Handbook of Policy Advice
Published on 23. September 2025
Book
Hardback
720 pages
978-1-0353-1807-0 (ISBN)
Description
This timely Handbook examines the background, organization and evolution of policy advice and expertise in contemporary government. Chapters in the book set out and critically re-evaluate conventional assumptions about the role of policy advisors and advice in policy-making in an era when increasing new technologies, political polarization and contestation have mounted challenges to traditional sources of policy ideas and influence.
In 50 chapters on different topics and country experiences, leading international experts explore how issues and developments such as social media and AI have impacted the content, quality and organization of policy advice for modern governments. They discuss how the nature and deployment of policy expertise is changing amidst the fragmentation of existing information ecosystems and growing distrust in traditional actors and institutions. The Handbook analyses the features and problems of existing studies and practices such as evidence-based policy-making and addresses the future of policy advising, illustrating the impact and implications of ongoing shifts towards more pluralistic and social-media-driven sources of policy knowledge.
Students and scholars of public policy, public administration and management, and regulation and governance will greatly benefit from the consolidation of existing knowledge and the novel perspectives on policy advice found in this Handbook. It is also an essential resource for practitioners in public policy and administration.
In 50 chapters on different topics and country experiences, leading international experts explore how issues and developments such as social media and AI have impacted the content, quality and organization of policy advice for modern governments. They discuss how the nature and deployment of policy expertise is changing amidst the fragmentation of existing information ecosystems and growing distrust in traditional actors and institutions. The Handbook analyses the features and problems of existing studies and practices such as evidence-based policy-making and addresses the future of policy advising, illustrating the impact and implications of ongoing shifts towards more pluralistic and social-media-driven sources of policy knowledge.
Students and scholars of public policy, public administration and management, and regulation and governance will greatly benefit from the consolidation of existing knowledge and the novel perspectives on policy advice found in this Handbook. It is also an essential resource for practitioners in public policy and administration.
Reviews / Votes
'Howlett and Mukherjee have edited a fascinating and valuable Handbook that will be a key reference for scholars and students. It puts a spotlight on a part of the policy process that was always thought important, but the range of contributions in this Handbook makes it into a subject in its own right.' -- Peter John, King's College London, UK 'In recent years, the literature on the role of advice in public policy making has expanded massively. This impressive new Handbook fills a significant gap in the literature by marshalling together the most salient aspects into fifty logically ordered chapters, each carefully researched and fully referenced. Highly recommended.' -- Andrew Jordan, Tyndall Centre for Climate Change Research, UK 'A magisterial collection on policy expertise in our populist age, with fresh insights into how policy advice works when facts are contested. Contributors map both advisors, and advisory systems under siege. Essential for understanding why speaking truth to power has never been harder-or more necessary.' -- Leslie A. Pal, Hamad Bin Khalifa University, QatarMore details
Series
Language
English
Place of publication
Cheltenham
United Kingdom
Target group
Professional and scholarly
Dimensions
Height: 244 mm
Width: 169 mm
ISBN-13
978-1-0353-1807-0 (9781035318070)
Copyright in bibliographic data and cover images is held by Nielsen Book Services Limited or by the publishers or by their respective licensors: all rights reserved.
Schweitzer Classification
Persons
Edited by Michael Howlett, Burnaby Mountain Professor and Canada Research Chair (Tier 1), Department of Political Science, Simon Fraser University, Canada and Ishani Mukherjee, Associate Professor, School of Social Sciences, Singapore Management University, Singapore
Content
Contents
Speaking truth to power no more? Examining the patterns and practices of policy advice in the contemporary era 1
Michael Howlett and Ishani Mukherjee
PART I INTRODUCTION AND KEY CONCEPTS IN THE STUDY OF POLICY ADVICE
Section I.1 Introduction - policy advice and why it is problematic
1 Speaking truth to power: the dynamics of knowledge use in policymaking 15
Giliberto Capano and Anna Malandrino
2 Rethinking a policy science for democracy: a deliberative approach to expert advice 25
Frank Fischer
3 'Non-knowledge' in contemporary public policy: amnesia, ignorance, and misinformation 35
Adam Hannah, Jordan Tchilingirian and Linda Courtenay Botterill
4 Policy advice as a particular type of policy work 47
Arnost Vesely
5 Knowledge demand: the political drivers of policy advice 58
Rob Manwaring and Lawrence Velasco
Section I.2 The nature of policy advice
6 What counts as evidence in policy advice 71
Paul Cairney
7 Evidence-based policy or policy-based evidence? Science-policy relations in evidence-based policymaking 83
Holger Strassheim
8 Issues of quality: what is good policy analysis and how do we know? 101
Wil A.H. Thissen and Patricia G.J. Twaalfhoven
9 Utilization-focused scientific policy advice: a six-point checklist for experts and professionals 136
Fritz Sager, Celine Mavrot, Markus Hinterleitner, David Kaufmann, Martin Grosjean and Thomas F. Stocker
10 Policy advice and capacity 146
A?z?a?d? ?S?i?n?g?h? ?B?a?l?i? ?a?n?d? ?M?.? ?K?e?r?e?m? ?C?o?b?a?n?
