Table 1 Differences (in italics) between the work cycles in the three niches.
From: Public health: disconnections between policy, practice and research
| Â | Policy | Practice | Research |
|---|---|---|---|
STEP 1 Problem recognition | |||
1. Relevance | socially relevant problem, i.e., solving social problems, influenced by political parties | practically relevant problem, i.e. corresponding to the public's or client's requests or needs due to problems that are modifiable and tractable | scientifically relevant problem, i.e. explaining problems and adding to the body of knowledge based on existing theory |
2. Policy agenda setting | much influence on agenda setting | limited influence on agenda setting, media pressure | very limited influence on agenda setting |
3. Status | bureaucratic status | social status | high intellectual status |
STEP 2 Formulation of policy, practice and research | |||
4. Formal power in policy | much influence of small political group on policy formulation | sometimes indirect influence on policy formulation | usually no influence on policy formulation |
5. Goals | Insufficient transparency of final goals | limited transparency of final goals, restricted to practice | sufficient transparency of final goals, but restricted to research |
6. Evidence | policy-based evidence: legitimacy, acceptability, visibility, immediacy, political salience | practice-based evidence: profitability, applicability, feasibility | research-based evidence: rationality, empirical validity, logical precision |
7. Legitimacy | preferred focus on environmental approach, social, physical, economic | focus on individual behavioural approach | insufficient focus on environmental approach |
8. Value of theory and practice | theories are partly relevant; practical implementation is relevant | theories are irrelevant; practical implementation is relevant | theories are relevant; practical implementation is often irrelevant |
9. Work attitude | work attitude of administrative control and opportunism; some creativity involved | firm, action-directed work attitude; 'quick and dirty'; creativity involved | cautious work attitude; detailed and time consuming; creativity involved |
STEP 3 Implementation of policy, practice and research | |||
10. Adjustments during pilot | interim policy adjustments during policy pilot, trial and error approach | interim practical adjustments during pilot, trial and error approach | no interim adjustments, except for qualitative, responsive research |
STEP 4 Policy and practice evaluation and research interpretation | |||
11. Lifespan | unpredictable lifespan of work cycle, maximum four years | preferably short lifespan of work cycle | predictable lifespan, depending on research design and public availability, 4 to 10 years |
12. External vs. internal validity | need for external validity but policy results often too tentative | need for external validity but practical implementation and contextual factors often undefined | focus on internal validity, insight in what is effective but not in how it can be made effective in real world setting |
13. Public accountability | increasing public accountability, mainly financial within own field | limited public accountability; mainly financial within own field | public accountability by publications in highly authoritative journals within own field |