Exploring the Link between Public Attitudes Surveys and Public Policy |
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| Coordinator 1 | Dr Paula Devine (ARK, Queen's University Belfast) |
| Coordinator 2 | Dr Katrina Lloyd (ARK, Queen's University Belfast) |
| Coordinator 3 | Dr Martina McKnight (ARK, Queen's University Belfast) |
| Coordinator 4 | Dr Dirk Schubotz (ARK, Queen's University Belfast) |
The drive towards evidence-based policy making in modern welfare states originated in the 1950s, and we have come to expect that governments and other policy makers use a range of empirical evidence when making public and social policy. Although public attitudes surveys are just one part of that jigsaw of evidence, they play an important role in the policy making process. In particular, public attitudes are vital in exploring if the views and actions of politicians are in step with those of the general public.
This session will focus on the link between policy and attitudes. This link can take different forms and directions. Thus, we are particularly interested in papers that, on the European and/or national level:
• Highlight examples where survey data indicate a mismatch between policy and public opinion
• Explore how public attitudes data have been used by lobbying and other social action groups in order to effect social change
• Discuss how attitudinal survey data have directly fed into policy-making processes
• Explore the role of survey data in evaluation and validation of policy, and in Outcome Based Accountability (OBA) in particular