Sickness in government science: case, cause and cure Available to Purchase

This paper is concerned with the poor state or ‘sickness’ of ‘government science’ —a science characterised by its statistical or operational research character, its purported usefulness to government departments in the effective implementation of public policies or projects, and the contracting of the apparently necessary research to agents whose expertise usually exceeds that which is available within a department. The paper refers to cases of ‘sickness’ drawn from the author's own experience, contractual and non-contracted. It pays particular attention to the case of the continuing Safety Camera Partnership Project: its mishandling by the Department of Transport and the consequent level of public concern. The current prevalence of such cases has deep historical roots, going back to the role of Viscount Haldane before the First World War and the neglect of the principles he later formulated. The paper concludes with a practical suggestion for how to avoid ‘sickness’ in any particular project.