Science and Technology CommitteeWritten evidence submitted by HM Treasury (Census 00)

THE ANALYTICAL COMMUNITY

There is an analytical community within government to support those involved in strategy, policy and delivery to develop and use an evidence base.

Government analysts contribute to all stages of policy development and implementation though helping to:

identify issues;

understand and solve problems;

present options;

assess impacts (costs, benefits and risks);

interpret existing data;

specify and gather new evidence;

test and assess ideas;

translate research into practical options;

inform decisions on difficult trade-offs; and

inform decisions on whether to stop, continue or change a policy.

As well as using their own knowledge and skills, government analysts draw on appropriate external expertise, from the academic and broader research community both in the UK and overseas. They can advise on the quality of available external evidence and the confidence that should be given to it in decision-making.

Analysts are organised differently in different departments, but generally there are five different groups. Members of each discipline have a unique contribution to make as well as shared skills across the disciplines. At a very high level, the particular contribution can be characterised by:

Economists (members of the Government Economic Service). Maximising welfare from scarce resources. Microeconomics by providing decision metrics for choosing one option or course of action over another; macroeconomics by fostering prosperity, high employment and stability economy-wide.

Operational Researchers (members of the Government Operational Research Service). Helps people find solutions to complex problems through problem structuring and mathematical and statistical modelling to understand real-world systems, policy options and impact.

Social Researchers (members of the Government Social Research Service). Understanding the potential and actual social impacts of policy decisions/practice, including understanding public perceptions and the opportunities for behaviour change. Advising across government on research methodologies and ethics.

Statisticians (members of the Government Statistical Service). Ongoing measurement and monitoring of specific and general economic and social trends.

Scientists and engineers (members of the Government Science and Engineering Community). Applying science and engineering knowledge to understand problems and develop policy solutions, including the application of knowledge from individual specialisms.

Each of the five analytical disciplines works together to provide the best possible evidence. Each have different, skills and backgrounds—further details provided later—and has their own leadership and management structures but all should be able to look at the problem and indicate which team of analysts would best be able to answer a problem, or signpost to the appropriate analyst for each particular question.

Each discipline ensures highly skilled and professional staff through rigorous recruitment procedures; adherence to competency frameworks specific to that discipline; continuous learning and development programmes. Many government analysts are also members of relevant professional bodies and learned societies. As a result, government analysts represent a professional and skilled resource that can add expert analysis and advice to inform choices across government and frontline delivery services.

Over the last five years or so the five analytical professions in government have been working increasingly closely together. The most robust and thorough evidence base for a problem will most often come from considering it from a number of perspectives/evidence streams. This can be achieved by ensuring that a multi-disciplinary group of analysts consider the problem. Many departments now ensure analysts work within multi-disciplinary teams to facilitate this approach.

Developing or implementing strategy and policy is, of course, possible without the input of the analytical community, but there are risks associated with this course of action. These risks include implementing a policy that does not work; that is more costly than expected or need be; that has unexpected consequences or poor public acceptance. Working collaboratively with government analysts can help mitigate these risks.

Signed:

Government Economic and Social Research team (GESR)

Government Operational Research Service (GORS)

Government Statistical Service (GSS)

Government Office for Science (GO-Science)/Government Science and Engineering (GSE)

HM Treasury

January 2012