If you work in academia or the public service – or perhaps if you live with someone who does – you have probably come across the idea that academics should engage with policy makers and produce work that engages with and impacts on policy issues of the day. It’s a laudable aspiration – and here at BETA, we’re no strangers to this idea.
BETA’s academic roots
When BETA was established, our founding Research Director (2015-2016) was Michael Hiscox, Professor of Economics at Harvard University. When he stepped down, Bob Slonim, Professor of Economics at University of Technology Sydney took over (2016-2017). While BETA no longer has an externally appointed Research Director from an academic institution, since 2018 both Michael and Bob have been part of our Academic Advisory Panel (AAP), which includes seven academics from across the behavioural sciences. The AAP support us in delivering our projects by providing expert advice on the application of behavioural economics in public policy. They have been key contributors to several of our projects, including on online wagering and strengthening student resilience.
BETA and our AAP have enjoyed a long and fruitful partnership, and many BETA members also have an academic background, working in social science research before joining BETA. But we recognise we’re lucky in this respect, and that academia-government collaborations can be challenging. If you’re an academic wanting to engage with government, where do you start?
A systematic review of advice for academics
Earlier this year, the team at BETA read and discussed a paper which presented a systematic review of advice for academics: The dos and don’ts of influencing policy: a systematic review of advice to academics (2019), by Kathryn Oliver and Paul Cairney. The authors synthesise advice provided in 86 different articles (many were blog posts or opinion pieces) and show that the advice can be condensed into 8 top tips. All of these seem quite ‘common sense’, and we largely agreed with the points raised.
However, Oliver and Cairney also criticised the tips in two key ways. First, they argue that the apparent consistency in the advice masks underlying disagreements. For example, there is little agreement in whether academics should only speak about their own expertise (as a way to maintain credibility), or whether they should also seek to be a representative for their broader field. Second, they argue that while the advice appears to be common sense, there is little research on whether it’s actually good advice – that is, whether taking these tips on board increases the likelihood that the academic’s research will have an impact in actually informing decision-making.
With those caveats in place, we’d like to highlight four of the tips that have been central to the strong and productive collaborations between BETA and our AAP.
Four key tips for academics engaging with policymakers
Tip 1: Do high quality research. The importance of this factor speaks for itself, but we also echo the caution from Oliver and Cairney that there is little consensus on what ‘high quality’ research is. Critically, research methods and approaches should be tailored to the context and the research questions you’re attempting to answer – which is why we’re grateful to be working with researchers who have such a range of expertise, from large-scale surveys to qualitative research with focus groups.
Tip 2: Communicate well. Research can be complex, and communicating it well seems to be a balancing act:
- avoiding jargon but maintaining precision
- simplifying but not over-simplifying
- addressing an intelligent but non-expert audience
- making clear, definitive statements but also communicating complexity, uncertainty, and nuance.
And communication is a two-way street, so we especially value being able to ask follow-up questions and have conversations about research with our AAP members directly. This then leads to the next piece of advice…
Tip 3: Build relationships. Sharing research findings with Government and the broader public can be a once-off activity for an academic researcher, but it can also be an ongoing process. BETA has worked with the AAP for many years now, and the ongoing relationship means that we understand each other’s strengths and constraints. Researchers starting ‘from scratch’ could consider looking for conferences attended by policy makers, opportunities to speak at public-sector events, or contacting existing research units – like BETA, or other behavioural insights teams – within Government.
Tip 4: Understand policy processes and context. During our discussion at BETA, we agreed that while a minimum baseline of understanding of the policy process is useful, were in a unique position to act as translators, and provide the ‘insider’ perspective on government processes and the context for decision-making. The more important thing from our perspective is that our AAP is pragmatic and aware that there are many steps involved in translating a research result into a piece of policy advice (or decision). A good place to start for an academic interested in a particular policy area would be to read through the relevant legislation and gain an understanding of which agency (or agencies) is responsible for policy development and implementation (hint: not always the same agency!) Finally, researchers can make valuable contributions when the Government is actively seeking input – for example when conducting public consultations on a topic.
These considerations are relevant for the work of other academics seeking to engage with policy makers, for our AAP in collaborating with BETA, and for BETA as we build partnerships with other agencies across government.