The Civil Service Policy Profession has sought to improve the training and development of officials responsible for government policy. Do you think this is a positive move?
Yes, absolutely. Policy making has become much more complicated now, because there are so many different dimensions; the local dimension, the national dimension, and increasingly, the global dimension. The policy world is just more demanding now.
Policy makers are therefore having to think of new policy developments from so many different angles, and the question is how do we address them? One way is to give policy makers an environment in which they can gain insights into policy areas, and learn from academics and colleagues.
The Professional Doctorate in Policy Research and Practice is a combination of courses on theory, and the use of research and evidence to inform policy. How important is it that policy makers are guided by evidence?
When you look at how policy is constructed, it often starts with an ideology, an anecdote, or an insight that politicians are advancing. The questions you then have to ask are: ‘how good are these insights?’ ‘What does the ideology tell us, and what does it not tell us, about how to make sound policy?’
These are very sophisticated questions that policy makers need to be able to work with, and to address them you need evidence, and actually when you look at successful governments around the world, what you see is a clear understanding of the importance of appropriate evidence.
That’s why our programme structure is based around two core courses on policy making and policy research. Policy makers can learn about transformational policy making – which involves a comparative understanding of how policy can make a difference – but importantly the second core course is on research and evidence – which focuses on how to evaluate the many different forms of evidence available. Then there are two courses in policy makers’ chosen specialisms, followed by a thesis.
What can policy makers looking to apply for the doctorate expect?
What we are trying to do is work with policy makers to provide an education, and a background for the future generation of leading policy makers. The idea is that policy makers can transfer and share the knowledge and insights they have through interaction with researchers.
The doctorate is designed for busy professionals who really want to reflect on their work and to gain new insights from a cohort based structure where they will meet other policy makers from around the world.
Full details about the Professional Doctorate, including fees and how to apply can be found on our website: www.bath.ac.uk/ipr/programmes. Anyone with any questions about the programme can email ipr@bath.ac.uk