Section I.3 Generating policy knowledge
11 Knowledge supply: expert professions, epistemic communities and instrument constituencies 160
J?o?h?a?n? ?C?h?r?i?s?t?e?n?s?e?n?
12 The nature of policy influence: what kinds of advice do governments listen to and for what purposes? 170
N?a?t?a?l?i?a? ?M?a?s?s?a?c?o? ?K?o?g?a?,? ?P?e?d?r?o? ?L?u?c?a?s? ?d?e? ?M?o?u?r?a? ?P?a?l?o?t?t?i?,? ?B?r?u?n?o? ?G?o?n?t?y?j?o? ?d?o? ?C?o?u?t?o?,? ?R?a?f?a?e?l? ?d?a? ?S?i?l?v?a? ?L?i?n?s? ?a?n?d? ?M?a?r?i?c?i?l?e?n?e? ?I?s?a?i?r?a? ?B?a?i?a? ?d?o? ?N?a?s?c?i?m?e?n?t?o?
13 Ideas and policy advice 186
D?a?n?i?e?l? ?B?el?a?n?d? ?a?n?d? ?I?s?h?a?n?i? ?M?u?k?h?e?r?j?e?e?
14 Interest-based policy influence organizations: lobbyists and interest groups 195
C?h?r?i?s?t?o?p?h?e?r? ?A?.? ?C?o?o?p?e?r? ?a?n?d? ?M?a?x?i?m?e? ?B?o?u?c?h?e?r?
15 Transnational policy advice: transfer agents and power relations 208
O?s?m?a?n?y? ?P?o?r?t?o? ?d?e? ?O?l?i?v?e?i?r?a? ?a?n?d? ?C?el?i?n?e? ?M?a?v?r?o?t?
PART II POLICY ADVICE AND KNOWLEDGE UTILIZATION IN PUBLIC POLICY-MAKING
Section II.1 The sources of policy advice
16 The three-legged race: public servants and political advisers in the policy process 222
R?i?c?h?a?r?d? ?S?h?a?w?
17 The role of academics: super-users and hyper-experts in delivering policy advice 233
A?n?d?r?e?a? ?M?i?g?o?n?e?,? ?R?.? ?M?i?c?h?a?e?l? ?M?c?G?r?e?g?o?r?,? ?K?a?t?h?y? ?B?r?o?c?k? ?a?n?d? ?M?i?c?h?a?e?l? ?H?o?w?l?e?t?t?
18 The governance of policy advice: between scientization and a participatory turn 246
E?v?a? ?K?r?i?c?k?,? ?C?a?t?h?r?i?n?e? ?H?o?l?s?t? ?a?n?d? ?J?o?h?a?n? ?C?h?r?i?s?t?e?n?s?e?n?
19 Lobbying across the policy cycle: sources of policy advice lobbyists, policy consulting, and think tanks 262
D?a?v?i?d? ?C?o?e?n? ?a?n?d? ?A?l?e?x?a?n?d?e?r? ?K?a?t?s?a?i?t?i?s?
20 Engineering advice for policy: opportunities and risks 276
A?d?a?m? ?C?.? ?G?.? ?C?o?o?p?e?r? ?a?n?d? ?L?a?u?r?e?n?t? ?L?i?o?t?e ?
