Policy expertise and use of evidence in a populist era

ABSTRACT

Populism and media-enhanced polarisation are reinforcing the declining trust in public institutions. These forces also undermine the perceived legitimacy of using expertise and evidence in highly contested policy areas. Expertise has been decried as elitist, or serving vested interests, or ineffective in tackling real-life problems. We argue that applying relevant expertise to public policy problems remains essential. However, this use of expertise must be situated within improved democratic decision-making and governance arrangements. Good policy governance requires not only using best available knowledge, but also strengthening civic trust and legitimacy, through fair and open processes. We also explore the continuing critical role of senior public servants in strengthening deliberative processes and in enhancing the flows of knowledge.

民粹主义以及媒体张大的两极化，使得公众对公共机构的信任日趋低落。这些力量还削弱了高竞争政策领域内重专业讲证据的合法性。专业知识被嘲笑为精英主义，服务于利益集团，不解决现实问题。笔者认为，将相关专业知识运用于公共政策问题仍然至关重要。只是，专业知识的使用，需要优化的民主决策以及治理安排。好的政策治理不但需要最好的可用知识，也需要通过公平公开的过程增进公众的信任及合法性。笔者还探讨如何让资深公务员继续发挥关键作用，让过程更严谨，知识更流动。

KEYWORDS:

• Expertise
• evidence
• trust
• technocracy
• populism

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.

Notes on contributors

Brian Head is Professor of Policy Analysis at the University of Queensland. He previously held senior roles in government. He has published widely on public policy, public management, collaborative governance, and complex social and environmental policy issues.

Dr Subho Banerjee is Research Program Director at the Australia and New Zealand School of Government, and a Visiting Fellow at the Australian National University. He previously served as a Deputy Secretary in the Australian Public Service, with responsibilities including policy advice and program implementation in education, climate change and science policy.

Notes

1 see https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GGgiGtJk7MA