New Political Spaces? Enhancing the Legitimacy of Delegated Agencies

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This research project will examine how to improve the legitimacy of delegated agencies. Examples of delegated agencies range from Non-ministerial Departments like the Forestry Commission, to Non-departmental Public Bodies such as the Environment Agency, and European agencies like the European Banking Authority. These agencies or 'quangos' offer a range of practical benefits such as meeting long-term policy commitments, instituting expertise in policymaking, and helping to reduce overload on central government. At the same time, however, they often suffer from problems relating to their democratic legitimacy, as they cannot claim the same electoral mandate as politicians. This research project will examine ways in which the legitimacy of agencies can be improved, or made more robust, and hence how the benefits they have for governance can be maximised. In particular, the research looks at how legitimacy can be enhanced via external engagement with stakeholders, the media, and the wider public, focusing on six delegated agencies at the UK and EU levels in three policy areas (health technology regulation, disease control and prevention, and food safety). Through a mixture of surveys of stakeholders, semi-structured interviews, and analysis of media coverage and agency documents, the research will examine what strategies agencies have for engaging with the public, and whether those strategies help improve trust and confidence in the agencies. The project will then produce recommendations for how agencies may adopt improved strategies for engagement to enhance public trust and confidence and increase their levels of legitimacy. Workshops with agencies and policy documents will be produced to help agencies implement the recommendations from the project. Moreover, the PI will engage more widely with the public by holding a public event, writing online blog posts, and producing a factual documentary on the issue of legitimacy in contemporary governance, translating the specific academic themes of the project into broader topics of discussion for enhancing public knowledge and understanding of complex forms of delegated governance.