How social science can contribute to public policy: The case for a 'design arm'

This chapter returns to the question of how social scientists can contribute to public policy. First, it is desirable to open up the range of approaches and orientations available to policy-making by ensuring that those involved are recruited from a wide range of communities, by analysing how policy objectives are selected and defined, and by promoting greater interplay at different career stages between government and academic life. Second, social science must develop, alongside the academic research that is at its heart, a 'design arm' directed at practical issues and concerned with the application of research findings in improving policy outcomes