Section II.2 The organization of policy advice
21 The role of internal governmental knowledge agencies: statistical bureaus and legislative research offices 287
Cosmo Howard
22 The new ecology and dynamics of bureaucratic policy advisory systems: policy, innovation, and appraisal units in turbulent environments 299
Evert Lindquist
23 Organizing policy advice within government: the role of policy shops 315
Andrea Migone and Michael Howlett
24 Think tanks and policy labs: knowledge-based policy influence organizations as policy advisors 331
Adam M. Wellstead and Michael Howlett
25 Something old, something new: public inquiries and policy advice 340
Alastair Stark and Sophie Yates
Section II.3 Communicating policy knowledge and advice knowledge protocols
26 Use and effectiveness of policy briefs as a knowledge transfer tool: a scoping review 353
Diana Arnautu and Christian Dagenais
27 Awareness and use of systematic literature reviews and meta-analyses by ministerial policy analysts 366
Pierre-Olivier Bedard and Mathieu Ouimet
28 Evaluation influence? Mobilizing policy evaluation advice into the policy process 381
Pirmin Bundi and Valerie Pattyn
29 Can the use of minipublics backfire? Examining how policy adoption shapes the effect of minipublics on political support among the general public 391
Lisa Van Dijk and Jonas Lefevere
30 Embracing the future of the policy sciences: big data in pedagogy and practice 408
Ola G. El-Taliawi, Nihit Goyal and Michael Howlett
PART III MATCHING POLICY ADVICE SUPPLY AND DEMAND
Section III.1 Policy brokers
31 Interactions between governments and information suppliers: beyond the two communities metaphor 428
Joshua Newman and Mirah Mahaswari
32 Knowledge brokers 438
Eleanor MacKillop, James Downe, Steve Martin and Hannah Durrant
33 Policy entrepreneurs and policy brokerage for policy advice 452
Darren Disney and Michael Mintrom
34 The role of policy advice and policy professionals in organizations 462
Joanna Mellquist
35 Political advisors as policy brokers 474
Marleen Brans and Pierre Squevin
Section III.2 Policy consulting
36 Obtaining policy advice through the market 487
Michael Howlett and Andrea Migone
37 Core and linkage formulation work: understanding the scope of consultants' policy formulation roles and what drives their policy influence 507
Reut Marciano
38 From consultocracy to professional service cartels: understanding the leverage of transnational professional service firms in the market for policy advice 519
Chris Hurl
39 Behavioural policy advice: the location of specialized policy consultants 532
Ishani Mukherjee and Sarah Giest
40 A very special kind of consultant: how public engagement practitioners deal with the democratic ethos of their profession 542
Laurence Bherer
Section III.3 Policy advice systems
41 Policy Advisory Systems as knowledge filters: actors, contents, and dynamics in public policy 555
Maria Tullia Galanti
42 The politico-administrative and politico-ideational foundations of comparative Policy Advisory Systems 575
Jakob Laage-Thomsen
43 Change and dynamics in policy advisory systems: confronting the types and nature of PAS change 589
Jonathan Craft and John Halligan
44 Variations of policy advisory systems: taking stock 600
Thurid Hustedt
45 Democratising expertise 609
Eva Krick and Cathrine Holst
PART IV THE FUTURE OF POLICY ADVICE
Section IV.1 Future Trends: participatory advice and pluralistic knowledge sources
46 The potentials and limitations of using artificial intelligence for policymaking 622
Pascal D. Koenig and Georg Wenzelburger
47 Co-production, collaboration and co-design as sources of policy advice 638
