Transforming think tanks into ‘policy hubs’: The creation of research−policy networks

Abstract

The development of public policy has been dogged for many decades by two main issues: the use of evidence and knowledge generated through research, and the engagement of external policy actors or non-state actors in the policy process. The collaborative role of universities and think tanks has seldom been considered in this context. This research thus poses the following three research questions: i) Does a policy network currently exist between government policy makers and university researchers? ii) Is there value in having an institutional structure that mediates and brings together government policy makers and university researchers by operating at the interface of research and policy? iii) What role can a think tank play within this context? How may this vary from the traditional role of a think tank? In order to address these questions, this research systematically investigates the role of university research centres, and think tanks as mediators in policy interactions with the Australian government. Using an interdisciplinary perspective, this research also explores these issues using the heuristics of policy networks and governance. The Social Policy Research Centre (SPRC) at the University of New South Wales, a university research centre, and the HC Coombs Policy Forum, a policy think tank at the Australian National University, were used as case studies in this research. As the Australian government founded both these institutions three decades apart, insights were provided into the ways government thinking has evolved. The findings from this research are unique. While addressing the research questions, this thesis also outlines how think tanks must transform themselves into systemintegrating institutional structures or ‘policy hubs’ that can be responsible for the creation of policy communities. Such policy hubs can also pursue activity at the interface of research and policy, helping bridge the divide between university researchers and public policy makers. In addition, this research also develops a threetiered framework, Research-Inform-Interact-Integrate-Policy or ‘researchINpolicy’(rINp), providing a mechanism to better understand how research can have an influence on public policy.