between voters and politicians. A more likely explanations is wishful thinking and policy engagement from politicians that continued until political competition increased.

What's hot and why?

What's hot and why?

Role in Supporting the Monitoring of Water Targets and Sanitation: A Societal Process of Development

Water is a critical need for all aspects of life on Earth, and underpins the sustainability of national economy, society and the environment. Factors, such as population growth, climate change and rainfall variability, land use changes, water pollution, institutional arrangements, and water demand for food production, affect future water availability and security. Sustainable water is when a nation can be water self-sufficient: ensuring there is enough water to meet multiple needs, from agriculture to municipal and industrial. Ensure that all employees and their families have ample access to safe drinking water and adequate sanitation, and raise awareness about hygiene practices. Invest in clean-ups and restoration of water ecosystems to ensure sustainable water withdrawals. Sustainable management of water resources and access to safe water and sanitation are essential for unlocking economic growth and productivity, and provide significant leverage for existing investments in health and education. Scientific research and evidence have an important role to play in facilitating the implementation of availability and sustainable management of water and sanitation for all through assessments and policy engagement from global to local scales. This paper addresses some of these challenges related to implementation and monitoring of these targets from a water perspective, based on the key findings: indicators, inter-linkages, and implementation. It also recognizes that implementing these goals is a societal process of development, and there is a need to link how Sustainable Development Goals relate to public benefits and to communicate this to the broader public. Key words: Water, sustainability, sanitation, societal process, environment

Longitudinal effects of high-performance work practices on job performance via person–job fit

PurposeThis present three-wave longitudinal study aims to elucidate underlying mechanism in high-performance work practices (HPWPs) and job performance relationship by examining the role of person–job as a potential mediator.Design/methodology/approachData were collected from 357 faculty members of universities in Punjab (India) using a well-structured questionnaire for four consecutive months. Hypotheses were tested using PLS-SEM software.FindingsThis study results substantiated HPWPs have a direct favorable impact on the person–job fit because their extensive engagement policies, such as employee empowerment and rewards, help employees to perceive their jobs as being a good fit. Furthermore, these practices fulfil employment expectations for employees, resulting in job fit and boosting the employee’s performance; highlighting person–job fit as potential mediator.Research limitations/implicationsGrounding on the person–environment congruence theory, this study shed light on the relationship between HPWPs and job performance via person–job fit in the Indian higher education sector. This develops a unique management philosophy and strategies for long-term sustainable growth of organizations to give proper concrete evidence for the significance of human resource management (HRM).Practical implicationsThis study findings persuade HR professionals in higher education institutions to actively engage in reconsidering and implementing their current HPWPs efficaciously to ensure that the employees are well-suited to their roles, i.e. increased person–job fit and perform at a higher level. Furthermore, considering the favorable impact of HPWPs on job fit and performance, it is pertinent to extensively use these practices in organizations all over the world especially across developing nations as a successful HRM solution.Originality/valueThis longitudinal study provides first-hand information on person–job fit intervening as a mediator in HPWPs and job performance relationship thereby contributing to the current corpus of HPWPs work. This fills the gap in HPWPs and job performance literature by identifying a novel concept of person–job fit that is mostly unexplored in developing countries like India.

Does technology really outpace policy, and does it matter? A primer for technical experts and others

AbstractThis paper reconsiders the outpacing argument, the belief that changes in law and other means of regulation cannot keep pace with recent changes in technology. We focus on information and communication technologies (ICTs) in and of themselves as well as applied in computer science, telecommunications, health, finance, and other applications, but our argument applies also in rapidly developing technological fields such as environmental science, materials science, and genetic engineering. First, we discuss why the outpacing argument is so closely associated with information and computing technologies. We then outline 12 arguments that support the outpacing argument, by pointing to some particular weaknesses of policy making, using the United States as the primary example. Then arguing in the opposite direction, we present 4 brief and 3 more extended criticisms of the outpacing thesis. The paper's final section responds to calls within the technical community for greater engagement of policy and ethical concerns and reviews the paper's major arguments. While the paper focuses on ICTs and policy making in the United States, our critique of the outpacing argument and our exploration of its complex character are of utility to actors in other political contexts and in other technical fields.

Public attitude towards the space policy in Japan and its implication to science communication

Active engagement of the public in decision making in science policies has been recognized as an essential factor for development of science in democratic society. The field of space development and space science is not an exception. In Japan, however, public opinion on space-related activities remains largely unknown. Moreover, limitation of public polls for assessing the public opinion of space policy has been pointed out by some studies, as the size of so-called “issue public” of space policy is small. The aim of this study is to investigate the public opinion on space-related activities in Japan, and explore the challenges and better ways of science communications for sound and democratic decision making on space policy. For this purpose, we conducted two studies, A and B. Study A is based on a previous questionnaire survey of public opinion about space-related activities in Japan. We performed the almost identical questionnaire to the previous study with additional follow-up interviews to gain in-depth knowledge about the background of the answers. We found that many of the respondents did not initially have firm opinions on the issues and that asking them about their opinions helped them think about the issues deeper and may prompt them to form their own opinions eventually. In Study B, we conducted interviews to science communicators to investigate the current issues in science communication for promoting public engagement in space-related policies. Based on the results, we suggest that science communication in the field should put emphasis on practical aspects of space-related activities.

