Academic research and engagement with the Canadian public service: Insights from three surveys

Abstract

This article explores the area of research engagement between two very important communities in the Canadian public policy landscape: academics and senior public service executives. Using data from three surveys, we argue that while public sector executives may be more receptive to academic research than the literature suggests, academic advice and knowledge remain underutilized. While there does not seem to be a strong cleavage between the two groups, they also tend to come together mostly under very specific conditions. Oddly enough, academics do not seem to be troubled by the underutilization of their research.

Lessons from the evidence on evidence‐based policy

“…Recent writing on this subject has sometimes adopted the expression “evidence‐informed policy”; I have not encountered any very clear explanation of the difference between “evidence‐based” and “evidence‐informed” (Hammersley : 8,15, 38‐9; but see Migone and Brock : 372). I therefore ignore the change in semantics.…”

“…In a democracy, constitutional, juridical and political factors place major constraints on decision‐making. As Migone and Brock (: 373) put it, “Ideal decision‐making conditions are about as common as perfect competition.” First, decisions iterate through a series of institutional and personal gateways, that is, they are virtually never the product of the judgment and discretion of a single mind or a single agency. The three branches of government—executive, legislative and judicial—witness titanic struggles for influence, even as similar, less public, struggles occur continuously within these branches.…”

“…It likewise goes beyond incommensurability of either with the nature of policy problems confronting policy‐makers. Institutions such as disciplines and agencies have their own internal epistemologies and cultures, which reduce or increase the salience of various ways of knowing and doing, and which frame the production and use of scientific research as evidence (Migone and Brock : 371) .…”

Public servants’ appreciation for themes in public administration scholarship

“…In the Canadian context, Migone and Brock () analyzed three surveys of 190 public service executives, 374 Public Administration and Public Policy scholars, and 302 university professors in a myriad of fields, to conclude that public administration and public policy scholars, in similar proportions to their colleagues in other fields, never interact with governments. In contrast, a few scholars provide the bulk of formal interactions with government officials.…”

“…In roughly similar proportions, academics in and outside of public administration and public policy “are relatively unlikely to sit on boards, panels or committees, nor do they attend many workshops or training sessions with public servants. It is also uncommon for them to receive requests for the production of research reports from public service officials (…)” (Migone and Brock : 376). In sum, the picture of the ever‐present tango between academic researchers and public servants is blurry.…”