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Political Influences on Research ADMN 502a – Assignment One Jesse Arnup Blondin, Nancy Bray, Nicole Caulfield, Robert Jordan, & Siobhan Schroeder ABSTRACT Research in the public sector is greatly influenced by politics on a number of levels. Most significant is the fact that research is impacted by political values, which in turn, determine research topics. Political parties know which research outcomes they prefer. These preferred outcomes are established by political agendas and consequently, methods used to conduct research are also influenced by agendas. Of course, it is not surprising that politics comes into play when research funding is allocated. Even the timing of research and the unveiling of results, can be swayed by elections and popular opinions of potential voters. Through the evaluation of programs and policies, evaluation research is also affected by political priorities. Introduction Politics has a profound impact on every aspect of research in the public sector. Politics influences the topics researched primarily through the values of the political party in power. Political parties have agendas, and often know what results they want from research. Parties either directly or indirectly influence how research is conducted through funding allocations and timing the release of results, especially if those results are unfavourable. When evaluating programs, research is directly impacted by the importance a political party holds the program or policy that is undergoing evaluation. The objective of this paper is to conduct a literature review, in order to determine how politics influences research. Methodology Sources for research for this paper included a review of course materials and related readings as well as well as an overview of classical social theory and in particular the work of sociologist, Max Weber. Specific tools that were used to locate research included Google Scholar key word searches to find additional scholarly journal articles and Google Search Engine searches to find news articles for relevant media perspectives on issues. Further sources of relevant information and research were identified by examining bibliographies from journal articles and other additional sources. The Google Scholar "cited by" tool was also used to find additional related works to the subject matter. Overall, our group approach to research reflects a consensus on the materials used to support arguments within the paper. Research was initiated and led by the key writers in the group followed 2 by a collaborative feedback approach. All group members had the opportunity to provide input into research as well as challenge each other’s suggestions for research. Key Issues and Controversies Determining Research Topics: Political Values German sociologist Max Weber argued that while the selection of topics for research will always be influenced by our values, researchers should strive to be value free in their pursuit of conclusions, by applying dispassionate objectivity to their work (Weber, 1958). Weber, also draws an interesting comparison between politicians and researchers, with the former being committed to a particular outcome and the latter having an obligation to be objective and to accept the findings of their research, regardless of their initial hypotheses (Weber, 1958). In the case of the public sector, the political values of the governing party influence the topics researched, because political agendas and priorities are established by governments in a political forum. Bureaucrats are then expected to research, develop and implement policies that support the government in the achievement of their stated priorities, and according to Weber, should do so objectively. However, priorities and expected policy outcomes are articulated at a political level, perhaps free of substantive supporting research, and deeply entrenched in political values based upon personal belief systems (Macionios and Gerber, 2004). As a result, agendas are established with an inherent limitation on the range of feasible options or alternatives that can be produced through public sector research (Schwartz, 1990). In effect, this means that policy research is sometimes limited to that which will produce alternatives that will achieve predefined outcomes - those established in political agendas. In other words, political agendas shape the range of possible solutions that can be implemented. In this situation the researcher 3 is unable to function in a dispassionate manner, and is instead subjectively interested in the outcome. An example of policy options being restricted by the political agenda in which they are researched can be viewed in governments’ limited responses to climate change. Mankiw (2007) and Frank (2006) argue that the best policy measure to impact climate change is the imposition of a carbon tax, an idea that has been around for quite some time among economists and policy analysts. However, despite its likely positive impacts on the environment, politically it may not be a feasible option nationally (Frank, 2006). The fact that multiple sides of major political issues can cite high quality research to support their positions demonstrates how political influence impacts the objectivity of the research process (Dooley, 2001). Classic examples of such cases include the lengthy debate over the negative effects of smoking on health and more recently the ongoing debate on climate change. In Canada, the Liberal government under Jean Chrétien and Paul Martin built a large base of environmentally driven programs based on political agendas to reduce emissions, many of which were dismantled shortly after the Conservative party took power, citing that the programs were not successful and that targets were unattainable (St. Martin, 2006). Both of these examples display how research can be compiled and presented to support a political agenda. Determining Research Topics: Funding Due to the limited availability of funds for research, departmental budget allocations are a key mechanism through which politics influence what research is carried out (Bozeman and Loveless, 1987). Funding is typically aimed towards research projects which are aligned with the priorities of the government of the day. By selectively funding research topics which support party platforms, political agendas shape the body of research produced by the public sector. A concrete example of how politics influences research funding can