Background
Knowledge and expertise are fundamental to the governance of the welfare state. When authorities conduct policy analysis and gather knowledge, they typically rely on expert groups, public commissions, consultation with interest organisations, or analyses by experts in the civil service and in research institutions. In recent decades, however, consultancy firms have emerged as a new type of commercial adviser to the state. Yet we know little about consultants as knowledge producers, or about what the use of consultants means for the legitimacy of political decisions.
Purpose
The state's use of consultants raises fundamental questions about knowledge production in the state, and about the role of consultants in the wider knowledge regime. CONSULT will map the expert role of consultants, the assignments they receive, and the role they play in political decision-making processes. Among other things, the project will examine whether knowledge and policy analysis from consultants differ from those produced by researchers, expert groups, tripartite committees and the civil service itself, and whether consultants complement or replace other forms of policy analysis. The project will also investigate what influence consultants' advice has on policymaking in selected welfare policy areas.
CONSULT also adopts a legitimacy perspective, asking what it means for democratic legitimacy that a new type of expert may potentially exert influence over policy. The project examines whether consultancy assignments, tenders and reports are characterised by involvement and transparency on a par with other knowledge bases. CONSULT will also map public opinion on the state's use of consultants.
Approach
CONSULT combines quantitative and qualitative data. The project conducts quantitative analyses of reports, procurement data, text data and other publicly available statistics, alongside qualitative in-depth studies and interviews with politicians and civil servants. The qualitative part focuses on three policy areas: labour market inclusion (the Inclusive Working Life Agreement), family and gender equality policy, and pensions. Through comparative surveys, the project also studies public attitudes towards the use of consultants.
Advisory board
- Daniel Béland (McGill University)
- Michael Howlett (Simon Fraser University)
- Reut Marciano (Hebrew University)
- Vivien Schmidt (Boston University)
- Stefan Svallfors (Institute for Futures Studies)
- Shirin Ahlbäck Öberg (Uppsala University)
