Suchergebnisse

Instrumental knowledge utilization is the process whereby knowledge influences political decision making. Such processes are complex and, consequently, hard to measure. Nevertheless, knowing what determines degrees of knowledge utilization is a prerequisite for fostering more evidence-based policy making. Numerous factors that contribute to, and co-determine, knowledge utilization are beyond the reach of researchers, but among the factors that researchers can influence, one variable has been presented as being crucial: the degree to which researchers adapt their research to meet the demands of intended knowledge users. In other words, making their research comprehensible, operational, realistic in terms of interventions and implications, and appealing to users. Drawing on the conceptual work of Landry, Amara, and Lamari, this paper develops a new, and more direct, measurement of adaptation. This measurement is subsequently applied in an analysis employing the Degrees of Knowledge Utilization (DoKU) scale and, thus, extending Knudsen's five-year meta-evaluation related to the Danish pesticide area. Surprisingly, the statistical tests show that degrees of adaptation have no significant influence on degrees of knowledge utilization.

Focus on evidence-based policymaking is greater than ever, and public spending on evaluations is rising. A primary merit of these expenditures is that politicians actually use new knowledge instrumentally – to influence and inform decision making. Nevertheless, we know surprisingly little about whether and how research-based knowledge is utilised. This paper presents a new way of documenting Degrees of Knowledge Utilisation: The DoKU-scale. The scale is tested empirically in a five-year meta-evaluation covering 54 evaluations and 334 legal sources. Through robust method triangulation, the DoKU-scale enables comparison of knowledge utilisation across large numbers of knowledge sources and over time.

Hoping to maintain political power, governments rely on their ministers' ability to play the political game. A key part of this is the blame game in which ministers employ different spin strategies. The question is what strategies they employ and how effective these strategies are? The article compares six Danish ministers' use of spin strategies based on content coding of 1412 articles from the Danish newspaper Politiken. Generally, the use of spin strategies has not changed significantly over the past 20 years. The most effective way to handle critique is to employ one single spin strategy, the second-best strategy is passivity, and the worst a minister can do to avoid blame is to employ a combination of spin strategies. Finally, quick and slow responses are equally good/bad.

Hvis en regering ønsker genvalg, er det afgørende, at dens ministre forstår det politiske spil. En central del af dette spil er spillet om skyldsunddragelse. Her kan ministre benytte forskellige spinstrategier. Spørgsmålet er, hvilke spinstrategier ministrene anvender, samt hvor effektive strategierne er. Dette undersøges ved at sammenligne seks danske ministres anvendelse af spinstrategier baseret på indholdskodning af 1412 artikler fra Politiken. Analyserne viser, at trods ændringer i hvilke strategier ministrene benytter, er anvendelsen af spinstrategier ikke øget de seneste tyve år. Mest effektiv er anvendelsen af én spinstrategi, næstmest effektivt er passivitet, og værst er det at kombinere flere spinstrategier. Endelig er hurtig respons hverken mere eller mindre effektiv end langsom.

Hoping to maintain political power, governments rely on their ministers' ability to play the political game. A key part of this is the blame game in which ministers employ different spin strategies. The question is what strategies they employ and how effective these strategies are? The article compares six Danish ministers' use of spin strategies based on content coding of 1412 articles from the Danish newspaper Politiken. Generally, the use of spin strategies has not changed significantly over the past 20 years. The most effective way to handle critique is to employ one single spin strategy, the second-best strategy is passivity, and the worst a minister can do to avoid blame is to employ a combination of spin strategies. Finally, quick and slow responses are equally good/bad.