The changing role of science in corporatist policy advice
A longitudinal study of the inclusion of researchers in Finnish policy preparatory working groups in 1980–2018
Keywords:
evidence-informed policy-making, policy advisory system, public policy-making, corporatism, working groups, commission of inquiry, researchers, scientific expertise in policy-makingAbstract
The role of academic knowledge in policy-making has received increasing attention in scientific communities and among policymakers. This article analyses longitudinal changes in the inclusion of researchers in an important institution of policy advice, namely state committees and broad-based policy-preparatory working groups. In Finland, as in other Nordic countries, important laws and policies have traditionally been prepared in corporatist institutions such as these. Besides interest groups, they also appoint researchers as members.
Based on both primary and secondary data, the study maps the quantitative share of researchers in Finnish broad-based preparatory organs from 1980 to 2018. The results show that in the 2010s, the proportion of researchers in working groups more than halved compared with the previous decade, and their status as chairpersons in particular deteriorated. The results suggest that the role of researchers as corporatist partners has been eroding. Hence, unlike in some other Nordic countries, there is no trend of ‘scientisation’ apparent in this corporatist institution. The results indicate that the Finnish policy advisory system is becoming more hybrid, with a notable strengthening of neoliberal elements, as the ways in which the state generates and utilises knowledge for policy-making are changing.
