Constraints and Possibilities in Promoting Public Policy Research

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Constraints and Possibilities in Promoting
Public Policy Research

• Cheng Yin Cheong
• Hong Kong Institute of Education
• Seminar on Public Policy Research
• Organized by CPU RGC
• 6 Nov. 2009

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3 Major Questions

• Demands Are there any genuine contextual demands
  for public policy research (PPR)? If not, Why?
• Interface Is there any effective interface
  between the policy sector and the research sector
  to promote PPR? If not, how to enhance?
• Capacity Do we have the strong capacity for PPR
  in HE institutions? If not, how to build up?

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1. Contextual Demands

• Issues
• Ignored Demands Numerous policy concerns and
  initiatives but unfortunately the demands for
  rigorous public policy research are ignored
• Uninformed Debates The public culture in policy
  debates is mainly characterized by opinions
  instead of research-based evidence.
• Suggested Actions
• The Policy Sector (CPU, Bureaux, Political
  Parties, etc) the Research Sector (Faculties,
  Research Institutes, etc.) work together to
  reconfirm the importance and necessity of PPR for
  every policy initiative and translate it into
  actions in the public policy debate and
  formulation

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2. Interface Facilitation

• Issues
• Missing Linkages Lack of any platform or channel
  (1) to build up sustainable linkages between
  policy initiatives and research initiatives and
  (2) to facilitate their sustainable
  collaborations
• Discouraging Restrictions of Government
  commissioned projects on designing the research,
  releasing the data and publishing the findings or
  reports for wide public/academic consumption
• Suggested Actions
• CPU, RGC representatives of HE institutions
  develop a common platform and the necessary
  protocol
• to improve the interface between the policy and
  research sectors
• to release the rigid restrictions of research
  findings and data for public/academic consumption

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3. Policy Research Capacity (I)

• Issues
• Limited Critical Mass in specific policy areas
  due to the small scale of HE system in Hong Kong.
  Difficult to form research teams with
  multi-disciplinary expertise to investigate the
  complexity of public policies
• Mainly 1st Order Research on issues of single
  domain, short time frame, cross-sectional design,
  evaluation type in narrowed scope. Difficult to
  generate any significant policy implications
• Serious Intra-Competition in the UGC environment
  becomes a hindrance in creating the collaborative
  culture as well as critical mass of expertise for
  public policy research across institutions
• Limited Relevance of ongoing RGC/UGC funded
  research projects and research performance
  assessment initiatives (say, RAE) to policy
  impact and development in Hong Kong.

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3. Policy Research Capacity (II)

• Suggested Actions
• UGCs HE Review addresses the existing
  limitations of a small-scale HE system with new
  initiatives
• To encourage and develop critical mass of
  expertise within and across the UGC institutions
  particularly for PPR and theme-based research
  Establish collaborative research clusters.
• To reduce the intra-competition but provide more
  incentives to foster collaboration
• To enhance the relevance of the RGC/UGC funded
  research projects and research performance
  assessment initiatives (say, RAE) to policy
  impact and development
• Research Sector/ HE Institutions/RGC with the
  support of CPU give priority to the longitudinal
  multi-disciplinary research with large impact
  on policy and HK community