EAGER: A Relational Model for Understanding the Use of Research in the Policy Process

罗伯塔·斯瓦尔特-罗斯·凯利乔伊斯乔治·梅森大学国家科学基金会支持一系列与政策相关的主题的研究。例如，其社会科学研究组合包括关于教育和学习、移民、人口学、恐怖主义、环境、灾害、犯罪和刑事司法、婚姻和家庭、社会福利、就业和职业、军事、健康和行为以及与城市和城市地区有关的问题(如无家可归、贫困、城市和经济发展)的项目。这些研究有可能为国内和国际政策、公共辩论和实践提供信息，有些是这样做的，但以间接和不透明的方式。PIS计划进一步概念化和测试一种新的方法，一种更好地捕捉社会科学研究如何被纳入政策进程和实践的概念模型。该项目具有变革性，因为它没有假设一个“理想化的”但过于简单化的因果模型，该模型想当然地认为政策制定者将阅读学术期刊上的研究成果，并采用他们的方法和发现来制定新的政策。研究人员不是以研究开始，以新的公共政策结束的线性模型，而是基于关系、战略、活动、网络和过程提出的关系模型，这些关系模型导致在各种政策地点将社会科学研究用于政策目的。为了测试和完善这一关系概念模型，私人投资机构将召集一个由社会科学家组成的跨学科小组，他们将提供成功(和不太成功)的社会科学研究人员的案例研究，这些研究人员的工作是否已经进入政策过程。这些案例研究将被用来制作社会科学研究能够并确实为公共政策提供信息的成功途径的精炼模型。广泛影响该项目具有潜在的变革性，因为该项目不是考察研究对政策的影响的“理想化”随意模型，而是使用研究人员经验的案例研究，以提供导致在各种政策情况下使用或不使用社会科学研究的人际关系、网络和社会过程的互动模型。一项研究成果的广泛传播有可能增加社会科学家的人数，他们更愿意考虑(1)学术研究界以外的研究和发现；(2)更具体地说，社会科学研究成果如何为公共政策和实践提供信息。

SES-1441446Roberta Spalter-RothKelly JoyceGeorge Mason UniversityThe National Science Foundation supports research on a range of policy-relevant topics. For example, its social science research portfolio includes projects on education and learning, immigrations, demography, terrorism, the environment, disasters, crime and criminal justice, marriage and family, social welfare, employment and occupations, the military, health and behavior, and issues associated with cities and urban areas (e.g., homelessness, poverty, and urban and economic development). These studies have the potential to inform domestic and international policy, public debates and practice and some do, but in indirect and non-transparent ways. The PIs plans to further conceptualize and test a new approach, a conceptual model that better captures how social science research is brought into the policy process and practice. The project is transformative in that it does not assume an "idealized," but simplistic, causal model that takes for granted that policymakers will read research in scholarly journals and adopt their methods and findings to craft new policy. Rather than a linear model that starts with the research and ends with new public policy, the researchers propose a relational model based on relationships, strategies, activities, networks, and processes that result in the use of social science research for policy purposes at a variety of policy locations. To test and refine this relational conceptual model, the PIs will convene an interdisciplinary group of social scientists who will provide case studies of both successful (and not so successful) social science researchers whose work has found its way (or not) into the policy process. The case studies will be used to produce a refined model of successful pathways in which social science research can and does inform public policy.Broader ImpactThe project is potentially transformative because rather than examine an "idealized" casual model of the impact of research on policy, the project uses cases studies of researchers' experiences to inform an interactive model of human relationships, networks, and social processes that result in the use or the failure to use social science research in a variety of policy situations. The widespread dissemination of a findings has the potential to increase the number of social scientists who are more attuned to considering (1) about their research and findings beyond the academic research community; and (2) in more specific terms how social science research findings can inform public policy and practice.