Colette Einfeld and Emma Blomkamp
48 Problems of expertise in a populist era 649
Brian Head
49 The impact of social media, 'fake news,' and disinformation on policy advice 660
Kris Hartley
50 Policy influence and influencers online and off 673
Anniina Kotkaniemi, Tuomas Ylae-Anttila, Ted Hsuan and Yun Chen
Index 695
Speaking truth to power no more? Examining the patterns and practices of policy advice in the contemporary era 1
Michael Howlett and Ishani Mukherjee
PART I INTRODUCTION AND KEY CONCEPTS IN THE STUDY OF POLICY ADVICE
Section I.1 Introduction - policy advice and why it is problematic
1 Speaking truth to power: the dynamics of knowledge use in policymaking 15
Giliberto Capano and Anna Malandrino
2 Rethinking a policy science for democracy: a deliberative approach to expert advice 25
Frank Fischer
3 'Non-knowledge' in contemporary public policy: amnesia, ignorance, and misinformation 35
Adam Hannah, Jordan Tchilingirian and Linda Courtenay Botterill
4 Policy advice as a particular type of policy work 47
Arnost Vesely
5 Knowledge demand: the political drivers of policy advice 58
Rob Manwaring and Lawrence Velasco
Section I.2 The nature of policy advice
6 What counts as evidence in policy advice 71
Paul Cairney
7 Evidence-based policy or policy-based evidence? Science-policy relations in evidence-based policymaking 83
Holger Strassheim
8 Issues of quality: what is good policy analysis and how do we know? 101
Wil A.H. Thissen and Patricia G.J. Twaalfhoven
9 Utilization-focused scientific policy advice: a six-point checklist for experts and professionals 136
Fritz Sager, Celine Mavrot, Markus Hinterleitner, David Kaufmann, Martin Grosjean and Thomas F. Stocker
10 Policy advice and capacity 146
A?z?a?d? ?S?i?n?g?h? ?B?a?l?i? ?a?n?d? ?M?.? ?K?e?r?e?m? ?C?o?b?a?n?
Section I.3 Generating policy knowledge
11 Knowledge supply: expert professions, epistemic communities and instrument constituencies 160
J?o?h?a?n? ?C?h?r?i?s?t?e?n?s?e?n?
12 The nature of policy influence: what kinds of advice do governments listen to and for what purposes? 170
N?a?t?a?l?i?a? ?M?a?s?s?a?c?o? ?K?o?g?a?,? ?P?e?d?r?o? ?L?u?c?a?s? ?d?e? ?M?o?u?r?a? ?P?a?l?o?t?t?i?,? ?B?r?u?n?o? ?G?o?n?t?y?j?o? ?d?o? ?C?o?u?t?o?,? ?R?a?f?a?e?l? ?d?a? ?S?i?l?v?a? ?L?i?n?s? ?a?n?d? ?M?a?r?i?c?i?l?e?n?e? ?I?s?a?i?r?a? ?B?a?i?a? ?d?o? ?N?a?s?c?i?m?e?n?t?o?
13 Ideas and policy advice 186
D?a?n?i?e?l? ?B?el?a?n?d? ?a?n?d? ?I?s?h?a?n?i? ?M?u?k?h?e?r?j?e?e?
14 Interest-based policy influence organizations: lobbyists and interest groups 195
C?h?r?i?s?t?o?p?h?e?r? ?A?.? ?C?o?o?p?e?r? ?a?n?d? ?M?a?x?i?m?e? ?B?o?u?c?h?e?r?
15 Transnational policy advice: transfer agents and power relations 208
O?s?m?a?n?y? ?P?o?r?t?o? ?d?e? ?O?l?i?v?e?i?r?a? ?a?n?d? ?C?el?i?n?e? ?M?a?v?r?o?t?
PART II POLICY ADVICE AND KNOWLEDGE UTILIZATION IN PUBLIC POLICY-MAKING
Section II.1 The sources of policy advice
16 The three-legged race: public servants and political advisers in the policy process 222
R?i?c?h?a?r?d? ?S?h?a?w?
17 The role of academics: super-users and hyper-experts in delivering policy advice 233
A?n?d?r?e?a? ?M?i?g?o?n?e?,? ?R?.? ?M?i?c?h?a?e?l? ?M?c?G?r?e?g?o?r?,? ?K?a?t?h?y? ?B?r?o?c?k? ?a?n?d? ?M?i?c?h?a?e?l? ?H?o?w?l?e?t?t?
18 The governance of policy advice: between scientization and a participatory turn 246
E?v?a? ?K?r?i?c?k?,? ?C?a?t?h?r?i?n?e? ?H?o?l?s?t? ?a?n?d? ?J?o?h?a?n? ?C?h?r?i?s?t?e?n?s?e?n?
19 Lobbying across the policy cycle: sources of policy advice lobbyists, policy consulting, and think tanks 262
D?a?v?i?d? ?C?o?e?n? ?a?n?d? ?A?l?e?x?a?n?d?e?r? ?K?a?t?s?a?i?t?i?s?
