How can researchers have impact in a political landscape in which public opinion is shaped more by emotion and personal belief than evidence? Following the selection of ‘post-truth’ as the Oxford Dictionaries Word of the Year 2016, Ruth Dixon takes inspiration from artist Grayson Perry’s plea that academics should cultivate greater emotional understanding of those with whom they disagree. It’s time for political scientists to question, with some humility, their own ‘deficit model’ of the public understanding of politics. This post originally appeared on the author's personal blog and was reposted on the LSE Impact Blog. It appears here with the author's permission.
Read MoreSocial sciences can undoubtedly benefit from developments in computational tools for data collection and analysis, as well as the growing accessibility and availability of data sources. However, Marta Stelmaszak and Philipp Hukal flag the importance of continued careful reflection when using new forms of data and methods in this sphere, particularly reflection on and investigation of the mechanisms that generate and manipulate information up to the point of collection. It is this reflection and investigation, they argue, that sets social science apart from data science. This post was originally published on the LSE Impact Blog as part of its digital methodologies series.
Read MoreWe love evidence at Power to Persuade, and advocate for evidence-based approaches. But there are times when the definition of “evidence” can detract from effectiveness. In today’s post, Lanie Stockman, Good Shepherd Australia New Zealand’s Outcomes and Evaluation Specialist, argues for ensuring evidence collection remain manageable and respectful of programs and their clients.
Read MoreIn recent years, think tanks have been beset by financial constraints, increased competition, and, more recently, a growing questioning of, and popular dissatisfaction with, the role of the ‘expert’ itself. Marcos Gonzalez Hernando, Diane Stone and Hartwig Pautz examine each of these challenges and find that, at a time of huge over-supply of (occasionally dubious) evidence and policy analysis from a variety of sources, think tanks have an opportunity to reinvent themselves as organisations able to discern the reliability and usefulness of policy advice.
Read MoreComplexity theorists often make bold claims about its potential to represent a scientific revolution that it will change the way we think about, and study, the natural and social world. In public policy. In this post, Paul Cairney and Robert Geyer talk about their new Handbook of Complexity and Public Policy, and how it suggests complexity can offer us new insights and normative tools to respond to a wicked world in novel and pragmatic ways.
Read MoreIt’s no longer enough for researchers to simply publish their findings. To have a real world impact on an issue like tobacco control, researchers need to work in partnership with policy makers, experts and the community, says Emily Banks from @SaxInstitute.
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Is evidence-based policymaking "naïve and dystopian"? In this post, Devaki Nambiar (Research Scientist at the Public Health Foundation of India and a Member of the Social Science Approaches for Research and Engagement in Health Policy & Systems (SHAPES) and Translating Evidence into Action Thematic Working Groups of Health Systems Global) argues that for research knowledge to inform policy, it must be 'translated' by a range of other players who can make it 'culturally salient and institutionally viable'. This post originally appeared on the Health Systems Global website.
Read MoreA/Prof Alison Reid of Curtin University knows more than most about predictive models for the asbestos-related cancer mesothelioma. In today's Women's Policy Action Tank she draws on her ANZSOG-funded research in the latest issue of Evidence Base journal to explain why these models are important to get right - and why we need to pay attention to women as well as men!
Read MoreLast week Good Shepherd’s (@GoodAdvocacy) Financial Security Specialist, Tanya Corrie (@TanyaCorrie), attended a major gathering of anti-poverty advocates and services in Boston. Run by Empath (@DisruptPoverty), an organisation that has developed a unique approach to services, research, and advocacy, the conference explored new frontiers in disrupting inter-generational disadvantage, and of which Good Shepherd is a member. Here, Tanya highlights how services can use the latest brain science on stress and trauma in both delivering services and influencing systemic change.
Read MoreIn May this year, Power to Persuade Moderator Luke Craven participated in the Little Heresies in Public Policy seminar series at Newcastle University. Drawing on his experience researching 'wicked' policy problems, his talk explored how systems mapping can be combined with focus group techniques to analyse the strengths of different patterns of relationships within complex systems. Doing so can help us more effectively understand the relationships between complexity and evidence-based policymaking.
Read MoreThe Director of Harvard’s Institute for Quantitative Social Science says the ‘big data revolution’ in the social sciences isn’t about data itself – it’s about advances in how we analyse increasing quantities of diverse data to generate ‘usable information’. Professor Gary King contends the emergence of “larger scale, collaborative, interdisciplinary, lab-style research teams” could herald the end of the qualitative-quantitative divide in social science research. This post by Michael Todd originally appeared on the LSE Impact Blog.
Read MoreLinked data sets could shed much-needed light on how different issues and systems affect people accessing social services. However Brooke McKail from the Victorian Council of Social Service reminds us that sharing data has potential risks as well as potential benefits for service users, calling for careful consideration of how to protect individuals from its negative consequences. This post originally appeared on the VCOSS Voice blog.
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There have been various attempts in Australian research to measure the 'multidimensional' nature of poverty- that is, adding things like rental stress or health inequity to ordinary income measures. In this post, which originally appeared on the LSE Politics & Policy blog, Rod Hick looks at comparing multidimensional and income poverty measures.
Read MoreThe United States spends more on health care than any other developed nation, yet a recent study suggests social services spending has a greater impact on health outcomes. This post, by Elizabeth H. Bradle and Lauren A. Taylor was published at the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation blog and is republished here with permission.
Read MoreIn today’s post, Summer May Finlay makes the case for a facilitative approach to policy influence and change for people whose voices are silenced. Specifically, she calls on the feminist movement in Australia to ally with rather than speak on behalf of Aboriginal women. A Yorta Yorta woman, Summer specialises in health policy, qualitative research and communications, and is a popular blogger with Croakey. She is speaking at Putting Women at the Centre: A Policy Forum on 16 August. You can follow Summer on Twitter @OnTopicAus
Read MoreMarket-based solutions to complex social problems can appear tantalising in their simplicity. In this post Lanie Stockman, Outcomes and Evaluation Specialist at Good Shepherd Australia New Zealand, questions how outcomes would be identified and measured if social services were funded based on ‘success’.
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A lack of economic analysis expertise in the Australian public sector is costing the country, writes economist Dr Leo Dobes in the wake of his recent cost-benefit analysis research. Government resources are finite, and decisions must constantly be made about where to direct resources so that they will most benefit the whole community. But these are complicated decisions to make - how can we genuinely move toward evidence-based public policy if we don't have the in-house capacity to rigorously analyse policy proposals? Relying on consultants has its risks.
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David Donaldson (@davidadonaldson) writes about new research that casts doubt on whether outcomes-based contracting solves a fundamental problem: unintended consequences. Listening to stakeholders, although no breakthrough, remains key. The systematic review of evidence on outcome-based contracting was conducted by Emma Tomkinson and published in ANZSOG's Evidence Base journal.
Read MoreAssociate Professor Michael Charles & Professor Robyn Keast, School of Business and Tourism, Southern Cross University examine the long accepted the doctrine of ‘publish or perish’ and explore new ways of valuing academic outputs.
Read MoreJames Lloyd’s recent post on the LSE Impact Blog “Should academics be expected to change policy? Six reasons why it is unrealistic for research to drive policy change” has been raising eyebrows in research and policy circles. Lloyd’s basic claim is that it is neither realistic nor desirable to expect academics to achieve policy impact. Bold, but should we take his position as correct? Luke Craven, Chris Neff, and Paul Smyth investigate.
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