This article is written by Matthew MacLean, Senior Associate at the Ontario Ministry of Municipal Affairs and Housing, based in Toronto.

In this day and age, government policy staff spend a lot of time on “delivery” or implementation.

They may work in many areas of policy over their careers, building expertise in the policy process itself rather than acquiring subject matter expertise. For this reason, research skills have actually increased in importance for policy roles, and the key to successful research is good problem framing. By properly framing a policy problem, you save yourself time doing research, provide solutions with the greatest chance of being effective, and ensure your advice aligns with government direction.

Being asked to gather authoritative information and data on a policy question within very tight timeframes is obviously quite a challenge. But if you can do it well, you are not just developing core skills that will boost your CV, you are also increasing the chance that your work can have a real impact on government. Here are five suggestions for problem framing in policy research that I continue to develop after six years working in environmental and transportation policy.

Dig the well before you’re thirsty

Laying a foundation early on can save you time conceptualising the problem when a specific policy question requires a quick answer.

Take the opportunity to discover the stories happening in your field and follow them. Identify the best trade publications, newsletters and blogs and subscribe to them. Establish news alerts and follow the experts on Twitter.

Sometimes, the direction provided for your research is not entirely clear. The ultimate goal may be known, but the reason for researching a particular matter may not be so evident

While working in transportation policy, I found these were my best sources of news and research on mobility technology, an area that has seen an explosion of innovation in recent years. You can use your newsfeed to stay cutting edge while attendance at conferences remains curtailed due to Covid-19.

Identify the people who are the subject matter experts in your area within government. There seem to be fewer of them around as policy staff increasingly tend towards generalists, but wherever you find them, they are invaluable for helping you frame the issues, validate your problem definition and check your conclusions.

Use political acuity to scope your research

The way you conduct research depends on the specific goal you are trying to achieve. As such, you need to understand this goal as clearly as possible. If the goal is to design or update a policy instrument or program, what exactly is the information you need?

Sometimes, the direction provided for your research is not entirely clear. The ultimate goal may be known, but the reason for researching a particular matter may not be so evident. It must be acknowledged that the political staff providing direction will have their own impressions of the policy topic just like everyone else; they may have read an article or had a conversation that led them to believe a particular issue is key to their policy objective. You need to use your political acuity to fill in the blanks when the direction provided seems incomplete.

Consider: how does your research fit into the story that the government wants to tell? Think in terms of the themes of the government’s mandate and resist the urge to reframe issues. You need to provide what is asked, not what you think should have been asked. If you think that this means that important context will be left out, find ways to provide it without rewriting the agenda.

Focus

Research is one of those tasks that requires a lot of concentration to do well, so save the research for periods when you can make uninterrupted progress. This may require a conversation with your superiors where you outline trade-offs among your job responsibilities so that everyone can agree on reasonable expectations.

Be aware of ideological affiliations. Know that while the research may be of excellent quality, the questions that are asked and information presented may be selective in a way that is not obvious to a non-expert

Plan your research to fit the needs of the document that you have been asked to provide. There is no sense in digesting a ton of information that is ultimately incidental or unnecessary to what will be included. Are there models you can use? What information will be included (and importantly, not included) and how will it be organised?

Anticipate the questions that decision-makers will ask at a briefing. Read or scan with a question in mind to be more efficient.

Leverage different information sources

What are the conventional views on your topic? What are typical contrasting perspectives? Find and consult jurisdictional scans for a helpful quick review to help you calibrate your problem framing.

Third-party institutions and advocates understand that policy staff don’t have a lot of time, so they publish easily-digestible reports and studies. But since these are generally conceived to influence decision-makers and the public, government staff have to be sharp enough to critically evaluate the way they frame an issue. Be aware of ideological affiliations. Know that while the research may be of excellent quality, the questions that are asked and information presented may be selective in a way that is not obvious to a non-expert.

Be judicious with standard academic research which may be too narrowly scoped for your purposes. The technical aspects may be outside your expertise, making the information difficult and time-consuming to assess. However, particularly with meta-studies, academic papers can be a source of very robust evidence and point to emerging consensus on an issue.

Avoid common pitfalls

Beware the groupthink that attends trendy issues. Guard against easy but potentially misleading parallels. For example: are ride hailing services and taxis the same or are there important differences with policy implications?

Great care needs to be taken in thinking about the social dimension of issues, particularly where historically disadvantaged groups are concerned. Research should not be undertaken in a way that perpetuates long-standing inequities. No area of policy is “neutral”.

Finally, present results that are as defensible and credible as possible, but don’t oversell it. Be clear upfront about the uncertainties associated with particular conclusions.

Policy research and how you frame policy problems gives you the chance to make your mark, because your skill in research directly affects the quality and originality of the advice you provide. It’s also very rewarding because it’s a chance to learn, so have fun with it! — Matthew MacLean

(Picture credit: Unsplash)

Make sure to share your own thoughts with the author by leaving a comment below