20 Engineering advice for policy: opportunities and risks 276
A?d?a?m? ?C?.? ?G?.? ?C?o?o?p?e?r? ?a?n?d? ?L?a?u?r?e?n?t? ?L?i?o?t?e ?
Section II.2 The organization of policy advice
21 The role of internal governmental knowledge agencies: statistical bureaus and legislative research offices 287
Cosmo Howard
22 The new ecology and dynamics of bureaucratic policy advisory systems: policy, innovation, and appraisal units in turbulent environments 299
Evert Lindquist
23 Organizing policy advice within government: the role of policy shops 315
Andrea Migone and Michael Howlett
24 Think tanks and policy labs: knowledge-based policy influence organizations as policy advisors 331
Adam M. Wellstead and Michael Howlett
25 Something old, something new: public inquiries and policy advice 340
Alastair Stark and Sophie Yates
Section II.3 Communicating policy knowledge and advice knowledge protocols
26 Use and effectiveness of policy briefs as a knowledge transfer tool: a scoping review 353
Diana Arnautu and Christian Dagenais
27 Awareness and use of systematic literature reviews and meta-analyses by ministerial policy analysts 366
Pierre-Olivier Bedard and Mathieu Ouimet
28 Evaluation influence? Mobilizing policy evaluation advice into the policy process 381
Pirmin Bundi and Valerie Pattyn
29 Can the use of minipublics backfire? Examining how policy adoption shapes the effect of minipublics on political support among the general public 391
Lisa Van Dijk and Jonas Lefevere
30 Embracing the future of the policy sciences: big data in pedagogy and practice 408
Ola G. El-Taliawi, Nihit Goyal and Michael Howlett
PART III MATCHING POLICY ADVICE SUPPLY AND DEMAND
Section III.1 Policy brokers
31 Interactions between governments and information suppliers: beyond the two communities metaphor 428
Joshua Newman and Mirah Mahaswari
32 Knowledge brokers 438
Eleanor MacKillop, James Downe, Steve Martin and Hannah Durrant
33 Policy entrepreneurs and policy brokerage for policy advice 452
Darren Disney and Michael Mintrom
34 The role of policy advice and policy professionals in organizations 462
Joanna Mellquist
35 Political advisors as policy brokers 474
Marleen Brans and Pierre Squevin
Section III.2 Policy consulting
36 Obtaining policy advice through the market 487
Michael Howlett and Andrea Migone
37 Core and linkage formulation work: understanding the scope of consultants' policy formulation roles and what drives their policy influence 507
Reut Marciano
38 From consultocracy to professional service cartels: understanding the leverage of transnational professional service firms in the market for policy advice 519
Chris Hurl
39 Behavioural policy advice: the location of specialized policy consultants 532
Ishani Mukherjee and Sarah Giest
40 A very special kind of consultant: how public engagement practitioners deal with the democratic ethos of their profession 542
Laurence Bherer
Section III.3 Policy advice systems
41 Policy Advisory Systems as knowledge filters: actors, contents, and dynamics in public policy 555
Maria Tullia Galanti
42 The politico-administrative and politico-ideational foundations of comparative Policy Advisory Systems 575
Jakob Laage-Thomsen
43 Change and dynamics in policy advisory systems: confronting the types and nature of PAS change 589
Jonathan Craft and John Halligan
44 Variations of policy advisory systems: taking stock 600
Thurid Hustedt
45 Democratising expertise 609
Eva Krick and Cathrine Holst
PART IV THE FUTURE OF POLICY ADVICE
Section IV.1 Future Trends: participatory advice and pluralistic knowledge sources
46 The potentials and limitations of using artificial intelligence for policymaking 622
Pascal D. Koenig and Georg Wenzelburger
47 Co-production, collaboration and co-design as sources of policy advice 638
Colette Einfeld and Emma Blomkamp
48 Problems of expertise in a populist era 649
Brian Head
49 The impact of social media, 'fake news,' and disinformation on policy advice 660
Kris Hartley
50 Policy influence and influencers online and off 673
Anniina Kotkaniemi, Tuomas Ylae-Anttila, Ted Hsuan and Yun Chen
Index 695