Beyond consultocracy and servants of power: Explaining the role of consultants in policy formulation

Reut Marciano*

*Corresponding author for this work

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

9 Scopus citations

Abstract

Prior research on consultants in policymaking described their expanding policy involvement and impact. This research focuses on consultants' policy formulation roles and on how and why these roles vary across jurisdictions and contexts. It draws on comparative research on healthcare policy in Ontario, Canada, and Victoria, Australia. Based on analysis of contracts and expenditure data, and 59 semi-structured interviews, this research finds that consultants in Victoria are partners in formulation, used routinely for a variety of tasks, including core formulation work. Their role is institutionalized through formal and informal rules. In contrast, consultants in Ontario perform non-core formulation work and are primarily active in linking the government to other sites and pools of knowledge. The paper ties this variation to public sector internal capacity and policy sector complexity. It offers new empirical data and provides a nuanced understanding of the roles of consultants in policy formulation.

Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)39-58
Number of pages20
JournalGovernance
Volume37
Issue number1
DOIs
StatePublished - Jan 2024
Externally publishedYes

Bibliographical note

Publisher Copyright:
© 2022 Wiley Periodicals LLC.

Fingerprint

Dive into the research topics of 'Beyond consultocracy and servants of power: Explaining the role of consultants in policy formulation'. Together they form a unique fingerprint.

Cite this