MIND THE GAP: SOCIAL POLICYMAKING IN THE UK IN THEORY AND PRACTICE

Abstract

This doctoral research explore the process of designing social policy in the UK, specifically national policy developed in Whitehall (not local or devolved policy). The thesis first looks at what is already known about policy design from existing literature - bringing together evidence from academic, UK government and UK third sector organisations - to piece together what, in theory, should be happening. It then presents original research which showcases a two-part model explaining the process and actions civil servants undertake in developing social policy. The first part of the model presents the six key strands of activity typically found in this process and, for each, the goal, key questions, common actions, outputs and people involved; the second part then presents how these strands combine in practice, using recent case studies to showcase different scenarios and their influence on the process. The thesis then compares theory, intention and practice, highlighting areas of commonality and gaps between theory/intention and practice. It concludes by summarising the key findings from the research, reflections and lessons learnt and offering suggestions for future research to develop the model further.

Date of Award	11 Dec 2024
Original language	English
Awarding Institution	Institute for Policy Research (IPR) University of Bath
Supervisor	Nick Pearce (Supervisor) & Theodoros Papadopoulos (Supervisor)