LIST OF PANELS

The goal of this panel is to gather papers that engage with the relationship between political scientists and policy practice. Recently there has been a wide debate as to whether and how political science is relevant to the “real” policy world. Scholars often operationalize “boundary work” essentially as policy advisory practices (Brans and Timmermans 2021; Pattyn et al. 2022). However, the existing literature highlights that there are also other ways through which scholars can produce an impact on public policy, e.g. (but not limited to) co-production (Howlett et al. 2017).

During the pandemic we have seen medical and economic evidence acquiring a major role in policymaking, with advisory bodies made up of scientists who regularly communicated with policymakers (Hadorn et al. 2022). However, political science and public policy scholars apparently have not stood out as having such a pivotal role. If we assume that practical relevance matters to political scientists, this lack of presence and visibility deserves investigation, as a potential sign of real or perceived irrelevance of the discipline to solving policy problems.

As a matter of fact, political scientists regularly put in place projects and activities that aim to shape policy in one way or another: policy labs, policy advice, workshops aimed at scientists to improve their capacity to communicate with policymakers, etc. In doing so they create a connection between academia and policy. However, this link is not always detected or valued, as shown by the fact that it rarely emerges in studies on evidence-based policy and more generally on the use of knowledge in policymaking (Capano and Malandrino 2022).

An overarching theoretical question remains as to whether there actually is a call for academia to shape policy at all: is it really important that political scientists carry out activities that have a tangible impact on real-world policy? Whether the answer is yes or no, what is the epistemological basis that justifies it? In other words, where does the normative dimension stand, i.e. what should political science be about – feeding purely theoretical debates or serving advancement in political decision-making and policy implementation? And, in the latter case, what is meant by advancement?

On an empirical level, if we assume that the role of political science goes beyond pure speculation to involve work that shapes policy, what are the forms, contents, goals and results of such work? And what are the perceptions and drives of this kind of work?

References

Brans M., Timmermans A. (Eds.). 2021. The advisory roles of political scientists in Europe. Comparing engagements in policy advisory systems. Cham: Palgrave Macmillan.  

Capano G., Malandrino A. 2022. Mapping the use of knowledge in policymaking: barriers and facilitators from a subjectivist perspective (1990–2020). Policy Sciences 55(3):399-428.

Hadorn S., Sager F., Mavrot C., Malandrino A., Ege J. 2022. Evidence-Based Policymaking in Times of Acute Crisis: Comparing the Use of Scientific Knowledge in Germany, Switzerland, and Italy. Politische Vierteljahresschrift 63(2):359-382.

Howlett M., Kekez A., Poocharoen O. 2017. Understanding Co-Production as a Policy Tool: Integrating New Public Governance and Comparative Policy Theory. Journal of Comparative Policy Analysis: Research and Practice 19(5):487-501.

Pattyn V., Jungblut J., Blum S., Squevin P. 2022. Which political scientists engage more in boundary-crossing work than others? A European study. Paper prepared for IWPP3, Budapest, 28-30 June 2022.

This hybrid panel welcomes the following types of papers:

-      Theoretical papers on the relationship between political science and policy practice, both in its real and normative dimensions

-      Papers presenting evidence regarding the role that studies in public policy and administration have in real policy design, decision-making, policy implementation, and/or policy evaluation

-      Papers that deal with the impact of political scientists on the work of street-level bureaucrats who translate policy from paper to practice and deliver public services to end users

-      Papers that explore the motivations that stand behind political science scholars’ work that proposes to be relevant to public policy, as well as the perception of such relevance by scholars, policymakers, and/or bureaucrats

-      Papers describing and discussing projects, carried out by the authors or by others, that propose to shape policy by means of workshops, training, and other activities

-      Papers that deal with policy lab experiences established and operated by the authors or by others

-      Papers that explore the role of policy advice provided by political scientists

-      Papers that explore other, potentially innovative activities that imply direct contact with the policymaking and public administration world

Papers by people who are directly involved in activities that have an immediate connection with the policymaking/public administration context are particularly welcome. Likewise, reports from such projects and activities can also be submitted. Finally, papers that do not specifically address the research questions posed in the previous section and that answer further questions or test other hypotheses might also be submitted, provided that they are relevant to the main theme of this panel, i.e. to the impact that political science and its public policy field of studies has on policymaking, policy implementation, and policy evaluation.