Policy Information Market: Policy Analysts’ Strategies for Knowledge Utilization

Abstract

In the policy information market, a politician demands policy knowledge and information. When making a policy decision, he/she is confronted with considerable uncertainty about policy impacts, citizens’ preferences and their reactions to his/her decision. A politician aiming at reelection will make an effort to make a deliberate decision so that the possibility of reelection could increase. Such decision making is facilitated by policy knowledge and information, which he/she seeks. Policy knowledge and information, hence, are strategically important to him/her.
In normative terms, as well, a politician should obtain knowledge and information on public policy. This is the case especially given that policymaking at the initiative of politicians has been emphasized recently; a politician is expected to be actively engaged in policymaking, not to depend excessively on bureaucrats. It follows that he/she has to have sufficient ability to deal with complicated policy problems. To acquire such ability, various pieces of knowledge and information need to be given to him/her.
This paper focuses on policy analysts as suppliers of policy knowledge and information. Policy analysts are often confronted with the gap between a policy outcome shaped in the policymaking process and policy knowledge they supply, and hope to have such knowledge more utilized so that this gap could be bridged. They are required, consequently, to actively sell their products (viz., knowledge and information) to politicians, consumers of those products. The current emphasis on political initiative, moreover, is considered to give policy analysts a good chance to sell their products. A limited number of producers of knowledge and information used to be allowed to enter the policy information market, such as bureaucrats. Such a regulation has been eased now; more various producers including policy analysts can supply their products to customers.
Policy analysts’ possible strategies for knowledge utilization are examined, in this paper, in terms of demonstration, timing and sales methods. Policy analysts need to briefly explain the advantages of a policy instrument they consider as socially desirable, through using simple and symbolic words; to sell their products when an issue is highly salient; and to be directly involved in policymaking and exchange information with politicians.
Even if policy analysts try to be directly involved in policymaking, nevertheless, knowledge they supply is not necessarily linked to a policy decision. In the successful cases referred to in this paper, the political leaders tied policy research to a reform under discussion. Such a strong leader, however, does not always control the policymaking process. How to make the policy information market more efficient, hence, should be considered in institutional terms; developing the system which connects policy knowledge and information to policy deliberation is worthy to be done.