Committees and Controversy

Abstract

The increasingly common practice of engaging consulting firms to assist states with educational policy agendas requires an analysis of the role these consultants play in what is positioned as a democratic decision-making process. In this study, we examine the discourse of a state-level advisory committee formed to develop a new teacher evaluation policy under Race to the Top. We used discourse analysis methods to analyze audio recordings of 11 meetings of this committee. We identified two patterns of consultant talk as it related to committee decision making: making decisions through validationand deferring and redirecting decisions, and we describe their implications.

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

“…They can import specific policy rationalities, approaches, and ideas, through which this interpretation takes place (see, on these points: Hurl, 2021; Seabrooke, 2014). And in organizing consultations, consultants can amplify some voices over others, structure the content of the policy debate and impact the overall message, that is later presented to governments (Gabriel & Paulus, 2015; Vogelpohl, 2018; Weitkamp & Longhurst, 2012). That independence and objectivity are cited by public servants as a reason to use consultants for these ends, as this research shows, further reaffirms some of the concerns around consultants' use in these roles.…”

“…In contrast, in linkage work, consultants' direct impact on which policy alternative is selected (what the government chooses to do) is less pronounced. Nevertheless, as studies on consultants recently demonstrated, in linkage roles they may well have impact in defining the boundaries of the policy discussion, amplifying some voices over others in policy deliberation, or importing specific policy approaches and rationalities from expertise fields (Gabriel & Paulus, 2015; Hurl, 2018; Vogelpohl, 2018; Weitkamp & Longhurst, 2012). These two types of roles are interrelated, and their boundaries can vary in different contexts.…”

“…While consultants are not directly developing policy alternatives in these roles, they are nevertheless placed to structure such debates (as recent studies have shown, see: Gabriel & Paulus, 2015; Vogelpohl, 2018). Additionally, public servants stressed that consultants' use for such tasks stems from their perception as overall independent and detached from politics and policy preferences.…”

More than just experts for hire: A conceptualization of the roles of consultants in public policy formulation

“…In this capacity, consultants facilitate consultation processes and manage participatory processes. This includes interaction with service agencies, stakeholders, and citizens (Gabriel & Paulus, 2015; Jupe & Funnell, 2015; Linovski, 2018; Scott & Carter, 2019). The management of public consultation and participation by consultants is particularly interesting for policy research, which often voices concerns over de‐politicization.…”

“…This extensive involvement of consultants in policy has been widely scrutinized in research. For a few examples, studies from recent years consider the type of policy ideas with which consultants are associated (Keidar, 2018; O'Mahoney & Sturdy, 2016), how they exert their influence in policy (Bortz, 2019; Momani, 2017), their interaction with citizens and policymakers (Gabriel & Paulus, 2015) and how extensive use of consultants by governments creates dependencies on their services (Ylönen & Kuusela, 2019). More recently, there have been multiple calls in research to move to more theory‐driven work on the involvement of consultants in policy, including explanatory and comparative research (see: van den Berg et al, 2019; Vogelpohl et al, 2022; Ylönen & Kuusela, 2019).…”