A “practitioner’s handbook” on the role of social science in regulation and policy.
This discussion paper explores the challenges and opportunities of practicing social science in a government regulator and agency, presenting a repertoire of practices developed and learnt working in a regulator. The repertoire ranges from the simple provision of social facts to much more involved techniques, such as leading the organisation with social science.
The paper concludes that social scientists must understand the organisational context of government departments, agencies and regulators if they wish to operate effectively.
This includes learning to work with other analytical professions (such as science, statistics and economics) and developing social scientific practices that produce instrumental evidence and advice that assist in the solving of problems.
Author: Peter Bailey
Download the report: Using Social Science to Regulate People Business and Technology