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This article studies research on the Dutch Disability Insurance Act (WAO) of 1967 and its impact on subsequent policy reform. Because of certain unique technical features, the WAO scheme has long operated as a hidden unemployment scheme, which is widely regarded as one of the major socio-economic problems of the Netherlands. From the 1980s onwards (a period of high unemployment for the country), debate about possible reforms was a regular feature on the political agenda and several restrictive changes were in fact implemented. At the same time, extensive research was commissioned. The article surveys the research and selects three particular cases for in-depth analysis. It concludes, in line with standard Knowledge Utilisation literature, that direct policy use of research is very limited, and that the conceptual influence of research on background policy framework, while not negligible, is narrowly circumscribed by political context. However, the assessment also points to the need for a complementary perspective on research as a ''lubricant'' of the politico-administrative system, which is a significant, albeit perhaps unusual, feature of a Dutch system characterised by a combination, which is atypical in international terms, of extreme consensualism, strong formalism, and extreme pragmatism. Further research is re-quired on the relation between national ''policy styles'' and research-policy linkages.Using knowledge by taking account of the results of scientific research is a preoccupation of the scientific community on which this article proposes to shed light by considering the case of Cameroon. Within the theoretical framework of actionism, the study is based on a questionnaire survey administered to a sample of 200 researchers, decision-makers, and research-commissioning bodies, complemented by interviews. The data cover commissioning, evaluation and utilisation practices over the period 1990-2001. The results show considerable differences in judgement between researchers, decision-makers, and commissioning bodies with regard to existing practices and desirable usage. The differences reflect the lack of connection between properly academic concerns and policy prospects, as well as a research funding structure in Cameroon that separates problem definition from solution implementation. Given inadequate utilisation of scientific research data in public policy, the article proposes renewed institutional forms that might encourage academicism to take account of the practical requirements of social engineering. ISSJ 179 r UNESCO 2004. Published by Blackwell Publishing

This article surveys the use of research results in policies directed at the Roma minority in Slovakia and attempts to identify the factors that facilitate or hamper knowledge utilisation. Four case studies covering aspects of Roma issues are examined in detail from initiation to potential policy utilisation, using a uniform framework for analysis and methods including interviews and the document analysis. The main finding is that political context is the dominant factor negatively influencing the policy utilisation of scientific knowledge. In three of the cases studied, this factor was mainly responsible for poor utilisation. Another important negative factor is the character of the research findings themselves: the more general they are, the less likely they are to influence policy formulation. Conversely, utilisation is enhanced by good interconnection between researchers and funders and other stakeholders, including potential users. The most common positive factor was presentation and dissemination of results, especially in terms of popularisation, which depended on academic researchers as well as on stakeholders. In the cases studied, state entities appeared poorly equipped to undertake adequate dissemination, especially compared with non‐governmental organisations.

Making use of Data on Social Science in Slovakia