JOHN TURNPENNY

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JOHN TURNPENNY

• Tyndall Centre for Climate Change Research
• CSERGE
• School of Environmental Sciences
• University of East Anglia
• Joined-up (good) governance? Links and missing
  links between evidence and policy

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Evidence is important

• As a condition for success, it is crucial that
  policy choices are based and updated on the best
  available knowledge.
• European Commission Communication on Improving
  the knowledge base for better policies, 2002
  (COM(2002) 713)

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Evidence is important

• Policy making should be a continuous learning
  process, with improved use of evidence and
  research, pilot schemes, evaluation and feedback
  
• UK Modernising Government White Paper, 1999

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Scientists at the heart of government

• Climate change is the most severe problem we are
  facing today far greater than international
  terrorism
• David King, UK Government Chief Scientist,
  January 2004

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Serious stuff

• There is an obsession with evidence-based
  policy. If Number 10 says bloody evidence-based
  policy to me one more time I'll deck them one."
• Louise Casey, Director of Home Offices
  Anti-Social Behaviour Unit, August 2004

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What is evidence?

• Complex literature
• Academic and non-academic

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Good career prospects?

• So (in spite of Louise Casey) it seems to be a
  good time to be an evidence creator!

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Good career prospects?

• So (in spite of Louise Casey) it seems to be a
  good time to be an evidence creator!
• Or is it?

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W(h)ither all that evidence?
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• there is substantial documentation that analysis
  is not used by policy makers to solve problems or
  even to choose among alternatives in the design
  of policies.
• Shulock (1999227)

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• large quantities of knowledge produced for the
  benefit of policy are never used in policymaking
• In't Veld (2000154)

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• the policy assessment process often fails to
  influence policy decisions, on environmental
  terms or otherwise
• House of Commons Environmental Audit Committee
  Regulatory Impact Assessments and Policy
  Appraisal. Third Report of Session 2006-7, para
  12

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• it was with sadness and regret that I saw our
  work ill-used and our faith in governments use
  of evidence traduced
• Evidence by Prof Tim Hope, Keele University, to
  House of Commons Science and Technology
  Committee Scientific Advice, Risk and
  Evidence-Based Policy-Making. Seventh Report of
  Session 2005-6, para 95

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How is evidence intended to be used?

• Ostensible purposes
• Joining-up government
• Sustainable development
• Regulatory quality
• Implicit Roles
• Conceptual learning
• Instrumental learning
• Symbolic or Strategic use

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Where is this seminar going?

• Three things I want to talk about
• Evidence in a complex world a post normal
  science approach
• The traditional evidence-policy model
• Use of a certain type of evidence in two
  particular contexts

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1. Evidence in a complex world an approach to
evidence gathering

• the solutions to wicked problems are said to be
  difficult to recognize because of complex
  interdependencies the problems themselves are
  hard to define, and there is difficulty in
  reaching consensus on their solutions (Rittel and
  Webber, 1973)

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Post-normal science

• Uncertainties about systems and goals
• Conflicting problem definitions
• Differing value systems
• (Funtowicz Ravetz)
• New forms of research?

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2. Use of evidence in practice? The linear
rational model
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Problems with the linear rational model

• It is highly simplified
• Who is the decision-maker?
• Knowledge is more than just data for solving
  specific problems

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Evidence use in practiceTwo case studies

• How far do these different ideas relate to how
  evidence is created and used?
• Focus on routinised ex ante assessment activities
  undertaken or initiated by policy making units in
  the administrative parts of government.

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Case Study 1 The EU Impact Assessment system
John Turnpenny, Andrew Jordan, Mans Nilsson,
Julia Hertin, Björn Nykvist, Duncan Russel
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The Impact Assessment System
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Preparing policy assessments
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The Consultation Process
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Balancing the views
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Summary of findings
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Case Study 2 Integrated Policy Appraisal A
Joined-Up Panacea for the UK?
Duncan Russel John Turnpenny
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Background

• Modernising Government White Paper (HMG 1999)
• Integrated Regulatory Impact Assessment (RIA)
• How integrated is RIA?

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Dimension 1 Coverage of impacts
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• Dimension 2 Horizontal and vertical integration

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• Dimension 3 Integration of stakeholders into
  assessment processes

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• Dimension 4 Integration of analysis with
  assessment process

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Dimension 5 Integration of assessment into policy
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• Why is this behaviour observed?

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To finally summarise.

• Evidence-based policy is a big buzz-phrase
• Evidence is often not used in the policy process,
  or not used in the way intended by those who
  create it
• There are different roles for evidence
• The evidence-policy relationship is complex

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To summarise II

• Case studies of policy assessment in practice
  show some elements of a post-normal approach (eg.
  Stakeholder participation)
• But there are many issues with applying
  idealised model
• Evidence-policy relationship is difficult to
  control

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• j.turnpenny_at_
• uea.ac.uk