Cognizance and Consultation of Randomized Controlled Trials among Ministerial Policy Analysts

Consultation of scientific evidence by policy actors has been the foci of attention of knowledge utilization scholars for decades. The present study questioned the extent to which randomized controlled trials (RCTs)—generally seen as the gold standard of scientific research—are known and consulted by policy analysts in ministerial settings. Using cross‐sectional data collected in 17 ministries in Québec (Canada), our study showed that fairly high levels of policy analysts report never having heard of RCTs, thus possibly hindering effective communication of scientific results to relevant policy makers. Statistical analyses reveal the importance of cognitive factors in explaining both phenomena.     

Changing the Tobacco Use Management System: Blending Systems Thinking with Actor–Network Theory

Managing “wicked” issues like the tobacco epidemic is addressed using a combination of Open Systems Thinking (OST) and Actor–Network Theory (ANT). OST was used to construct a model of the tobacco problem as a management system acting in a broader environment. This highlighted several problems with the current system but provided no mechanism for reform. ANT, the “sociology of translation,” was used for understanding how change occurs. Unlike systems thinking, ANT focuses the contest for change on heterogeneous networks of human and nonhuman actors that must be constructed through a process of defining and defending models of change, building alliances, gaining public acceptance, and finally achieving institutional acceptance of the reform (or of some compromise). We then show how this dual approach can shed light on a current challenge in controlling tobacco, the issue of product regulation, and the broader issue of harm reduction versus harm elimination.     

The Role of Policy Brokers: The Case of Biotechnology in Kenya

Debates about biotechnology continue to be polarized despite its potential to improve the living standards of the poor in Sub‐Saharan Africa. In the backdrop of this polarized scenario, this paper asked, is there a place for brokers in bringing about a productive debate that is pro‐development? The paper argued that if potential intermediaries are analyzed from the perspective of understanding their role and stakeholding in the regulatory change process, this may help breakout the current polarized anti‐ and pro‐biotechnology debates and thereby focus on how to enable productive biotechnology development. Informed by insights from innovation brokering, the functions of brokers in biotechnology regulation are analyzed through the lens of organizations involved in agricultural biotechnology debates in Kenya. The analysis found that policy brokering function attracts varying opportunities and challenges appropriate for informing relevant policy. The paper drew lessons from Kenya's experience to inform a productive policy brokering model for biotechnology regulation.     

我国社会组织政策参与及其制度分析

在现代社会,以社会组织为载体的参与是比公民个人直接参与更为合理有效的政策参与途径。由于我国社会组织自身能力有限以及制度空间的挤压,目前其对于政策的影响只起有限的作用。当前我国社会组织政策参与主要存在政策参与率较低、政策参与内容的非政治化和途径的非制度化等问题。针对导致社会组织政策影响力低的制度因素,政府应为社会组织的发展创造能促型的法律、制度与政策环境,即构建"分类管理、项目引导、行为监管"的新管理模式、制定出台社会组织基本法以及进一步转变政府职能、拓宽社会组织政策参与的渠道等。     

公共政策评估多元模式的困境及其解决的哲学思考

通过对政策评估模式发展的历史考察,文章分析了政策评估模式由单一向多元转变的逻辑以及多元评估模式的困境。并以南水北调移民政策评估为例,解读了当今多元理性下的政策评估仍然存在的多元利益界定不准确、评估模式结构固化等诸多问题。要从根本上解决多元理性下政策评估模式的问题,必须实现政策评估哲学思维的进一步转变,而这一转变应遵循批判性政策分析理论、利益相关者理论以及理性选择理论的基本价值。     

走向全民健康保险:论中国医疗保障制度的转型

中国已经进入全民医保的时代,但医疗保障体系呈现碎片化的特征,其内部的若干制度安排之间出现了不协调。中国医疗保障体系亟待进一步转型,转型的重点和方向是将基本医疗保障体系从现行分散化、碎片化的社会医疗保险制度,改造为集中化、一体化的社会医疗保险制度,即全民健康保险。推进全民健保是"发展型社会政策"的体现,具有同时促进经济增长和社会发展的双重功效。从短期来看,这是一种简单易行而又可持续的减税计划,可以促进经济增长,有助于经济发展模式的转变;从长远来看,全民健保制度的建立标志着"社会性基础设施"的建设又迈上了一个新的台阶,这必将为中国福利国家的重建奠定基础。