The Policy Process

Participants were asked directly about the position of their work, and the models they use, in the policy process. They also discussed the policy process when answering other questions. These responses have been used here to highlight how the parti-cipants constructed the policy process and evaluated models’ uses within it.

3.3.2.1 Complexity of the Policy Process

Some participants described the policy process as a vague process, with no clear stages or powerful individuals. For example:

Interviewer: You mention there a few examples where it [modelling work]

is used...to win arguments...are there any other times where you see it used inappropriately...?

Participant: I don‘t know. I suppose it depends, I think it is used in dif-ferent areas of policy in difdif-ferent ways. I don‘t know exactly how it gets used...and I suspect it is a mixture of, it is very difficult to tell. In a polit-ical process which is ultimately what drives the decision to go on it is very difficult to really know what forms of evidence are influential and what forms are simply being deployed to win arguments. I think the boundary can be very vague.

Researcher at a university (UK)

This statement, made when talking about the use of models more generally, is one of a few that makes a direct assertion about the political nature of the policy process;

however it is one of several that alludes to the disorderly nature of the process. Other participants had a much simpler and more linear view of the role of models in the policy process. For example:

Interviewer:Is that information then used for advocating for certain policies...?

Participant: To make decisions between different policies and to have an informed base to make a recommendation to [senior policy maker]. So

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Table 3.3: Participants’ description of the role of models

Participant Role of models

Researcher at a university Models used directly in government decision-making Modeller/analyst at a

statutory body

Models used to estimate environmental impact of our policies

Project manager at an en-vironmental consultancy

Models are part of reports on the state of an environmental issue, to highlight issue or display policy options

Senior consultant at an environmental con-sultancy

Used to answer questions put to them by clients

Senior economist

for a government

agency/department

Used to explore new policy development, but also analysis to support delivery of policy initiatives

Senior academic at a uni-versity

Use models to provide evidence on policies

Economist at a govern-ment departgovern-ment/agency

Use models to gather information on the costs and benefits of policies, used to then make recommendations to minis-ters

Economist at a govern-ment departgovern-ment/agency

Using models to raise awareness of issues, models also used in valuation of natural capital

Manager at a government department/agency

Using models in delivery of policy initiatives

Senior academic at a uni-versity

Uses models in research output, large research projects, for government

Using models to predict impact of different policy options, then put to decision makers

Economist at a govern-ment departgovern-ment/agency

Uses models to gather evidence on potential policies, also impact assessments of current policies

Project manager at an en-vironmental consultancy

Use models to give clients understanding of potential fu-ture scenarios and policy effects

Senior academic at a uni-versity

Models used to develop and demonstrate concepts and re-lationships for evidence gathering

Senior researcher at an international research or-ganisation

Uses models to promote participation of stakeholders, to answer specific questions about policies

Academic at a university Models are used in a range of forums: consulting to govt, private companies, European commission, NGOs, etc..

Also used in teaching, a significant reason for modelling is understanding systems as opposed to answering partic-ular questions

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for each different policy option, evidence is gathered about what the cost and the benefits are of that option and that then informs decisions and recommendations.

Economist in a government department (UK)

Perhaps it is no coincidence that the researcher at a university has a less simple picture of the policy process than a civil servant. A researcher is likely to be further away from the policy process, so may perceive a less clear picture of what is happening as a result of their distance. Furthermore, they may be more critical of the process.

Conversely, an economist in a governmental department is placed so closely to the policy process, that they may perceive only that which is directly relevant to them, and may be well versed in the organisational structures and narratives which attempt to present a clear framework of the policy process. They may also have a vested interest in being less critical of the process. Whether the difference in the two views is due to their embededness in the policy process, or their use of different organisational narratives and understandings is unclear.

3.3.2.2 Links between Modellers and Policy Makers

Some participants brought up the links between those building models and making decisions. There can be individuals who see themselves as the “cartilage in the joint”

(Academic in a university, UK) between modellers and policy makers. For example:

Interviewer: Sure, when you say opening up the black box, whose re-sponsibility do you see it is to do that?

