Introduction
The uses of science in the development
practice to influence policy have been discussed since the beginning of the
rise of development issue. In 1936, or thirteen years before Truman’s speech
about the role of the west on international development (Haslam, Schafer and
Beaudet 2012: 5), Rutherford (1936: 865-869) wrote an article entitled Science in Development which explained the
importance of science and research findings especially on nature and health
issues to development.
The debate on policy is often about
relationship between science and policy as an important issue in evidence-based
policy and practice (Choi 2005). On the other hand, development is a very
complex business which should not be isolated from the political dynamic
because in fact politics also plays important role in shaping development
policy as all development agenda will involve political strategies, interests
and relations (Therien 2004; Court and Young 2006; Unsworth 2011).
Unfortunately, these two important entities – science (or evidence) and
politics (or ideology) – are at opposite poles and not easy to be matched
(PIPSC 2010).
This article aims to identify and discuss
various conceptual aspects of the role, challenges and innovations in
integrating science and politics in development policy especially in the real
world development practice at international and national levels. In doing so,
this paper will be divided into four parts: First,
the importance of science in development policy; second, the importance of politics in development policy; third, science and politics interfaces including
their challenges and innovation; and fourth,
conclusion.
The
importance of science in development policy
Mitchell (2012) argues that to ensure
the success of sustainable growth and development, science will play critical
roles even when the issue of robustness and level of certainty of the science
still arise. In addition, Miro and Potter (1980: 421) argue that social science
research produces knowledge and understanding that will help us make a better
world by improving social conditions. Supporting this contention, Haines and
Haynes (as cited by Choi 2005) states that Science-based policy will produce
high-quality scientific evidence for the basis of the decision making process.
Example of this is the research on population in early 1980s significantly made
influences into the decision making process within government or other area of
political life and lead to ameliorative change into better policies (Miro and
Potter 1980: 421)
In 2006, Mohammad Yunus in his Nobel
lecture pointed out the importance of science and technology in the development
and he also believes that by using and maximising the use of technology, lives
of the poor people will improve and at the end they can meet their needs. His
contention is based on the facts that information and communication technology
(ICT) is dramatically changing the world and makes everything borderless (Yunus
2006). Moreover, Bastion and Unwin (2008: 54-55) state that ICTs have played a
central and crucial role in the process of globalisation and also meet the
needs of those in power such as business and world’s dominant states to
increase their control in economy.
The
importance of politics in development policy
In addition to the importance of
science, politics also takes central part in development policy. Leftwich
(2000: 4-17) states that the central and dominant variable in development is
their politics. He bluntly states that the very idea and even the definition of
development is political. This contention is based on two main reasons: First, development is not technical
process but it is a political process. Second,
in the politics of development, there will be always debates and arguments from
different actors with different values and interests to ensure that their
preferences being adopted in the particular development strategies (Leftwich
2000: 17-18).
Supporting Leftwich’s idea above, Court
and Young (2006: 86) argue that in international development context, the cycle
of policy process and the implementation of research are all political
processes and they are all significantly shaped by the political context. Moreover,
Sen (2000: 3) contends that development is as a process of expanding the real
freedom; including political freedom such as participation in public
discussion.
Integrating
Science and Politics in Development Policy and Practice:
Challenges and Innovations
Science, politics and policy are
interconnected. The most tangible area of intersection between science and
policy is the facts that research or scientific knowledge is a very common
element of policy making and science often provide solutions to community
problems (Hove 2007: 809). Moreover, Hove (2007: 807) also believes that
science and policy system have many intersections such as processes, solutions,
education, organisations, funding agencies and also actors. The domain of
intersection between science, policy and politics such as: contribution of
science in shaping political agenda, science policy is driven by political
process, policy influence on education sector, influence education on policy,
involvement of scientific experts in policy making process and politicisation
of issues as result of science (Hove 2007: 814).
Integrating science and politics in
development policy and practice is not simple task as it is not only
challenging for developing or under-developed countries but also challenging
for many international development organisations and even for some developed
countries. Science-based (or often called evidence-based) policy is often
competing with political or ideological-based policy. Political interest
themselves can be viewed as ideology or ideational and the ideas have major
impact on international affairs and development (Therien 2004: 3)
One of the challenges to bringing
politics into development agenda is that domestic politics tend to be
patronised and oligarchic with fragmented political parties, weak state
regulation and enforcement, as well as politicisation of administration
(Limpach and Michaelowa 2010: 8). Whereas some of the challenges to put science
into the proper place in policy-making are demand-side challenges in enhancing
policy capabilities and challenges in ensuring the participation of experts or
researchers to engage in policy processes (Edwards and Evans 2011: 9).
Overseas Development Institute (ODI) – a
prominent international independent think tank organisation – makes important
note that even though the centrality of politics in development is globally
acknowledge, but in practice still often ignored (ODI 2002). In line with this
statement, Leftwich (2000: 152) finds that although many scholars have stated
that politics is important in shaping development policy, in the field of
development policy and practice, most of development agencies such as
international agencies (like World Bank and IMF), national aid and development
ministries have ignored the importance of politics in their analysis and also
very rarely employ scientist in political studies.
Another example is the internal
condition of the European Union (EU). The biggest and prominent organisation
like EU also faces this problem. In 2012, the Scientific Advisory Board was
established in the EU to provide link between science and development, but the
future of the board is now uncertain because in 2014 the EU decided to separate
development and research clusters and they will have their own portfolio
(SCIDEV 2014). Many practitioners inside the EU believe that having development
and research in different cluster is not strategic and could harm cooperation
as this means Europe is also ignoring the crucial links between science or
research and foreign policy (SCIDEV 2014).
On the other side, more and more
international organisations realise that putting politics and science back in
international development practice and policy is urgent. Responding to this,
Overseas Development Institute (ODI) established Research and Policy in
Development or RAPID which dedicated to improving the quality of policy by
integrating local knowledge and research-based evidence into policy-making[1].
Another example is the joint project between Australian Department of Foreign
Affairs and Trade (DFAT) and Indonesia’s National Planning Development Agency called
Knowledge Sector Initiatives (KSI) which aimed at improving the quality of
public policies through the use of science, analysis, research and evidence by
improving both demand and supply sides (ODI 2013).
The newest example of integration
between science and politics in development policy is the development process
of Post-2015 Development Agenda as a continuation of Millennium Development
Goals (MDGs). Lead by the UN, the process is complex with many parallel events
and involving numbers of political leaders, national governments, parliament
members, universities, private sectors, NGOs, prominent persons, politicians,
experts, scientists, youth, women, marginalized
groups and even people at the grassroots (UN 2013: 1-14).
Conclusion
In conclusion, the importance of science
and politics in development policy has been acknowledged globally but there are
still many challenges that need to be addressed in the real development practice.
The most important action need to be done is improving policy-making process by
getting back science and politics in development policy.
By bringing back science into
policy-making process, the quality of policies will improve because science and
policy interfaces are strengthening each other. Moreover, putting politics into
development policy also crucial because policy-making processes will involve
political actors, organisations, budget approval and most importantly:
political decision. By doing so, the policy will not only improve in quality but
also easier to be implemented. This is in line with the argument given by Fay
(2007: 400) that policy must be practical, functional, and enforceable. ***
Written by: Agung Wasono (April, 2015)
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