Working for Policy

There are now many people involved in ‘making policy’, but there is not a great deal written about how they do it. Most of the books on policy tend to refer obliquely, if at all, to the actual practice of policy work, and offer little guidance to policy workers or students of policy. ‘Policy work’ seems to be something that you learn on the job. This book addresses directly the nature of policy work.It blends academic and experiential knowledge of the policy process in describing, analysing and evaluating what modern policy workers do in particular situations, and why is that the appropriate thing to do, how it contributes to the policy process, what impact it has, and what can we learn from this about the skills and knowledge required for policy work in complex modern societies.

Table of Contents:
Preface, A. Introduction, 1. Understanding Policy Work, B. Accounts of Policy Work, Introduction, 2. Giving Accounts of Policy Work, 3. Academic Accounts of Policy Experience, C. Constructing Meaning trough Policy Work, Introduction, 4. New Life for Old Buildings: Mediating Between Different Meanings, 5. Policy Workers Tinkering with Uncertainty: Dutch Econometric Policy Advice in Action, D. Policy Work as Mediation, Introduction, 6. Managing the Problematic in Policy Work, 7. Evaluation as Policy Work: Puzzling and Powering in a Dutch Program for Sustainable Development, E. Policy Work Beyond the Nation-State, Introduction, 8. Policy Work Between National and International Contexts: Maintaining Ongoing Collaboration, 9. Flying Blind in Brussels: How National Offi cials Do European Business Without Political Steering, F. Linking Systemic and Experiential Knowledge, Introduction, 10. Is Evidence-Based Policy Making Really Possible? Reflections for Policymakers and Academics on Making Use of Research in the Work of Policy, 11. Locating the Work of Policy, G. Conclusions, 12. The Lessons for Policy Work, About the Authors, Index of Names, Index of Subjects

About the Author :
Hal Colebatch is Professorial Visiting Fellow at the University of New South Wales, Australia, and Visiting Fellow in the Institute of Governance Studies at the University of Twente. Mirko Noordegraaf is professor of Public Management, Utrecht University, The Netherlands. Robert Hoppe is professor of Knowledge and Policy at the University of Twente.