Academics research project earns international award

A research project that shows the value of including the public’s input in the political process has won a research award from IAP2 Australasia.

Associate Professor Jennifer Lees-Marshment’s project, “The Ministry of Public Input” was named the IAP2 Australasia Winner of the 2015 Research Award at a ceremony in Perth last week.

The IAP2, (International Association for Public Participation) is an international organisation to advance and extend the practice of public participation.

“I was delighted to get this award from IAP2 because I don’t just want to write books for academics, I want to provide research that informs best practice, and I spoke to public engagement practitioners early on in the research to make it as impactful as possible,” Jennifer says.

The associate professor in politics at the University of Auckland interviewed 50 government ministers in New Zealand, Australia, the UK, Canada and the United States for her project, which was initially published as a book earlier this year. The Ministry of Public Input explores how public input through different forms (market research, consultation and deliberation) can be integrated into political leadership.

Bridging the gap between public input and government decision making, the research took into account the realities of government, the need for leadership, and that politicians make the final decision.

“Getting behind normally closed doors of ministerial offices was key to this research - no one has ever asked politicians what they think about public input before,” Jennifer says.

“By interviewing people like Bill English, Paula Bennett and Steven Joyce, I was able to see how public input looks from their perspective and understand how it can be used by politicians actually running the country and having to make difficult decisions.”

One of her most surprising findings was politicians don’t see themselves as the experts when it comes to making policy – instead they seek input from a range of sources and weigh it up carefully before making a decision.

“Ministers really value deliberative and constructive views as it can help them see an issue from a different angle that they and their staff cannot see when sitting in the Beehive. Our political leaders are much more reflective and considerate than we often think.”

The research also provides powerful arguments – including those voiced by government ministers themselves - for why public input is beneficial to politicians pragmatically as well as democratically. By improving public input systems; acknowledging the limits of their own power and knowledge; and devolving solution-finding to others, politicians are able to implement policy development that lasts beyond their time in power.

“The key to making public input in government work is to collect the information properly. To be effective, it needs to be deliberative and informed, and politician’s need to be clear about what is on/off the table.”

Jennifer says an example is the recent flag changing consultation process.

“One of the problems was we ended up with three out of the original four possibilities being fern designs – which was the Prime Minister’s own preference – and suggests his view influenced the process too much.

“This could risk the public rejection of a change of flag and lose Key the legacy he desires. Whereas previous processes run by the government on tax and welfare reform, for example, were much more informed, deliberative, and wide ranging and helped to create genuine conversation and therefore acceptance for change.”
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