Teaching during COVID- 19 pandemic in India: an interpretive phenomenological analysis of faculty’s perceptions and experiences

ABSTRACT Pedagogical research during the Covid-19 pandemic initially focused on emergency remote teaching and subsequently shifted its focus to instructional design, student engagement, and teacher competencies. Existing research in the area highlights the need to go beyond an instrumental approach for e-learning to be truly effective. This includes examining critical factors such as power and control, the rationale behind decision-making processes, and accountability in educational policies in the context of e-learning. In an attempt to understand the mechanisms through which these critical factors influence remote teaching, the current paper employs an interpretative phenomenological lens to analyse subjective experiences of teaching online during the pandemic. Experiences particular to pre-pandemic teaching, transitioning to online teaching, and adapting to the new “normal” were explored. The overarching themes included the role of training/technical support, the need for enhancing student engagement, grading and assessment policies, the validity of online assessments, and optimal work-life balance. The uncertainty that the pandemic brought is far from resolved and there are still speculations regarding the resurgence of newer variants of COVID-19 and its repercussions on the education sector. The results of the study emphasise the fact that academicians are not just service providers but also end-users in online education. The findings will enable policymakers to reformulate decisions and guidelines in light of these dual roles, thereby addressing the needs and concerns of academicians more efficiently.

SciComm Optimizer for Policy Engagement: a randomized controlled trial of the SCOPE model on state legislators’ research use in public discourse

BackgroundWhile prior work has revealed conditions that foster policymakers’ use of research evidence, few studies have rigorously investigated the effectiveness of theory-based practices. Specifically, policymakers are most apt to use research evidence when it is timely, relevant, brief, and messaged appropriately, as well as when it facilitates interactive engagement. This study sought to experimentally evaluate an enhanced research dissemination intervention, known as the SciComm Optimizer for Policy Engagement (SCOPE), implemented during the COVID-19 pandemic among US state legislators.MethodsState legislators assigned to health committees and their staff were randomized to receive the SCOPE intervention. This involved providing academic researchers with a pathway for translating and disseminating research relevant to current legislative priorities via fact sheets emailed directly to officials. The intervention occurred April 2020–March 2021. Research language was measured in state legislators’ social media posts.ResultsLegislators randomized to receive the intervention, relative to the control group, produced 24% more social media posts containing research language related to COVID-19. Secondary analyses revealed that these findings were driven by two different types of research language. Intervention officials produced 67% more COVID-related social media posts referencing technical language (e.g., statistical methods), as well as 28% more posts that referenced research-based concepts. However, they produced 31% fewer posts that referenced creating or disseminating new knowledge.ConclusionsThis study suggests that strategic, targeted science communication efforts may have the potential to change state legislators’ public discourse and use of evidence. Strategic science communication efforts are particularly needed in light of the role government officials have played in communicating about the pandemic to the general public.

A Scoping Review of Nursing and Midwifery Activism in the United States

It is often said that modern-day nursing and midwifery was founded on the spirit of activism. Yet, historically, the link between nursing and activism has been inconsistent. Nursing Now USA was created in response to a global campaign launched in 2020 by the World Health Organization to mark the Year of the Nurse and Midwife. A goal of this initiative is education about how contemporary nurses serve as leaders in healthcare in the United States. This article describes the methods and results of a scoping review that sought to explore the current state of the science, key concepts, and operationalization of activism in nursing. The general consensus in the literature is that the profession of nursing has deep roots in activism, but a lack of a clear definition of activism and operationalization in policy, practice, research, and academic settings likely limits active engagement by many nurses. The current state of nurse activism is more subtle, often unseen, and non-confrontational compared to the participation and contribution of nurses from the 1900s to the 1980s. We identified barriers and facilitators to activism in nursing and our discussion includes implications for nursing practice, education, and leadership.

Engaging the Private Health Service Delivery Sector for TB Care in India-Miles to Go!

More than half of the people with TB in India seek care from the private sector, where suboptimal quality of care is a concern. Significant progress has been made over the last five years to expand the coverage and to involve more private sector providers in TB care under the National TB Elimination Program (NTEP) in India. The objective of this review is to describe the major efforts and the progress made with regard to the engagement of the 'for-profit' private health service delivery sector for TB care in India, to critically discuss this, and to suggest the way forward. We described the recent efforts by the NTEP for private sector engagement based on the literature, including strategy documents, guidelines, annual reports, evaluation studies, and critically looked at the strategies against the vision of partnership. The NTEP has taken a variety of approaches, including education, regulation, provision of cost-free TB services, incentives, and partnership schemes to engage the private sector. As a result of all these interventions, private sector contribution has increased substantially, including TB notification, follow-up, and treatment success. However, these still fall short of achieving the set targets. Strategies were focused more towards the purchase of services rather than creating sustainable partnerships. There are no major strategies to engage the diverse set of providers, including informal health care providers and chemists, who are the first point of contact for a significant number of people with TB. India needs an integrated private sector engagement policy focusing on ensuring standards of TB care for every citizen. The NTEP should adopt an approach specifically tailored to the various categories of providers. For meaningful inclusion of the private sector, it is also essential to build understanding and generate data intelligence for better decision making, strengthen the platforms for engagement, and expand the social insurance coverage.