be found in the academic realm. A significant amount of research funded by the government is carried out by partners in academia, who 4 often receive funding through stringent, peer-adjudicated application programs. However, there is reason to believe that this branch of public sector research may not be free from some degree of political influence. A recent study in the United States revealed that the amount of biomedical research funding received through the National Institutes of Health was linked to the number of representatives from the institution’s state on the congressional appropriations committee (Hedge & Mowery, 2008). The authors conclude that while the congressional oversight of this funding is important for ensuring public-input into decisions regarding government-supported health research, the process may negate the efforts of the peer-review process. Some critics offer other possible explanations for the trend (Gitlin, 2008) and caution drawing conclusions from the work; however this study does provide a unique empirical perspective on the potential link between politics and research, and should serve to promote dialogue on the issue. Determining Research Methods: How research is done Politics also play a role in the timing of how the approved research is carried out. Public servants may be called upon to conduct research under extremely tight timelines in order to support the politicallydriven announcement of a new government program or priority (McDavid & Huse, 2008). These time pressures may influence the study design or research process, out of necessity to meet the requested deadlines. On the other hand, the approval of certain research findings may be delayed indefinitely when it does not align with government priorities, or may result in conclusions contrary to departmental messaging. Determining Research Timelines: When finding are released Political will may also influence how scientific research findings are disseminated. For example, the federal government recently came under public and media scrutiny for delaying the release of a climate change report, whose findings could attract criticism of existing government policies and programs. The 5 report was only published after contributing scientists independently made the chapters they had authored available to the public, and the government faced considerable external pressure (White, 2008). While the undertaking of the actual research was not impacted by politics in this example, there was significant political influence on the ability of the research findings to be shared, and thus applied. Evaluation Research Evaluation research in the public sector is influenced by politics, due to the political nature of the environment in which the evaluation is being undertaken. Evaluations examine government programs, which are often the result of political decisions, and these evaluations in turn influence subsequent political decisions (Shaw, Green & Mark, 2006). Stakeholders, clients and partners may attempt to, and perhaps succeed, in influencing an evaluation’s scope, methodology or dissemination. Politics may influence what groups or individuals are consulted as part of the evaluation, or if a comparison group is used, in order to avoid creating expectations of compensation for certain populations (Bamberger, Rugh & Mabry, 2006). These issues may prevent the research from being as free from bias as possible. Shaw et al. suggest that political priorities of the governing party may influence what programs are evaluated, and that governments may choose only to publicize evaluations which support platform-linked programs (Shaw et al., 2006). Conclusion Politics has a profound impact on every aspect of research in the public sector. Often research outcomes are predefined and established by political agendas. From the selection of an appropriate model and framing of research questions, to the sources of funding and selection of methodology, to the analysis and presentation of findings and policy recommendations, even in the hard sciences, personal and political biases inevitably come into play. (Rein, 1976). Within the sphere of public sector research these influences are particularly pronounced and have a significant impact on the policy decisions made 6 within public organizations. Researchers and users of public research, must be cognizant of these impacts and verify results from multiple, reliable sources, when practical. 7 References Bamberger, M., Rugh, J., & Mabry, L. (2006). RealWorld Evaluation: Working Under Budget, Time, Data, and Political Constraints. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage. Bozeman, B. & Loveless, S. (1987). Sector Context and Performance A Comparison of Industrial and Government Research Units. Administration & Society, 19(2), 197-235. Dooley, D. (2001). Social Research Methods. 4th Ed. New Jersey: Prentice Hall. Frank, R. (February 16, 2006) A Way to Cut Fuel Consumption That Everybody Likes, Except the Politicians. The New York Times, Business Section. Gitlin, J.M. (2008). New paper suggests politics influence NIH grant distribution. Retrieved January 22, 2009, from Nobel Intent. Official Site: Website:http://arstechnica.com/journals/science.ars/2008/12/18/new-paper-suggests-politicsinfluence-nih-grant-distribution. Hedge, D. & Mowery, D. (2008). Politics and Funding in the U.S. Public Biomedical R&D System. Science, 322 (5909), 1797-1798 Macionios, J. and Gerber, L. (2004). Sociology. 4th Ed. Toronto: Pearson Education. Mankiw, G. (September 16, 2007) “One Answer to Global Warming: A New Tax” The New York Times, Business Section. McDavid, J. C. and Huse, I. (2008). Policy Evaluation Guide for the B.C. Government. School of Public Administration, University of Victoria. Rein, M. (1976). Social Science and Public Policy. New York: Penguin Schwartz, M. (1990). A Sociological Perspective on Politics. New Jersey: Prentice Hall Shaw, I., Greene, J., & Mark, M. (2006). Handbook of Evaluation: Policies, Programs and Practices. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage. St. Martin, R. (2006). The Made-in-Canada Climate Change Mystery. Retrieved January 23, 2009 from Website:http://www.politicswatch.com/climate-july24-2006.htm. Weber, M. “Science as Vocation.” In H.H. Gerth and C. Wright Mills, From Maw Weber: Essays in Sociology. New York: Oxford University Press, 1958:129-56: orig. 1918. White, M. (2008, August 20). Bloggers post Health Canada climate change report on the web. Canwest News Services (various). 8