Participant:I mean if you look at somebody in [government bodies], to get the piece of modelling work done there is somebody who directly commis-sions it and...writes the specification for the project. And that person is a kind of...buffer, the cartilage in the joint, between the analytical side and the policy side. And I think they bear actually quite a heavy responsibility for understanding what the modellers are actually doing,...and communic-ating the significant implications of that to the people who don‘t get their

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hands dirty with the modelling and the analysis, that have to make...policy judgements.

Academic in a university (UK)

However, these links can also be very direct:

Interviewer: How much contact do you have with the members of the [in-ternational organisation] and national governments...I mean do you your-self speak to them or is there an intermediary there?

Participant: ...there are both but I definitely do speak to them. I‘m in the fortunate position that because I work for an international organisation with great contacts and very active participation in this evolving, emerging field, that I get to - I‘m never very far from the people making the decisions.

Economist at a NGO (USA)

The difference here is perhaps a reflection of the difference between academic institu-tions and NGOs; NGOs have a much stronger remit to influence policy, and as such, are likely to employ individuals who can both conduct modelling and interact with policy makers.

The two communities appear to be much closer here than they are described in the lit-erature, even for academics. The two-communities view could be seen as too simplistic here; individuals can be members of each at different times or members of both at the same time. The suggestion fromClark and Holmes(2010) that researchers and policy makers have differing social structures and cultures could explain why individuals of the ‘cartilage in the joint’ type may exist. Alternatively, the existence of these indi-viduals could undermine the concept of the two-communities entirely.

3.3.2.3 The Political Side of the Policy Process

From this sample it would appear there is generally a positive and welcoming re-sponse to models by policy makers. However, one participant did suggest that those at the political end of the policy making spectrum might have more difficulty with models:

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“...the reason I don‘t use the models, is because...it‘s because I think that gets completely in the way of effective lobbying...the most effective lob-bying that you can do is by talking to people, and by talking to them in a natural and informed way, and using models, and things like that, just tend to create a barrier between people.”

The participant elaborates:

“I certainly don‘t think that they aid communication ...with the likes of the people we tend to lobby. For example the [politicians], are potentially people who don‘t understand anything at all about [policy area] that we have to explain things in such a simple and kind of forthright way, because, for various reasons they may not have a background in any of these topics, using models just confuses things, and is almost jargon, which we try to avoid massively in our lobbying, because we just think it creates obstacles, and puts up barriers.”

Director - lobbying organisation (Belgium)

Here, the policy maker is described as finding models confusing because of their (i.e., politicians’) lack of specific understanding of the model, or indeed the policy area.

This is one of the few cases in which participants were discussing elected politicians, rather than senior civil servants or similar. It would appear that the two-communities, or ‘great divide’ (Weiss,1976) concepts have the most weight when we consider these groups of policy makers. It seems the circumstances of the situation play a large role.

In this example, when lobbying was being carried out on a topic which the policy maker may not have specific knowledge, the use of a model was not considered or quickly dropped and seen as problematic. In other cases, where senior policy makers are assigned to specific areas for periods of time, this is not the case.

3.3.2.4 Spatial Scales in the Policy Process

One of the potential strengths of models highlighted by one participant is their ability to be used at different spatial scales (i.e., local, regional, national) within the policy process from national to local users.

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“...what we want to do is think about how you can apply the model to different spatial scales and how it can be used by different types of audi-ences.”

Economist in a government department (UK)

Da Silva and Shear(2010) made similar conclusions to those being expressed here;

there is a clear understanding on the part of this participant of the need to make in-formation and models locally relevant. It may be the case that local policy makers feel more confident and comfortable with locally tailored information, as suggested by Mutshewa(2010), as well as simply finding the information more useful in the sense they are easier to apply.